With only defending champ Oakland and Western Mennonite returning from last year, the majority of players in this year's 2A boys tournament will be making their first appearance on the Convention Center court. Challenging the Oakers and Pioneers are three strong SCL teams, a former TRICO team, a team that won its first ever 2A playoff game last Friday and yet another scrappy Knappa squad.

OregonPrepSports.net will provide coverage of the entire 2A boys tournament, beginning Wednesday, February 28. Here we take a look at the four quarterfinal bracket games that will quickly separate the bracket in two.

Trivia: When was the last time a SCL team won the 2A championship? Answer inside at end of preview.

Blanchet Catholic (17-9) vs. #7 Knappa (18-9) - 1:30 pm

The tournament opens with a game between one school making its first-ever Pendleton appearance against one of 2A's all-time most successful programs.

Blanchet Catholic arrives as the Tri-River Conference (TRC) #2 seed following a 101-70 first-round win over Central Linn, the only 2A school to surrender more than 2000 points this season. The win over the Cobras also marked Blanchet Catholic's first-ever OSAA playoff win at the 2A level since the school was founded in 1995. The Cavaliers took home a 4^th place trophy in 2001 in the 1A tournament. Blanchet Catholic is led by senior Andrew Lutz, a 1^st team TRC pick. Lutz has plenty of help from Max Goodman, Jason Espinoza and 6'7" senior post Kyle Smith.

Knappa spent most of this season playing in the shadow of Portland Christian, which won the Northwest League (NWL), beating the Loggers twice in the regular season. But 2^nd-place Knappa knocked off the Royals, 58-57, in the district finals to capture the NWL #1 seed. Playing at home in the first round, Knappa rode NWL 1^st team selection Ryan Isom's nine 3-pointers to a 84-67 win over Heppner to advance to Pendleton for the first time since 2001, when the Loggers finished 7^th. Although none of this year's players have ever played on the Convention Center court, Knappa has one of 2A's richest playoff traditions, with six 2A titles in the school's history. Coach Craig Cokley's Knappa teams consistently earn the respect of opponents and fans alike for their old school work ethic, which includes among other things, players raising a hand when whistled for a foul with no back talk to officials.

#3 Cascade Christian (22-4) vs. Monroe (21-7) - 3:15 pm

The best of the SCL's three tournament teams meets the MVC's runner up. Each has at least one thing in common: they both lost to defending champ Oakland in the regular season.

Cascade Christian looks to add a 2A basketball championship to its 2006 football title before moving up to 3A next year. The Challengers finished tied with Bonanza atop the Southern Cascade League (SCL) at 9-1, but beat the Antlers in the district seeding game. In the first round, CCHS eliminated Kennedy (TRC #3), 65-49, to make its first trip to Pendleton since 2002 when the Challengers finished 8^th. Seniors Josh Heidegger and Andrew Shipley lead a balanced Challenger attack. Cascade Christian lost to only two 2A teams: at Oakland and at Bonanza. With the Oakers and Antlers in the bottom half of the bracket, Cascade Christian may get the opportunity for a rematch against one of them on March 3.

Monroe also tied for its conference lead, finishing 14-2 with Oakland in the Mountain View Conference (MVC). But the Dragons lost to the Oakers in the MVC seeding game and had to travel to Pilot Rock (BMC #2) in the first round. Monroe rocked the Rockets, 70-55, behind a stellar performance by junior Brody McGowan to make the Pendleton bracket for the first time since 2000. The Dragons have won nine of their last ten games and have lost to only three 2A schools: Blanchet, Oakland and Central Linn. Monroe's top player is senior Alex Demaris, a TRICO 2^nd team selection last year and contender for MVC POY this season.

#1 Western Mennonite (25-2) vs. #5 Bonanza (22-4) - 6:30 pm

The best first round game features the top-ranked Pioneers against the best #2 seed in the bracket. Also on the line is the state 2A POY, which will come from a team that finishes on the "right side" of the bracket.

Western Mennonite finished the 2006-07 season ranked at or near #1 in every coaches' poll and joins Oakland as the only returning team from last year's tournament. Western Mennonite has the smallest ADM of the eight participating schools, but boasts the best overall record at 25-2. The Pioneers are undefeated (19-0) against 2A schools and have won their last 15 games, the most recent of which was a first round 82-62 drubbing of Weston-McEwen. Western Mennonite features 2A's best guard combination in seniors Mike Woodard (TRC POY) and Bryan Martin. Woodard is a leading contender for 2007 2A POY and was named to last year's All-Tournament 2^nd Team.

Bonanza is the tournament's best #2 seed with a SCL co-championship and 22-4 overall record. The Antlers tied with Cascade Christian atop the SCL at 9-1, but dropped a 48-44 district seeding game to the Challengers. But Bonanza still reaped a first round home game against Portland Christian and beat the Royals, 69-44, to reach Pendleton for the first time since 2004. Bonanza was undefeated at home this year, and lost its four games away from its tiny court and raucous gym. The well-balanced Antlers are led by senior Kyle Gomez, the 2006 2A football Offensive POY, who is on a short list of 2A basketball POY's in this tournament. Although team success is the goal and should be the focus, it is highly unlikely that the 2A POY for 2007 will come from the loser of this game.

St. Mary's (17-7) vs. #6 Oakland (21-5) - 8:15 pm.

Wednesday's nightcap game pits yet another SCL team against the defending 2A state champs in what appears to be the mismatch of the day. But as the cliché goes, appearances can indeed be misleading.

St. Mary's has lost seven games this year - to three playoff teams. The Crusaders lost four games to Bonanza, two games to Cascade Christian and once to 3A powerhouse Valley Catholic. Finishing 3^rd in the SCL behind CCHS and Bonanza, the Crusaders ventured to #9 Union in the first round. The Bobcats were 21-4, BMC champs, undefeated at home, and riding 2A's longest winning streak at 16 games. In other words, St. Mary's at Union appeared to be a total mismatch. After the Crusader's shocked Union, 79-67, St. Mary's now returns to Pendleton for the first time since 2005 and faces the defending champs in another "obvious" mismatch.

Oakland, the MVC #1 seed, and Western Mennonite are the only returning teams from last year's tournament. The Oakers graduated 2006 2A POY Danny Derry, but simply reloaded and racked up a 21-5 record that includes nonleague wins over Cascade Christian and Bonanza. In Friday's first round, the Oakers broke a 24-24 halftime score to eliminate DeLaSalle (NWL #3), 59-40. Oakland may not produce another POY this season, but coach Jeff Clark's balanced Oakers have plenty of weapons in Andrew Young, Anthony Fisher and Matt Dickson.

Trivia Answer: In 1993 St. Mary's def. Monroe, 72-49, to win the state title.