By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor It seems early 2017 has been pretty good to current and former Maranatha High basketball players. The current day Minutemen paved a path all the way to the CIF-SS Division 1-AA title game, and a berth in the CIF State Division 2 playoffs. And 2015 Maranatha alum, Tyler Dorsey, made […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
It seems early 2017 has been pretty good to current and former Maranatha High basketball players.
The current day Minutemen paved a path all the way to the CIF-SS Division 1-AA title game, and a berth in the CIF State Division 2 playoffs.
And 2015 Maranatha alum, Tyler Dorsey, made himself a household name over the past 9 days.
The Oregon guard led all scorers with 27 points in a 74-60 victory over top-seeded Kansas, Saturday in Kansas City.
The Ducks didn’t just overcome a de facto home game for the Jayhawks, the victory earned Oregon its first spot in the Final Four since 1939.
Dorsey’s 27 points are double his scoring average, and he’s played his best basketball in the tournament.
So far, Dorsey has scored 98 points in four games, and has done so on 33 of 50 shooting, which comes out to a remarkable 66-percent.
Oregon will face the winner of Sunday’s North Carolina-Kentucky game in Phoenix next Saturday evening.
Dorsey led Maranatha to a perfect Olympic League run back in 2015 and a CIF championship, when he averaged 35 points per game.
On Saturday, Oregon saw its 18-point lead drop all the way to 66-60, but Dorsey hit a clutch 3-pointer with less than two minutes to play and all but ended the top-seeded Jayhawks chances.
Heading into the tournament, Dorsey averaged 14 points and 4 rebounds per game, but in the postseason, he’s scoring 25 points per game.
“Tyler is an incredible leader who plays his best in big games,” Maranatha athletic director Brian DeHaan said. “He has the ability to take over a game and did it many times during the CIF championship run he led us on. All of Maranatha watches on proudly and it’s great to have played a small part in Tyler’s incredible journey. Go Ducks!”
Dorsey’s Scoring in NCAA Tournament:
27 points vs Kansas
20 vs Michigan
27 vs Rhode Island
24 vs Iona
Oregon’s NCAA Tournament Run:
3/17: Oregon 93, Iona 77
3/19: Oregon 75, Rhode Island 72
3/23: Oregon 69, Michigan 68
3/25: Oregon 74, Kansas 60
