The best 3A basketball teams in the state are in the Bay Area for a three-day state tournament that gets underway this afternoon at both Marshfield and North Bend high schools. Defending champions Blanchet Catholic (Salem) girls return, as does the boy’s champion Dayton. Championship quarter-final games for the girls begin at 1:30 p.m. at NBHS. Nyssa plays Salem Academy; at 3:15 p.m., Blanchet Catholic plays Clatskanie; 6:30 p.m., Creswell vs. Rainier; and, 8:15 p.m., Coquille and Dayton. The boy’s quarter-final games are at Marshfield. At 1:30 p.m., Horizon Christian, Tualatin takes on Blanchet Catholic (Salem); at 3:15 p.m., Irrigon vs. De La Salle North Catholic (Portland); 6:30 p.m., Oregon Episcopal (Portland) plays Dayton; and, 8:15 p.m., Cascade Christian (Medford) takes on Santiam Christian (Corvallis). Consolation games are Friday morning with the losers of the boy’s First Round games at NBHS, and the losers of the girl’s first round games at MHS. Championship semi-finals will all take place at MHS, as well as the trophy games on Saturday. All of the games are being broadcast over the OSAA Radio Network. Just go to the www.osaa.org website, and go to 3A brackets to listen to the games.
