Crater goes cold in 5A boys state quarterfinal loss
Published 9:59 pm Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Ninth-seeded Comets suffer setback against No. 1 Crook County in first tourney showing in 4 years
Shooting woes from the field and an inability to keep top-seeded Crook County off the glass proved costly for No. 9 Crater in a 66-36 setback during the opening game of the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament in McMinnville.
The Comets (19-7) had entered the tournament on the rise with resounding wins over Springfield and Wilsonville to close the regular season and begin the state playoffs, respectively, but dug an early hole Wednesday in which they could not recover at Linfield University.
A 3-for-14 showing from the field by Crater in the first quarter allowed Crook County (25-1) to build an 18-6 lead, and the Cowboys produced 31 second-chance points overall during the state quarterfinal.
Senior wing Julien Grant provided the steadiest of hands for the Comets, knocking down 6 of 13 shots from the field to record 16 points along with three rebounds.
Crater shot 15.4% from 3-point range (4-for-26) and 25% overall (13-for-52) in its first appearance at the final site in four years, and first time since the tournament was moved to McMinnville.
Tucker Hopkins finished with seven points, Andrew Smith added five points and seven rebounds and Gobind Khalsa had four rebounds and three blocks for the Comets. Crater finished with a season-low three assists compared to 16 by the Cowboys, and was outrebounded by a 44-27 margin.
Jace Jonas had 24 points and three steals and Bryce Lowenbach collected 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for Crook County. The Cowboys shot 49% from the field (26-for-53) and never trailed in the contest.
With the loss, Crater moved to a consolation semifinal matchup at 9 a.m. Thursday against No. 4 Thurston, which lost 69-65 to No. 5 Summit in its tournament opener. The Colts (20-6) won both Midwestern League games between the teams during the regular season, 68-45 and 69-45.
Crater 6 11 10 9 — 36
Crook County 18 9 17 22 — 66
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035