By Mark Gilman
MaxPreps.com
Oregon's largest high schools begin championship play this week, with Lake Oswego's Kevin Love in a great position to become the state's all-time leading scorer.
The 6-10 post poured in 35 points Saturday in his team's 71-40 win over Gresham in the second round of the OSAA Class 6A basketball playoffs.
Love, headed to UCLA next year, now has 2,541 points-second on Oregon's career scoring list. He is just 43 points shy of tying the 50-year old record held by Bob "Pudgy" Hunt, who set the record for small Knappa High School in 1957.
Love and top-ranked Lake Oswego have a minimum of two games left in the "elite eight" tournament at Mac Court in Eugene. Love is the state's top scorer this season at just under 34 points a contest.
Lake Oswego will face No. 6 Westview in opening round play Thursday in Eugene.
Other teams in the 6A tournament after wins Saturday include Central Valley champion McKay of Salem. The 10th-ranked Scots, making their first tournament appearance in 14 years, will face No. 7 Sheldon in the first game of the tourney.
Other games include third-ranked Jesuit against No. 4 Canby, and second-ranked South Medford against Grant of Portland.
A championship game matchup between Lake Oswego and South Medford would likely be among the biggest games in state history. South Medford knocked off LO in December at the Les Schwab Holiday Invitational in Hillsboro, 71-63, and fans haven't stopped talking about a potential rematch since.
Love's Lakers are 24-1 on the season and ranked No. 9 nationally by MaxPreps, while Duke-bound Kyle Singler and South Medford (25-2) checked in at No. 16.
The 5A boys tournament will also be held simultaneously at Mac Court, but will begin first round play a day earlier on Wednesday.
The 5A opening games include: No. 9 Churchill of Eugene meets No. 7 Roosevelt of Portland: No. 5 Mountain View of Bend will play No. 4 Hillsboro; traditional PIL power Jefferson, ranked third, will match up against second-rated Corvallis, and No. 1 North Eugene faces 10th-ranked Ashland.
The joint tournaments will conclude with championship games on Saturday night.
