PORTLAND, Ore. — Central Catholic rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat Roosevelt 85-76 on Saturday in the 6A boys basketball state championship game, capturing its first title since 1994.
Owen Nathan hit a 3-pointer to put Roosevelt (28-2) up 40-27 with 1:54 left in the first half, but Central Catholic (28-3) cut the lead to seven by halftime, 43-36. The Rams outscored Roosevelt 30-8 in the third quarter, using a late 16-1 run to take a 15-point lead, 66-51, into the fourth quarter. Central Catholic led by as many as 18 in the final quarter before eventually winning by nine.
"Our theme over this [season] is champions find a way," said Central Catholic head coach David Blue. "They put it on paper at the beginning of the year and they lived it. It's not something they did, but they lived for the last four or five months, making sure they're playing for each other and not for themselves. When you play connected, good things happen."
BOX SCORE: Central Catholic 85, Roosevelt 76
Junior guard Isaac Carr, a University of Oregon commit, led the Rams with 26 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. After the game, he predicted the Rams would defend their championship next season.
"These types of moments are just things you dream about as a little kid," Carr said. "To be in this moment and get it done with this group of guys, it's an amazing feeling. We're going back-to-back; we're going to do it next year too."
Sophomore guard Zamir Paschal had 21 points and seven rebounds for Central Catholic.
"We knew coming into the playoffs that we were the best team in Oregon because we haven't lost to an Oregon team, so I was glad that we were able to show that," Paschal said. "We stayed working hard behind closed doors, so I'm just glad we were able to show it right here."
Senior forward Marley Zeller, a Pepperdine commit, added 11 points and sophomore guard Robbie Long had 10 points off the bench for the Rams.
After the game, Zeller talked about what two state championships over the past few months, in basketball and football, have meant to the community.
"It's history. I forget when the last time a school has won football and basketball in the same year," Zeller said. "It just means a lot to the community and the support from the fans and everything, it just means a lot. It feels great."
Roosevelt was paced by senior guard Terrence Hill Jr., who hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Nathan, a junior guard, had 15 points, senior guard Utrillo Morris added 14 and senior guard Chance White scored 12 for the Roughriders.
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