In the first quarterfinal of the afternoon it was No. 4 Fern Creek taking on their second straight out-of-state opponent in Portland West Linn. The two teams battles to a trio of lead changes in the opening minutes of play before an 11-2 run by West Linn put the Lions firmly in charge. The Tigers countered with their own 6-0 run trailing just 22-20 at the end of one quarter. The Tigers pulled ahead on their first two possessions of the second quarter but couldn't stay ahead for long. The teams swapped the lead two more times with an 8-1 West Linn run sending the Lions to the locker room with a 35-33 lead. Fern Creek tied the score again on their opening possession of the half but couldn't maintain the momentum falling behind 46-39 midway through the quarter. The Lions defense forced a pair of late Fern Creek turnovers extending their lead to as many as nine points in the closing minute of the third quarter. The Tigers pieced together a 7-0 run to begin the final quarter and pull within 52-50. An old fashion three-point play by Clint Wickliffe pulled the game even with 3:43 remaining. West Linn reeled off five straight points on their next two possessions. The Tigers wouldn't quit though as the duo of Wickliffe and Anthony Wales gave the momentum back to Fern Creek scoring seven straight of their own and giving the Tigers a three point lead with 1:14 remaining. West Linn cut the Tigers lead to one point on two different occasions but Fern Creek connected on three of their final four free throws to seal the 68-66 victory and advance to the King of the Bluegrass semifinals for the first time since 1998. Tony Rogers led a balanced Fern Creek attack with 19 points and Clint Wickliffe and Ahmad Price added 15 points apiece. Oregon State football signee Deishon Dawkins once again led the way for West Linn with 15 points.
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