Hammack pours in 49; Wildcats win at Centennial on miraculous half-court, buzzer-beater in OT

Christopher Keizur Feb 7, 2025 Updated 37 mins ago

There is perhaps no team hotter in the state right now than Centennial boys basketball, and during a back-and-forth thriller against one of the top teams in 5A hoops, the Eagles were on the precipice of a signature win.

Down 84-79 midway through an overtime period against visiting Wilsonville, Centennial made its move.

Sophomore forward Aazzee Breaux bullied his way into the paint for a hard-earned bucket, and then on a fastbreak sophomore guard Darius Andrews flipped the ball into the corner for a deep jumper from junior guard Quentin Neal, tying the game.

After some missed free throws by both teams, the Eagles got their chance to win it. With 8 seconds on the overtime clock, Breaux followed a missed jumper to haul in the offensive board and draw the foul — the Wildcats coaching staff were incensed, claiming an erroneous whistle had caused their defenders to stop playing.

But despite the lengthy delay, a timeout and long discussion with the officials, Breaux calmly knocked down the pair at the line. Centennial was up 86-84 with just 3 seconds left.

Wilsonville boys basketball senior guard Cole Hammack had 49 points in the win, including a halfcourt buzzer beater at the end of OT.

Then came the Wilsonville miracle.

The Wildcats got the ball into the hot hand of senior guard Cole Hammack, who heaved a halfcourt shot that banked in off the backboard as the buzzer sounded. The Wilsonville bench emptied with a roar, celebrating with a dogpile as the Eagles stared in disbelief. Wilsonville survived Centennial 87-86 Friday evening, Feb. 7, in what was an instant Northwest Oregon Conference classic.

For No. 5 Wilsonville (16-3, 9-1 League), Hammack had a game-high 49 points (five 3-pointers); senior post Emmitt Fee scored 14 points; senior wing Drake Devin had 9 points; and freshman post Michael Ratcliffe Jr. added 7 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.

For No. 14 Centennial (10-9, 6-4 League), Breaux had a team-high 31 points; Neal scored 17 points (four 3-pointers) with 4 rebounds and 3 assists; Andrews had 12 points; and senior post Naoli Besha added 8 points.

Coming into the game the Eagles had been on a scorching hot streak — they had won six-straight to claw their way back into the postseason conversation. This was a much different team than when the two faced off earlier in the season, when Wilsonville handled Centennial 61-31 at home.

After trailing much of the first quarter, Centennial got close in the second frame. They started to move the ball, with six different players getting onto the score sheet. They cut things to within a single bucket multiple times, but Wilsonville had a go-to answer: get the ball into Hammack’s hands. He scored 14 of the 18 Wildcats points and kept his squad in the lead 39-34 at halftime.

“Double him, don’t let him touch it,” called out Centennial Coach Demetrius McQuarn.

That deficit held through the third quarter with Wilsonville ahead 62-57.

The Eagles started to swarm Hammack in the fourth quarter, attempting to limit his impact on the game.

A lot was asked of sophomore guard Zaire Williams, who came off the bench to faceguard the opposing star, shadowing him across the court and swiping at the ball.

The Eagles defense, and a pair of buckets from Williams, tied it 62-62. There were four lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter.

“You say you want to win, then show me, let’s go,” yelled Coach McQuarn.

Like in overtime, the Eagles thought they had it at the end of regulation. Breaux had a bucket and two free throws to take the lead, and Williams caused a five second violation call with his defense on Hammack.

But Hammack scored a basket, Centennial missed a pair of free throws, and Hammack (who else) scored a layup with 3 seconds left in the game to tie it 79-79. Neal had a deep shot to win it, but missed, leading to the heartbreaking overtime for the home team.