One season removed from a winless campaign, the Gervais boys basketball team turned a corner this year, snapping a 29-game losing streak and remaining in league playoff contention for much of the regular season until bowing out in the final week.

The Cougars (7-18, 4-12 Tri-River Conference) finished sixth in the final Tri-River standings, placing junior Michael Toran and Auggie Guido on the all-conference team.

A 6-4 post, Guido was the Cougars' leading rebounder in the team's 16 league games, pulling down 7.8 boards per contest. That includes a team-high 42 offensive rebounds, accounting for 36 percent of Guido's work under the basket.

Guido also was second on the team with 18 blocks (1.2 per game), led the Cougars with 58 trips to the free throw line and was third on the team with 98 points — 6.5 per game.

In his first year as a starter, Toran developed into a dependable offensive option from the winning, pouring in 8.0 points per game — second on the team in league play. Toran led the team in scoring in the final six games of the season with the departure of leading scorer Alex Kalugin, and put up 12 points per game in the final four contests — including 19 against Colton and 18 in the season finale against Delphian.

Toran led the Cougars with 13 three-pointers and an all-around game that included 16 blocks (1.1 per game), 13 steals (0.93 per game), 11 assists (0.79 per game) and 63 rebounds (4.5 per game).

Gervais also saw positive contributions from senior Daniel Hernandez, who led the team with 62 assists (4.1 per game) and junior Brian Limage, who blocked a team-high 40 shots (2.9 per game) and pulled down 96 rebounds (6.9/game) in 14 contests.

2019-20 Tri-River Conference Boys Basketball All-Conference Teams

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Payton Richardson, 12, Western Christian

Coach of the Year

Gary Hull, Western Christian

FIRST TEAM

Payton Richardson, 12, Western Christian

Alex Nicoli, 12, Western Christian

Luke Hall, 12, Kennedy

Chaz Storm, 10, Santiam

Coltin Thurston, 12, Santiam

DeEldon Paulk, 12, Sheridan

SECOND TEAM

Bruce Beyer, 12, Kennedy

Riley Cantu, 10, Kennedy

Ethan Halgren, 12, Western Christian

Ezra Downey, 9, Santiam

Luke Spinelli, 11, Culver

Wyatt Earle, 12, Colton

THIRD TEAM

Wyatt Schultz, 12, Sheridan

Isaac Padilla, 12, Sheridan

Cord Gomes, 12, Culver

Brayden Hopper, 12, Western Christian

Hunter Reeser, 12, Santiam

Brady Traeger, 11, Kennedy

HONORABLE MENTION

Michael Toran, 11, Gervais

Auggie Guido, 11, Gervais

Owen Rappoport, 11, Delphian

Louis Luo, 11, Delphian

Jordan Val Alstyne, 12, Culver

Cody Tiano, 11, Colton

Tyron Vanderhoof, 11, Western Christian

Trajan Carlos, 12, Chemawa

Tevin Black, 11, Chemawa

Taylor Huffman, 12, Sheridan

By Phil Hawkins
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