The Chiles Center was so packed with fans cheering and jeering so loudly that Thursday night could have easily been mistaken for the Class 6A state championship game.
And while it was just a quarterfinals matchup, Thursday’s private school rivalry battle between Central Catholic and Jesuit had all of the excitement of a finals game.
The Crusaders — the 11th seed in the playoffs — were able to battle through the noise, with a huge second-half comeback to get past the No. 3 seed Rams 69-56 for one of the biggest upsets of the 2024-25 season.
“We knew they we were the best team coming out,” said Jesuit sophomore Isaac Bongen. “The season didn’t show it, but obviously today we showed the state that we should be the team playing in that championship.”
- FOLLOW LIVE: All of the OSAA basketball state tournament action will be streamed on the NFHS Network. There will also be a radio broadcast on the OSAA Radio Network.
Bongen was one of the big heroes for the Crusaders, scoring 16 points while going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. All of that offensive production came in the second half as Jesuit flew ahead of the Rams.
The Rams were able to find success in the first half despite missing minutes from both Duce Pascal and Robbie Long. Both starters picked up three fouls in the first half, which would come back to haunt Central Catholic late in the game. But the Rams ran out to an 18-12 lead in the first quarter.
Things looked to be going in Jesuit’s favor for a minute in the second quarter, Pat Kilfoil drained a big three-pointer to make it 24-17 Central Catholic with five minutes and 41 seconds left. But Kilfoil was called for a technical foul for talking to a Central Catholic player immediately after the shot. From there, the half ended on a 10-2 run for the Rams to make it 34-19 at halftime.
The third quarter opened with a 3-pointer by Central Catholic’s Jalen Nicholson. But then Jesuit went on an 18-0 run. Isaac Bongen drained back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game up at 37-37 with 2:55 left in the quarter.
The teams traded 3-pointers in the final minutes of the quarter. With 44 seconds left in the third quarter, Grady Keljo hit a putback layup to give Jesuit a 42-40 lead. Kilfoil then drained a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to make it a 45-40 Crusader lead going into the fourth quarter. In total, Jesuit outscored Central Catholic 26-6 in the third quarter.
Bongen said the key to the third-quarter run was the Crusaders cleaning up the defense.
“Just staying mentally tough and mentally stable with what we do on offense and defense,” he said. “Rebounding, staying solid on defense, not letting them drive up the middle, making them take tough shots far in the shot clock. That’s really what did it for us is our defense. The offense is gonna come because we’re a good team. We’re a good offensive team, but the defense is where we lack sometimes.”
Kilfoil, who led the Crusaders with 17 points and six rebounds, said the biggest difference in Thursday’s game was how close all of the Jesuit players are. They were able to keep each other from panicking as they saw Central Catholic take a strong lead early.
“We’re family,” Kilfoil said. “We can’t say we’re family and not act like it. We acted like it today and I’m sure everyone saw it. We were down by 15 and we just believed.”
Joe Stimpson scored 11 points for Jesuit.
While Central Catholic was able to find more success in the fourth quarter, the Crusaders did not allow the Rams to get back on top. With just under four minutes left in the game, and Jesuit up 52-47, Central Catholic lost Pascal, who fouled out with four points and three rebounds.
Jalen Nicholson was the top scorer for Central Catholic, with 17 points. Isaac Carr scored 13 points, playing 31 of the game’s 32 minutes.
Thursday was the seventh playoff matchup between the Crusaders and the Rams, one of Oregon’s most storied high school rivalries. Jesuit is 5-2 all-time against Central Catholic in the postseason.
It was also the third game between the two teams this winter. Central Catholic won 68-59 on Dec. 28 and snuck out a close 56-54 win on Jan. 10.
In fact, Thursday was the first time Jesuit has beaten the Rams on the hardwood since Dec. 10, 2021.
“I’ve had this marked on my calendar since 4 years ago,” he said. “I’ve wanted to beat them so bad. I’ve never beaten them. It feels so great.”
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-- Nik Streng covers high school sports in Oregon. Reach him at nstreng@oregonian.com or @NikStreng