While school was out, both the Tualatin girls and boys basketball teams were putting in work over the last month, both in and out of the state.
The girls team is coming off its first state title in school history, and is bringing back nearly the same roster. The Timberwolves are looking like the dominant team they just finished off as state champs, going undefeated in a local HoopSource tournament in Portland.
The girls team was also the only team from the state to take part in the Section 7 tournament in Arizona against top teams from the West Coast.
The Timberwolves went 3-1 in Arizona, and didn’t just pick up some attention on the court. A few Tualatin players also picked up some college offers.
Incoming sophomores Love Lei Best and Kendall Dawkins both picked up offers from Arizona State. The two also received offers from Southern Methodist University. Incoming senior Alex Padilla picked up an offer from Portland State, her first collegiate offer so far.
The Tualatin boys have played in quite a few tournaments, as well, this summer.
The Timberwolves won three games in the HoopSource Summer Invitational and then won two games against Southridge and Sherwood in a doubleheader.
In the War of the Border against teams from Washington, the Tualatin boys went 3-1 with wins against Columbia River, Camas and Union.
The boys team also went to Arizona for the Section 7 tournament, and went 3-1, as well.
The Timberwolves’ star backcourt of incoming senior Jemai Lake and incoming junior Pat Vialva Jr. put on a show in the tournament.
In the team’s first game, Vialva dropped 31 points, and Lake scored 28 points and went a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line. In Tualatin’s second game, Lake scored 28 points and Vialva added 25.
In Game 3, Lake scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, and Vialva netted 19 points. In Tualatin’s final game, Lake scored 34 points.
The Timberwolves also traveled north to Bellevue, WA, to take part in the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association. In the team’s opening game, Lake dropped 33 against Jesuit, and he added 18 against Mount Si. In the Mount Si game, Vialva scored 19 and Takeo McCrae dropped 20 points.
In their third game, Lake had another 30-point outburst, scoring 31, to go with Vialva’s 22 and McCrae’s 14.
Over the summer, Lake also started to pick up some collegiate offers. He earned offers from University of Idaho, University of Montana, and Seattle University.
Lake’s brother, former Tualatin standout Josiah Lake, has played the last two seasons at Oregon State University.
