Salem-area high school basketball: Top-5 highlights

Pete Martini
Salem Statesman Journal

The high school basketball season is in full swing, and a number of teams in the Salem area are off to great starts.

The state playoffs for Class 1A begin Feb. 26, with Classes 2A and 3A beginning Feb. 29. The first round of Class 6A state playoffs are March 4, and Classes 4A and 5A begin March 7.

Here is a look at five things to know about Mid-Valley high school basketball this week.

1. Saxon boys start fast with new faces

This is a season of change for the South Salem boys basketball program, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the success.

Last season, the Saxons won the Mountain Valley Conference and placed fifth at the OSAA Class 6A state tournament.

South Salem lost a number of players from that team, including Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, Ryan Brown, Eric Lungu and Treyden Harris. Another big change in the offseason is that Travis Brown is now the head coach instead of Tyler Allen.

This season, despite the change, the Saxons are 7-3 overall and ranked No. 4 in the OSAA 6A heading into Mountain Valley Conference play.

South Salem's Emorej Lynk, 12, goes for the basket between Tigard's Dylan Berg, 21, and Brett Moss, 4, in the Tigard vs. South Salem boys basketball game at South Salem High School on Jan. 10, 2020. Tigard won the game 65-57.

“We’re very athletic, we’re a very talented team. Right now, our focus is just getting us to play together, getting to play as a team,” Travis Brown said. “That’s what we need to get under control — executing our offense. Every game, every practice is very important for us.”

South Salem wrapped up non-league play with a 65-57 loss to No. 1 Tigard on Friday, the first loss of the season for the Saxons against a team from Oregon. South Salem’s other two losses came against out-of-state teams in the Capital City Classic tournament.

“It’s taken a little time to get together,” said senior guard Trey Galbraith, the only starter back from last season’s team. “I feel like we have everything we need to go out there and win a state championship. We just have to figure out how much we want it, and get our team chemistry together.”

Among the newcomers for the Saxons this season are senior guard Emorej Lynk, a transfer from Kennedy, and Cole Hardy, a transfer from Salem Academy and also the nephew of coach Brown.

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South Salem's Trey Galbraith, 3, tries to moves past Tigard's Edward Beglaryan, 20, and Malik Brown, 12, in the Tigard vs. South Salem boys basketball game at South Salem High School on Jan. 10, 2020. Tigard won the game 65-57.

“It’s a big change for them coming up to the 6A game. The speed and the quickness that they have at 6A is tough,” Brown said. “Cole and Emorej are tremendous athletes. They are very talented, and they can guard a big or a wing.”

Lynk is coming off a knee injury he suffered as a junior for Kennedy in the OSAA Class 2A state championship football game. He missed last basketball season because of the injury. He was cleared right before this season.

“It feels pretty good, getting back into the flow of things. Give me time, I think I’ll be fine,” Lynk said. “We have a lot of talent, so I’m trying to learn a role and how to play off each other. I think we’re getting it.”

South Salem opens conference play at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mountain View.

“Our goal is a state championship. What we do in preparation is to be the best,” Brown said. “You just put that target up there, and that’s what we’re going to fight to get.”

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2. West Salem girls on a streak

The West Salem girls basketball team is 8-2 so far this season, which is the best record in the Mountain Valley Conference.

That record includes a current six-game winning streak, which began with a 46-38 win Dec. 20 against St. Mary’s.

The Titans, who are coming off a 48-41 win against Tigard on Friday, open conference play at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at McKay.

West Salem in No. 6 in the OSAA Class 6A rankings.

Silverton's Truitt Reilly (23) plows into La Salle Prep's Addison Wedin (3) in the first half of the La Salle Prep vs. Silverton girls basketball game in the OSAA Class 5A quarterfinals at Oregon State University in Corvallis on Thursday, March 7, 2019. La Salle Prep won the game 57-46.

3. Silverton boys, girls leading the way

The Silverton girls and boys basketball teams are both ranked No. 1 in the state at the OSAA Class 5A level, as of Sunday night.

In girls basketball, the Foxes are 9-2 this season, including 3-0 in the Mid-Willamette Conference. They are unbeaten against teams from Oregon. Silverton next will host Lebanon at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

In boys basketball, the Foxes are 10-1, including 3-0 in the Mid-Willamette Conference. Their only loss this season came on Dec. 18, when they fell 63-49 to Class 6A team Sherwood. Silverton next will play at Lebanon at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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4. St. Paul girls’ streak still alive

The St. Paul girls basketball team is 14-0 this season, and they have quite a winning streak going.

The Buckaroos have won 45 games in a row, a streak that dates back to the 2017-18 season.

St. Paul, which is ranked No. 1 in the OSAA 1A, won the state championship last season with a 30-0 overall record.

The last time the Buckaroos lost was on March 2, 2018, in the state semifinals to Monroe at the Class 2A state tournament. They have not lost a game since returning to the 1A level.

They next will host Crosshill Christian at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Kennedy's Sophia Carley (00) and Santiam's McKenzie Dodge (44) both go up for a rebound in the Santiam vs. Kennedy girls basketball game at Kennedy High School in Mt. Angel on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019. Kennedy won the gam 62-49.

5. Kennedy unbeaten in league

Kennedy’s girls basketball team is off to a 5-0 start in the Tri-River Conference, and the Trojans are 11-3 overall.

Kennedy is No. 5 in the OSAA rankings for the Class 2A level.

The Trojans, who have won two of the past four state championships, placed third last season at the state tournament. Kennedy next will play at Chemawa at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