PORTLAND, Ore. — West Linn High School's boys basketball team now finds itself among the best teams in the nation after a breakout win at the Les Schwab Invitational at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.
The West Linn Lions opened the tournament with wins over Barlow and Tualatin. The Lions then faced off against Sierra Canyon out of the Los Angeles area. Lebon James' sons, Bronny and Bryce, play for Sierra Canyon. West Linn beat the star-studded team to earn a spot in the championship game.
Finally, West Linn beat Duncanville High School out of Texas, the number one team in the nation, by a final score of 62-50.
Basketball analysts stood up and took notice of West Linn's stellar performance in the Les Schwab Invitational. ESPN now has West Linn ranked 16th in the country, while SBLive Sports and Sports Illustrated rank West Linn 17th in the country.
"It's huge," said John McCallum, President of Prime Time Sports, organizer of the Les Schwab Invitational. "It's a credit to the coaching staff, the kids playing hard and not backing down no matter what they're ranked or where they're coming from. It really put our state on the map and that's the goal of the tournament in the first place."
According to McCallum, this is the first time since 2012 that a local team has won the Les Schwab Invitational. Lake Oswego won in 2012.
The team's online schedule has them playing an away game against Nelson High School on Tuesday, followed by home games against Jesuit High School and Cleveland over the next two Fridays.