St. Johns at Portland – – Boys Basketball – – The Bleacher Denizen – – December 2, 2025 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile will be pointed at Portland High, where the hometown Raiders will host the Redwings from St. Johns in the season opener for both teams. I got to the gym in plenty of time to see the JV game and to interview the coaches.

Portland Coach Luke Pohl provided me with this information about his players. Owen Moore is a tall guard who has the height and agility to play any of the five positions well. He has a strong basketball IQ, as well as an excellent three point shot and defends well either on the perimeter or near the basket. Tej Virk is an excellent ball handler with a nice three point shot and the ability to shoot an accurate jump shot off the dribble.

Carter White and Ethan Cassel are tough post defenders and rebounders who are also a threat from the three point line. Carson Simon handles the ball well and has a solid three point shot. Brady Rowe and Liam Wolfe provide tough perimeter defense. Keyhan Page is an excellent athlete who defends the post well. Joe Nobis and Sawyer Rockey bring good ball handling and a fine basketball IQ to the Portland backcourt.

St. Johns Coach Nate Wade provided this information about his Redwing players. Hunter Kinkema is a fine point guard who is an excellent ball handler and can get to the basket to score. Bryce Pratl is a versatile player who can defend the perimeter or the post well; he is also a threat to score either on slashes to the basket or shots from the three point line. Tyler Priest is a fine three point shooter. Conner Kurncz is an athletic forward who rebounds well; he scores on slashes to the basket or on putbacks.

Aidan Wirth and Dave Thelen are fine scorers, defenders and rebounders in the post. Titus Konieczny gives the Redwings an additional threat from the three point line.

In the JV game, St. Johns got out to a 27-2 lead after one quarter and won by the final score of 52-17.

Lucas Kincaid led the Portland JVs with 9 points. Ryder Peiffer scored 3 points. Blake Sandborn and Aaron Martinson each added 2 points. Derek Marowelli tallied 1 point.

Jack Crowley led the victorious St. Johns JVs with 11 points. Lucas McCastle and Brady Martinez each supported him with 8 points. Brayden Cook tossed in 7 points and Brody Kurncz added 6 points. Ian Beltran and Max Munger each put in 4 points. Cale Boak and Matthew Pittman each had 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally alert eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play basketball in the days of yore! While your Bleacher Denizen liked to take a creative approach when passing the basketball, his coach believed he should discriminate and only throw the ball to others wearing the same uniform as me. When I asserted my right to creativity, the coach asserted his right to have me sit and watch others play.

Portland wins the opening tap. The Raiders miss a three point shot from the side. Ethan Cassel hits a putback to give Portland the first two points of the game. St. Johns misses a short jump shot. Carter White passes to Owen Moore, who drains a three pointer from the corner to give the Raiders a 5-0 lead.

Carter White draws a charging foul from the Redwings. Portland misfires on a threeball from the wing. Hunter Kinkema drives and hits a layup for the Redwings. Portland misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the wing. St. Johns misses a driving layup. Tyler Priest gets the offensive rebound and drives to the basket for a Redwing layup. Portland misfires on a triple try from the side. Bryce Pratl hits a two point jumper to give St. Johns a 6-5 lead.

Portland misses a three pointer from the corner. Carson Simon pulls down the offensive rebound for the Raiders. The Raiders miss a layup. St. Johns misses a ten footer off the dribble in the lane. Owen Moore throws in a threeball from the side to give Portland an 8-6 lead.

Tej Virk knocks a pass out of bounds; St. Johns retains possession. Bryce Pratl drives and hits an eight foot banked shot for St. Johns to tie the game. Portland misses a three pointer from the wing. Ethan Cassel gets the offensive rebound for the Raiders. The ball is tied up although your aging Bleacher Denizen manages not to see why. The Possession Arrow summons its legal committee and decrees that the ball shall be awarded to St. Johns. Tyler Priest hits a threeball from the side to give St. Johns an 11-8 lead.

