Despite taking down some of the country's best high school teams earlier in the season, the West Linn boys basketball team is not letting its guard down.
Behind 25 points from senior point guard Jackson Shelstad, the Lions improved to 2-0 in Three Rivers League play on Friday, Jan. 27, after defeating Lakeridge 78-38 at home. Fellow senior Adrian Mosley added 13 points in the win, while junior Nick DiGiulio knocked down four 3-pointers to finish with 12 for West Linn.
The Lions (16-1, 2-0) looked every bit the part of the state's No. 1 team on Friday, jumping out to leads of 23-6, 40-19 and 64-32 after each of the first three quarters. Despite the comfortable win, the team knows it cannot afford to sit back and get complacent.
"That won’t happen," head coach Robert Key asserted after Friday's win. "As a leader of men, I have to make sure that doesn’t happen. On a daily basis, we’re focusing on getting better and better."
While the Lions' coach naturally understands the importance of his team showing up for each game, Shelstad and fellow senior captains Mosley and Mark Hamper must ensure those lessons translate onto the court.
"We play in the toughest league in the state," Shelstad said of the Three Rivers League. "Every night, every game could be an upset. You just never know. … Sometimes we tend to let up on teams. We’ve just got to work on keeping our foot on the gas the whole game."
After building a 40-19 halftime lead that ballooned to 64-32 after three quarters, Key went to his bench for the majority of the fourth quarter. That allowed the Lions to keep the pedal down against the Pacers (9-7, 0-2), while also getting some critical playing time for the team's reserves.
"It feels amazing to make sure that all those kids got to play today," Key said. "I have 15 (players), and 13 played today. It feels really rewarding at the end of the day." Of those 13 players, 11 scored.
Aside from Shelstad, Mosley and DiGiulio, starters Sam Leavitt and Drake Gabel had six and five points, respectively. The Lions also had 17 points come from the bench as Blake Oltmans added five points, Joey Bell and Luke Young each had three, and the trio of Aidan Duea, Max Juhala and Jalen Snook scored two apiece.
"It’s awesome to see them getting a chance and seeing all the hard work they put in at practice panning out in the game. They got some good minutes," Shelstad said of the team's reserves.
"It's always fun," the senior added. "It’s like a brotherhood with us. For them to work their butts off in practice and then get minutes in the game, that’s really cool."
As for Hamper and fellow senior Jake Holmes, neither scored on Friday, but each provided strong doses of physicality on defense and in the rebounding department. They also made heads-up passes and helped create space for other players to score on offense.
All in all it was a full team effort, including one player — DiGiulio — who is finally on the court after recovering from an injury. The junior transferred from Ida B. Wells over the summer, and he brings a dangerous new wrinkle to the West Linn offense as the team's resident sharpshooter.
"He’s a very prolific shooter," Key said of DiGiulio. "He’s been injured for almost two months, and it’s really good to have him back."
Shelstad is also enjoying have another weapon on the offensive end alongside Mosley, a Division I talent in his own right, and the rest of the Lions.
"(DiGiulio) brings a different dynamic to our team," Shelstad said. "He’s the best shooter I’ve seen in the state. Teams try to zone us a lot, and he’s a zone-killer. He’s just such a good shooter. He’d be a main option on a lot of other teams."
Even as this historic team gets stronger, the Lions have no intention of slowing down. They know that complacency is what leads good teams to lose winnable games — and this team will do whatever it takes to avoid adding another notch in the loss column.
West Linn continues its season with a tough week on the league's western front.
The slate opens with a difficult road game Tuesday, Jan. 31, against Tigard (11-5, 2-0). The Tigers joined West Linn in a perfect 2-0 start to league play after beating Oregon City 58-48 in other Friday night action.
The Lions then return to their home gym Thursday, Feb. 2, for a blockbuster matchup with Tualatin (13-3, 2-0). The Timberwolves were the No. 2 team in the OSAA Class 6A computer rankings through Friday's games after beating Lake Oswego 61-41. The latest 6A coaches' poll had Tualatin ranked No. 3 in the state.