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BOYS HOOPS: Cascade tops Summit for Hoopfest title By Mail Tribune staff Dec 30, 2022 09:54 PM A A BEND — The Cascade Christian boys basketball team had the chance Friday afternoon to get a signature early-season win against one of the favorites in Class 5A. The Challengers went out and delivered. Cascade Christian junior 7-footer Austin Maurer scored a game-high 27 points and the Challengers held off Summit’s fourth-quarter comeback bid to claim a 78-75 win over the Storm in the Les Schwab Holiday Hoopfest championship game at Summit High. “That’s the biggest win in Cascade basketball history beating the No. 1 team in 5A on their home court,” Cascade Christian head coach Brian Morse said. “It was a fun game to be a part of and the kids really stepped up and played tough.” “Our last championship game (Dec. 17) against Philomath that we lost in overtime, we turned it over four straight possessions to start the game,” Morse continued. “We talked about that tonight — we have to have a good start, we have to take care of the ball. We came out firing on all cylinders and held the lead the whole way once we got that lead.” Cascade Christian (6-2), ranked second in this week’s 3A coaches poll, was able to build an 18-9 lead over Summit (5-3) midway through the first quarter. Maurer, who also had 12 rebounds and four blocks in Friday’s win, scored 11 points in the first quarter, leading the Challengers’ early surge in building a 24-15 lead over the Storm, a 5A finalist last season. “It made a huge difference to get Austin going early,” Morse began, “because then they had such a big focus to double team him and then he was finding the open guy and we were able to create offense. Our offense is flowing really well when it’s going through him. “The bigger the game, the bigger the moment for him is something that we have found throughout his career. He stepped up tonight and this was by far his best game of the year.” That early lead proved vital for Cascade as Summit — which is ranked No. 1 in the 5A coaches poll — closed the gap to 64-58 heading to the fourth quarter. The Challengers saw their lead cut to a single point on a pair of occasions in the final 1:30 of the game but had an answer for the Storm each time. Drew Hall finished with 14 points and three assists and Colsen Brown added 11 points for Cascade Christian, which has won four straight since its Dec. 21 loss to Dayton. Summit guard Pearson Carmichael, one of the top juniors in Oregon, scored 16 of his team-high 26 points in the second half. “Drew Hall had a great game for us,” Morse said, “and he knocked down two big free throws when Summit had cut it to a one-point game.” CASCADE CHRISTIAN (78): Fronckowiak 9, Anderson 4, Wallace 1, Hall 14, Farmer 6, P. Maurer 6, Brown 11, A. Maurer 27. Totals: 29 15-21 78. SUMMIT (75): Moore 8, Taylor 11, Bents 2, Peters 4, Strang 0, P. Carmichael 26, H. Carmichael 10, Bledsoe 12, Stassens 2, Kettering 0. Totals: 28 13-20 75. Cascade Christian24192114— 78 Summit15202317— 75 3-point goals — Cascade Christian 5 (Fronckowiak 2, Farmer 2, Brown 1), Summit 6 (Moore 1, Taylor 2, P. Carmichael 1, H. Carmichael 2). Fouled out — Brown. CRATER 68, CALDERA 37: At Bend, Ashton Acrey scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to help Crater pull away for a blowout win over Caldera to wrap up play at the Les Schwab Holiday Hoopfest at Bend High School. Crater (8-3) also got 13 points from Ty Dahlin and 12 points from Kyle Bittle. The Comets led 33-20 at halftime. Aiden Cruz scored 17 points and hit five 3-pointers for Caldera (2-8). CALDERA (37): Macomber 5, Nishikawa 0, Collins 0, Sanchez 4, Cruz 17, Benner 7, Williams 0, Nores 2, Fuller2. Totals: 15 0-2 37. CRATER (68): Idiart 6, Havnaeir 2, Acrey 25, Pham 2, Bittle 12, Dahlin 13, Hopkins 2, Schwenk 3, Rucker 2. Totals: 24 14-26 68. Caldera12889— 37 Crater17162114— 68 3-point goals — Caldera 7 (Macomber 1, Cruz 5, Benner 1), Crater 6 (Idiart 2, Acrey 1, Pham 1, Dahlin 1, Schwenk 1). Cascade Christian center Austin Maurer, seen here in a file photo from earlier this season, scored 27 points in Friday’s win over Summit. Photo by Denise Baratta.