Sexton Pulls Away Late to Hold Off Portland, 61–56

 Keyshawn Summerville celebrates after the Moneyball tournament in December. Photo by Travis Long | Team TBM.

Portland and Sexton traded punches early in what started as a slow, back-and-forth first quarter. Neither team could find much separation, but Portland finished the opening eight minutes with a slight edge, taking a 14–12 lead after one. Momentum shifted in the second quarter as Sexton began to find its rhythm. Behind multiple scoring runs, Sexton flipped the script and built a steady advantage, outscoring Portland to take a 28–21 lead into halftime.

Portland showed fight coming out of the break. With 4:30 left in the third quarter, Portland guard Tej Virk finished a tough layup to cut the deficit to just three and force a Sexton timeout. The response was immediate. Sexton came out of the break on a quick run, stretching the lead to eight with 2:20 remaining in the quarter and forcing Portland to burn another timeout. Sexton maintained control through the rest of the period, heading into the fourth with a 43–34 advantage.

To start the final quarter, Sexton clearly made an effort to slow the pace and make Portland defend deep into possessions. That approach paid off, as Sexton generated several easy buckets in the paint and knocked down shots around the perimeter. Portland managed to keep the deficit within nine until Sexton connected on a three-pointer followed by a run-out layup to push the lead to 14. The game settled into a quieter stretch until Portland’s Owen Moore provided a spark late, knocking down a pair of triples to cut the lead to eight with 1:39 remaining. Portland continued to battle, draining two more clutch threes in the final minute to pull within five, but the comeback came up short. Despite the late surge, Portland couldn’t overcome Sexton’s control of the second half, falling 61–56 in a hard-fought contest.

Play of the game - Presented by Pit Training League: Near the halfway point of the third quarter, Portland PG Tej Virk scores a tough and one layup to cut the deficit to 3 points. 

Player of the game: Sexton’s heavily recruited PG Keyshawn Summerville with 22 points.

Nathan Fears - Thoughts from behind the Camera: For two teams that primarily score most of their points in the post, they both did a fantastic job scoring outside the arc.

Portland 

Owen Moore - 14 points

Carson Simon - 12 points

Kayden Dickerson - 8 points

Sexton 

Keyshawn Summerville - 22 points

Kivon KJ Brown - 14 points

Willie Brown - 8 points