Wilsonville races into 5A tournament after 67-32 win over Silverton in OSAA 5A Round of 16

Miles Vance Mar 9, 2025 Updated 1 hr ago

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There’s no place like home.

And the Wilsonville boys basketball team felt very good at home in its Class 5A state playof game against Silverton on Saturday, March 8, at Wilsonville High School. The Wildcats led every step of the way, pushed ahead by 20 points in the second quarter and coasted to a dominating 67-32 victory.

“I'm feeling great. It was great,” said Wilsonville senior guard Cole Hammack, who finished with 16 points on 6 of 15 shooting from the field with four 3-pointers, along with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. “For the team, this was one of our goals - to get to the 5A tournament site - so this is a great feeling.”

“It feels great,” said Wildcat senior wing Drake Devin, who finished with 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting with three threes, along with four steals, two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot...

"It feels great. It always feels good to be going to state,” said senior post Emmitt Fee, who scored seven points on 3 of 11 shooting from the field and a 1 of 2 day at the foul line, along with 14 rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot.

“I thought we competed really well,” added sophomore wing Jett Bruce, who came off the bench to score four points, along with five steals, one rebound and one assist. “Silverton's a great team. They had a great season.”

Wilsonville freshman post Michael Ratcliffe Jr. added 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting from the field and a 3 of 6 day at the line, along with seven rebounds and one block.

In the process, the Wildcats earned a return trip to a place that has almost become their second home – the Class 5A state tournament. Wilsonville has appeared in the past seven Class 5A state championships, winning five of those games and six overall since 2005.

The fourth-ranked Wildcats will face No. 5 West Albany in the state quarterfinals at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Linfield University in McMinnville. The Bulldogs enter the game carrying a three-game winning streak and a 20-6 overall record after placing second in the Mid-Willamette Conference.

West Albany knocked off Churchill 80-64 in its Saturday playoff opener.

Wilsonville’s players promise that they’ll be ready for the 5A tournament.

“I think (the key is) … just locking in for the few practices we have left,” Fee said, “That and working on getting better every day. That's the best chance we've got.”

“West Albany (is a) great team so we've got to prepare hard to get ready to play them,” Hammack said. “We just have to compete and play good ‘D.’”

“(It will take a) lot of good ‘D’ and a lot of good rebounding, but we also have to make a lot of shots,” Devin said. “Coach (Chris Roche) always says the toughest team wins and I agree with that.”

“I think (the key is) just defending, staying together as a team and playing together,” Bruce said. “I think we've just got to focus on our next game. That's the biggest part for us.”

With the win over Silverton, the Wildcats’ seventh straight, West Linn improved to 23-3 overall after winning the Northwest Oregon Conference. No. 13 Silverton, meanwhile, lost for the second straight time and ended its season at 15-10 overall after finishing fifth in the Mid- Willamette Conference.The Wildcats started fast against Silverton, racing out to a 9-0 lead at the start of the game and

grabbing a 16-5 lead at the end of the first quarter when Devin took a Hammack pass and drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left corner.

Already in great shape, the Wildcats extended their lead to 24-5 when Bruce set up Devin for a fast break hoop with 5 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first half, and boosted that advantage to 32-11 when Hammack took a Devin pass and buried a three from the right corner with 55 seconds left in the half.

Already ahead 32-15 at halftime, the Wildcats pushed their edge to 47-26 when Bruce scored on the fast break in the final minute of the third period and allowed the Foxes no closer than 19 points in the fourth.

“It' was fun. Silverton was a tough team,” Devin said. “We definitely had our work cut out for us.”

“I thought it was a great defensive effort by us,” Hammack added. “That was one of the biggest things today.”

Silverton’s Sam Haugen and Elisha Short led the Foxes with seven points each, Haugen adding four rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Short added two rebounds and one steal.

Freshman post Michael Ratcliffe, Jr scores on Silverton inside in Cats 67-32 victory over Silverton in the OSAA 5A State Tournament Sweet 16 game

Senior wing Jacob Boss scores on Silverton in the Wildcats' 67-32 OSAA 5A State Tournament Round of 16

Senior post Emmitt Fee grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds in Wilsonville's 67-32 win over Silverton in the OSAA 5A State Tournament Round of 16