Final Score: Baker 57 Bend 51
This Baker team is going to be incredible. Maybe not the favorite to win it this year, but making and possibly winning the next two 4A titles afterwords (2024 and 2025) is very much a possibility. The young talent, what is driving the car already for Baker, is absolutely exceptional. Not just the Sophomores we expected, but now freshmen too.
Isaiah Jones, Jaxson Logsdon, Hudson Spike, and Paul Hobson were known quantities coming into the season. All potential all-state guys, all top-end athletic talents, all with exceptional motors. They showed up today and confirmed preseason speculation on what this Baker defense could look like when at full throttle. Bend at times looked confused and lost, far from the potential contender at the 5A ranks most expected. Utterly unable to get the ball past half court, and when they did in the second half few if any opportunities in the half court presented themselves.
What was not expected, was the freshman phenom that is Rasean Jones. Only scored 5 points, but defensively he was everywhere and he cleaned the boards like a seasoned veteran. This kid is going to be sensational in the very near future, and could quickly become a fan favorite at the state tournament in Forest Grove. Legitimate state player of the year potential in the future for Jones.
Bend looked the part in the first half, and started to pull away late in the first half. The argument could be made that had their run started two minutes earlier before the half, hence giving the Lava Bears more time to build a more sizable lead, the Baker comeback—no matter how ferocious it was—wouldn’t have been able to overcome it. When the energy reset at halftime, Baker regained their footing. Bend will be fine, there isn’t a team in the state the Bears can’t compete with athletically, but at times the offense stagnated and stalled, leaving Ben Keown to do a disproportionate amount of the heavy lifting at times. That, if anything, is the main takeaway from this game for Bend; The offense has to be more versatile.
Leading Scorers: Isaiah Jones (Baker) 26, Ben Keown (Bend) 23, Caden Dornhecker (Bend) 17, Paul Hobson (Baker) 16, Jaxon Logsdon (Baker) 8, Christopher Doke (Bend) 8
