Jefferson survives as it edges West Albany 53-47 to advance to championship game: 5A Oregon boys basketball state tournament recap

Jefferson’s living-on-the-edge finish to the 2013-14 season continued Friday, as the Democrats escaped with a 53-47 win over West Albany in the Class 5A boys basketball semifinals at Matthew Knight Arena.

The defending state champion Democrats (25-1) advance to the championship game, where they’ll face the Churchill-Madison winner at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Jefferson is aiming to win its fifth state title in seven years.

Nothing has been easy of late for Jefferson. The Democrats, who haven’t lost to an Oregon team all season, have won their past five games by no more than six points. Friday’s game was so tight that Jefferson coach Pat Strickland went to the rare move – for the Democrats -- of throwing some zone defense at West Albany.

Jefferson finally overcame West Albany when Kadeem Strickland -- who missed his first seven shots and made only 2 of 11 against the Bulldogs – hit a 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining to break a 43-43 tie.

“I didn’t think anything was going to go down, but I knew at the end of the game I had to hit something,” Strickland said.

Strickland’s father, Pat, blamed his son’s shooting woes on shoes he’s never wore in a game before.

They won’t return Saturday.

“He can wear any other pair he has,” said Pat, “but those.”

Kadeem Strickland wasn’t alone. The Democrats struggled with West Albany’s zone and made only 17 of 49 shots. If not for Silas Melson’s four 3-pointers, 21 points and 10 rebounds, Jefferson might have found itself on the upset end of a loss.

It’s been like that a lot lately. Thursday, the Democrats barely survived the quarterfinals against Wilsonville, and last week, had to hold off Springfield to earn a state tournament berth. Several Portland Interscholastic League teams took swings and nearly connected at the Democrats down the stretch.

But Jefferson survived all of it. The Democrats are finally in the place nearly everyone thought they’d land: the state championship game.

“There’s been a lot of pressure on our kid’s shoulders, and they’re listening a little too much to the hoopla,” Pat Strickland said. “That’s why you play these games. We’re not inked into the game until we’re actually there.”

If Jefferson ends up playing Churchill, it’s possible some will view the Democrats as underdogs, despite the team’s success in recent years. The Lancers won’t lack for motivation, having lost to Jefferson in last year’s state final, as well as earlier this season in the Les Schwab Invitational.

While Jefferson is creaking to the finish line, Churchill hasn’t lost since the LSI, winning most of its games by wide margins.

“To me, we are the underdog. It’s their turf. We’re on the road,” Strickland said.

West Albany never trailed by more than seven points Friday, and early in the fourth quarter took a 40-39 lead on Nate Sherwood’s 5-foot runner. But Jefferson didn’t panic, and eventually took the lead for good on Strickland’s tie-breaking 3-pointer.

Melson then gave Jefferson some breathing room when his 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining increased the lead to five points. The Bulldogs only scored once during the final 90 seconds, not enough to catch Jefferson.

Nate Sherwood had 15 points, while Isaiah Edwards had 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead West Albany.

Twitter: @nickdaschel