Basketball Game Preview: North Eugene Highlanders vs. Crescent Valley Raiders

The North Eugene Highlanders will venture away from home to take on the Crescent Valley Raiders at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. North Eugene knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five matchups -- so hopefully Crescent Valley likes a good challenge.

Last Tuesday, North Eugene was able to grind out a solid victory over Springfield, taking the game 74-61. The win continues a trend for the Highlanders in their matchups with the Millers: they've now won seven in a row.

Damon Keith

Blocked Shots (Career)

02/25/25 vs Springfield	8
12/13/24 @ Lebanon	4
12/06/24 @ Newberg	4
01/10/25 vs Crater	3
12/17/24 @ Putnam	3

Damon Keith was nothing short of spectacular: he went 10-for-15 to rack up 27 points along with eight blocks and seven rebounds. Those eight blocks gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Grant Harris, who shot 50% from the field on his way to 12 points in addition to six boards and three steals.

Meanwhile, it's playoff time, and Crescent Valley had no trouble coming through when it counted. They came out on top against Central by a score of 49-37 on Tuesday. Given the Raiders' advantage in MaxPreps' Oregon basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while the Panthers are ranked 146th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

North Eugene pushed their record up to 16-8 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.8 points over those games. As for Crescent Valley, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven games. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-6 record this season.

North Eugene came up short against Crescent Valley in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, falling 55-42. Can North Eugene avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.