Sherwood High School’s boys basketball team continues to dominate the 6A Pacific Conference, maintaining a strong record since joining in the 2018-19 season. The Bowmen have achieved an 84-4 conference record and secured six league titles but have not reached the eight-team 6A state tournament during this period. Their last appearance at a state tournament was in the 5A quarterfinals in 2014.
This year, Sherwood appears well-positioned to advance further than before. The team holds a 13-4 overall record, is undefeated in conference play at 5-0, and ranks No. 7 in the OSAAtoday 6A coaches poll. They currently stand at No. 5 in the power rankings, their highest position since moving to the conference.
“They’re a really close-knit group, and I think that translates big-time to our on-court performance,” said coach Rahim Tufts.
Despite losing three starters from last season, Sherwood returned its top two scorers: senior wing Brody Rygh and junior guard Avery Johnson. Rygh, who is recovering from an ankle injury that limited his preseason practice time, averages 16.1 points per game and recently scored a season-high of 34 points against Summit.
“Brody is a great transition offensive player,” Tufts said. “If we get the board and we’re able to push it, with his length and athleticism, he’s able to get to the rim. He is very talented.”
Johnson leads Sherwood across several categories—scoring (18.2), rebounding (6.4), assists (2.4), and steals (2.2). “He kind of does it all,” Tufts said. “We post him up, and he’s able to take guys off the bounce. He’s really strong. He’s able to use his body to get to the paint. When we swing the ball around, he’s hitting threes, as well.”
Senior Riley DeBorde has taken over point guard duties after serving as a reserve last year; he averages 6.5 points and sets the tone for both offense and defense according to Tufts.
The starting lineup also includes senior center Jonah Furino while other contributors such as Judah Dresser and Nate McArthur rotate into key roles after playing JV last season.
Coach Tufts emphasized physical defense and balanced offense as priorities entering this season: “We needed to figure out ways to share the ball and score in other ways because we knew teams would load up on our two leading scorers,” he said.“The nice thing is we’re an unselfish team.It’s a good brand of basketball.”
Defensively,the Bowmen shifted from last year’s effective zone scheme toward man-to-man coverage due to changes in roster dynamics.“Last year we were longer.We were a very good defensive team.This year we’re quicker,”Tufts explained.
Sherwood learned valuable lessons early; after narrowly losing their opener against Clackamas following late turnovers,the team responded by winning close games against Benson Sunset,and West Linn.“We learned from the Clackamas loss,”Tufts said.“We had composure and poise to execute down the stretch.”
Elsewhere,in Class 3A action Westside Christian rallied from behind for a narrow win over Valley Catholic.Westside Christian overcame a double-digit deficit late,capping their comeback with free throws by Cole Chiong.The victory avenged an earlier loss this month between these top-ranked teams.Cade Hartenstein led Westside Christian with twenty-four points while Michael Mehta paced Valley Catholic with twenty-six points.
In Metro League play Jesuit moved into first place after defeating Westview.Junior Major Williams contributed fourteen points for Jesuit who now lead Southridge by one game.Senior guards Joe Stimpson Sam Curvy,and junior Penny Harrison also made significant contributions for Jesuit which shot fifty-two percent from field.Dashael Nicely Dayton Jenkins led scoring for Westview.