Portland misses a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Kunter Kinkema drives and hits a layup for the Redwings. Portland is whistled for a traveling violation. Keyhan Page blocks a Redwing layup. Portland misses a fast break layup. Tej Virk steals a Redwing pass. Ethan Cassel passes to a Raider teammate, who is fouled on an eight footer from the baseline but misses both his free throws. With 52.5 seconds left in the first quarter, St. Johns has a 13-8 lead.

St. Johns misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Bryce Pratl snares the offensive rebound for the Redwings. St. Johns watches as a threeball from the side goes in and out of the basket. Portland misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Johns misses a buzzer heave.

After one quarter, St. Johns holds a 13-8 lead.

Portland inbound the ball to open the second quarter. Carson Simon passes to Tej Virk, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Portland. St. Johns misses a layup. Owen Moore passes to Carson Simon, who hits a three pointer from the wing for Portland to tie the game at 13-13.

Keyhan Page’s tough defense forces a St. Johns traveling violation under the basket. Portland misses a layup. St. Johns misses a driving layup; the rebound is tied up. The Possession Arrow checks with its Legal Department and decides to award the ball to St. Johns. Conner Kurncz drives and hits an eight foot shot to give the lead back to St. Johns. Hunter Kinkema steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give St. Johns a 17-15 lead.

Tyler Priest blocks a Portland layup. St. Johns misses a layup. Portland misses a three point shot from the wing. St. Johns misses a threeball from the top of the key. Aidan Wirth grabs the offensive rebound for the Redwings. St. Johns misses a three pointer near the top of the key. Portland misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. St. Johns misses a driving layup. Portland misses a threeball from the corner. St. Johns misses a threeball from the wing.

Portland misses a driving layup. St. Johns misses a driving six foot banked shot from the side. Portland drives the baseline and misses a layup. Carter White gets the offensive rebound for the Raiders. Portland is fouled on a layup, but misses two free throws. With 1:30 remaining in the second quarter, St. Johns holds a 17-13 lead.

St. Johns double dribbles and turns the ball over. Portland misses a driving eight foot shot from the side and gets the offensive rebound. The Raiders miss a three point shot from the corner. Liam Wolfe steals the ball for Portland. Hunter Kinkema steals the ball for St. Johns and hits a layup. Owen Moore is fouled on a three point attempt with 1.2 seconds to go in the half and hits two of his three free throws. St. Johns misses a long heave at the buzzer. (To be accurate, the ball was heaved at the BASKET, but basketball cliches prevail in this blog.)

At halftime, St. Johns holds a 19-15 lead.

Owen Moore leads the Portland scoring with 8 points and Carson Simon has 3 points.

Hunter Kinkema leads the Redwing scoring with 8 points. Tyler Priest has 5 points and Bryce Pratl has 4 points.

St. Johns throws the ball inbounds to open quarter number three. The Redwings miss a driving layup. Portland misses a layup. Ethan Cassel gets his hand on the ball and St. Johns loses it out of bounds. Portland misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Portland gets another opportunity. Tej Virk passes to Owen Moore, who hits a layup for the Raiders to trim the Redwing lead to 19-17.

St. Johns misses a layup. Portland fouls on the rebound. St. Johns misses a three point shot from the wing. Ethan Cassel passes to Owen Moore, who hits a three point shot from the wing to give Portland a one point lead. Conner Kurncz hits a nice up and under layup for St. Johns to give the lead back to the Redwings. Portland misses a threeball from the wing. St. Johns reciprocates and misses a threeball from the wing. Tej Virk drives and hits a layup to give Portland a 22-21 lead.

Bryce Pratl drives and hits a layup to retake the lead for St. Johns. Owen Moore hits a three point shot from the side to give the lead back to Portland. St. Johns misses a twelve foot shot from the side. Portland is charged with an offensive foul. St. Johns misses a driving layup. Carson Simon passes to Tej Virk, who hits a left handed layup for Portland. Keyhan Page steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to give Portland a 29-23 lead.

