Eddie Townsend and the rest of the Toledo coaching staff entered the game wearing suits and boutonnieres. They knew the night was going to be special.
The stands were filled with almost every school from the tournament. For the second night in a row, the Oakland pep band offered their support to the Boomers from Toledo. The fan loyalties were decidedly in favor of the Boomers, who came into the night having never won a team championship in any varsity sport.
Toledo entered the game as the top seed, having been ranked #1 in the Coach's poll and by OSAA for the majority of the year. Toledo was led by senior scoring savant Conner Marchant, who entered the game just 6 points shy of taking over as Oregon's third-highest all-time scorer (regardless of school size or sex).
Their opponents were the second-seeded Pioneers of Western Christian who were seeking to defend last year's title. Western Christian was led by senior Payton Richardson who has a full-ride basketball scholarship to a Division II NCAA school next year.
Toledo was ranked higher and had the crowd behind them, but their task was not an easy one. Western Christian has made the state finals the last 15 years, including the last three years' championship contests. Last year, Western Christian pulled off a huge upset over the predicted champion Columbia Christian 61-48 with a nearly perfect game. This team also returned the star Richardson and the all-time Oregon career three point shooter Alexander Nikoli.
The first quarter was a back and forth one. Both teams played aggressive man defense. Western Christian opted to use Richardson to guard the lethal Marchant. Ty Vanderhoof carried much of the Pioneer's offense while stars Richardson and Nikoli struggled to hit early. Toledo went on a 7-0 run to finish the quarter after Mason McAlpine hit a 24-foot three pointer in the last minute and a half in the quarter. After one, Toledo was up 17-11.
The second quarter was every bit as electric as the first. Toledo made an excellent strategic decision and went after Richardson. Marchant drew two fouls on Richardson before halftime, knowing Western could not afford to loose their star. Toledo's defense held firm against the disciplined attack of the Pioneers. In the high-paced affair, Toledo only conceded 21 points for the half, all of which were contested. Going into the break, Toledo led 33-21.
The third quarter progressed similarly to the second. Western Christian did an excellent job of keeping Toledo in check offensively. The Pioneers traded the chore of guarding Marchant to protect Richardson from foul trouble, but midway through the quarter Marchant drew a fourth foul on Western's Vanderhoof forcing Richardson to take Marchant again. With 1:33 to play in the quarter, Richardson picked up a third foul. With only one quarter separating Toledo from its first ever team title, the Boomers led 48-31.
The forth quarter was faster paced than the first three. Western Christian needed to change something in their approach if they wanted to close the 17 point deficit and repeat as champions. The Pioneers flipped the "chaos switch". A full-court trapping press became the mainstay of Western's defense. The first 3:15 went perfectly for the Pioneers. Marchant turned the ball over three times in an 8-0 run for Western. With 4:45 to play, it was a 9 point game, but Toledo pulled out of the potential nose-dive. The Boomers only allowed one more turnover the rest of the game and doubled down on the defensive glass, limiting second chance points for Western and grabbing offensive rebounds of their own.
At the 2:16 mark, Richardson picked up his 5th foul, ending his high school career. From then on the game rested in Toledo's ability to make free throws. At 1:10 it was again a 9 point game - the closest it would be the rest of the game. With each free throw Toledo knocked down, the smiles on the players, coaches, and fans grew. Marchant hit two free throws with 17 seconds to play, and both teams subbed in their benches.
The clock hit 00:00 and the celebrations began in earnest. Hugs, tears, shouts. The height of human emotions. For a town that has never won a title, this first one was a special one.
Western's defense held Marchant in check, only ceding one three pointer and holding him to 50% shooting. These numbers may sound like a poor defensive job, but Marchant's 22 points were the fewest he scored all tournament and was well below his season average. He ended the game with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 assists. Marchant also ended his career as Oregon's 3rd all-time leading scorer behind NBA all-star Kevin Love of and Bob "Pudgy" Hunt.
The special feature of Toledo's high-powered offense (averaging 86 points per game entering the night) was not so much how well they shot the three, but how far they shot the three. Not only could the Boomers rain three pointers at 45% clip, but they could shoot 45% from NBA range. Marchant would fire shots from the old Phoenix Sun's logo in the middle of the court, while McAlpine and Gunner Rothenberger drained shots from half a step behind the purple NBA arch. This range advantage opened up driving lanes for Marchant and room for Jaxon Rozewski to operate in the key.
Another key to Toledo's success was their excellent rebounding. The Boomers held the Pioneers to just 6 offensive rebounds, while hauling in 9 themselves. Credit Western Christian's defense that held Toledo to the lowest point total all season. However, the Toledo defense was excellent as well, holding the Pioneers to just 37% shooting (12.5% from thee), and their stingy rebounding did not allow for many second chance opportunities.
"Good shooting covers a multitude of sins" is a quote I heard all the time growing up and playing basketball, and there is no better case study than this championship team from Toledo. In their first game, Bandon hauled in offensive rebound and took six more shots than the Boomers, yet Toledo cruised to win by 30 due to their 52.4% shooting performance. In the semifinals and finals both, Toledo turned the ball over more than their opponents, but the disparity in shooting percentage was too much for Knappa and Western Christian to compensate for. Toledo only took 37 shots in the finals, compared to Western's 45, but still led for nearly the entire contest.
Toledo did no make many errors in the tournament, only turning the ball over 32 times in three games, and their scorching offense put every game out of reach. Toledo's "poor" offensive nights were most teams' average to high scoring nights. Toledo gave their opponents no room for error all season. The Boomers had their sights set on bring home 1st place all year and nothing would thwart that objective. Their time to join the list of champions had come.
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