Bryce Pratl drives and hits a layup for the Redwngs. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw. With 2:46 left in quarter number three, Portland’s lead is at 29-26.

Owen Moore passes to Tej Virk, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Raiders. St. Johns loses the ball out of bounds. Portland misses a three point attempt from the wing. St. Johns travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. You don’t exactly hear much about traveling without the ball – – -) While the Bleacher Denizen muses about semantics, Portland misses a threeball from the side. St. Johns fouls on the rebound. Brady Rowe drives and dishes the ball to Ethan Cassel, who drains a threeball from the corner to boost the Raider lead to 35-26.

Bryce Pratl hits a layup for St. Johns. Portland misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Owen Moore steals the ball and passes to Ethan Cassel, who hits a fast break layup for the Raiders. Tej Virk steals the ball for Portland. Ethan Cassel passes to Tej Virk, who hits a threeball from the wing as the third quarter buzzer makes its presence known.

After three quarters, Portland has a 40-28 lead.

Portland has the ball to open the final quarter. The Raiders miss a threeball near the top of the key and foul on the rebound. Kunter Kinkema drives and hits a layup for St. Johns. Ethan Cassel spins and hits an eight foot banked shot for Portland. Brayden Cook inbounds the ball to Hunter Kinkema, who hits a layup for the Redwings.

Portland misses a three point shot from the wing. Dave Thelen hits a fast break layup for the Redwings. Portland misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. Bryce Pratl drives and hits a fast break layup. He is fouled on the play and his free throw to chop the Portland lead to 42-37 with 5:13 left on the clock.

Portland misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Hunter Kinkema drives and hits a layup for St. Johns. Hunter Kinkema steals the ball and hits a fast break layup to cut Portland’s lead to one point. Dave Thelen and Bryce Pratl team up to knock the ball out of bounds, but Portland retains possession. The Raiders miss a threeball from the wing. Ethan Cassel gets the offensive rebound. Portland misses a three pointer from the wing. Tej Virk hits a putback to give Portland a 44-41 lead.

St. Johns misses a three point attempt from the side. Dave Thelen steals the ball and hits a layup to cut the Portland lead back to one point. St. Johns plays fierce defense and Portland turns the ball over for failing to inbound the ball in five seconds. Portland plays fierce defense and St. Johns is forced to call timeout to avoid turning the ball over for the same reason. St. Johns drives in and shoots a layup that spins in and out of the basket. Tej Virk hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble in the lane to give Portland a 46-43 lead.

Carson Simon knocks the ball away from St. Johns and Ethan Cassel grabs it for Portland. Tej Virk is fouled and hits two free throws to boost the Raider lead to 48-43 with 58.8 seconds remaining.

Conner Kurncz passes to Tyler Priest, who hits a three point shot from the wing to pull St. Johns to within two points. Aidan Wirth steals the ball and passes to Conner Kurncz, who hits a fast break layup to tie the game at 48-48 with about a half minute to play in regulation.

Tej Virk is fouled and hits one of his two free throws with 17.2 seconds to play to give Portland a 49-48 lead. St. Johns inbounds the ball with an opportunity to win the game if they score a basket, but the Redwings miss an eight foot shot off the dribble. Time expires before either team can get the rebound.

Portland wins its season opener by the final score of 49-48. Kudos to both these teams for playing and inspired game and never giving up!!

Bryce Pratl and Hunter Kinkema led the St. Johns scoring with 16 points each. Tyler Priest contributed 8 points. Conner Kurncz and Dave Thelen each scored 4 points.

Tej Virk led the Portland scoring with 19 points. Owen Moore joined his teammate in double figures with 16 points. Ethan Cassel helped out with 9 points. Carson Simon scored 3 points and Keyhan Page added 2 points.