MATHIS, PRITCHARD REFLECT ON BROTHERLY BOND, BASKETBALL AND REUNITING AT OREGON

Anthony Mathis and Payton Pritchard are more than teammates, more than high school buddies and more than lifelong best friends.

They're brothers.

Thrive.

True for anyone with a brother.

Some of us that don't have best friends that we call our brothers.

But if you ask oregon's payton pritchard and anthony mathis...it doesn't compare to being true brothers.

Like they are.

Payton pritchard: he's not just...wasn't just my teammate or a friend growing up.

I hear all the time 'oh lifelong friends'... no i don't think people understand it was like we lived together.

Everyday he was permanent in our house.

It wasn't just a friendship.

It was brothers.

We fought like brothers.

Loved like brothers.

It's only right that the bond of brotherhood between oregon's payton pritchard and anthony mathis started on a basketball court...all the way back in the elementary school days.

Anthony mathis: their team just killed us by 30 and i remember at halftime i was balling my eyes out because we were losing so bad and my mom was like 'you need to stop.

You need to get your act together.'

And after that game his dad asked me to come play with their aau team and that's how i started playing for fast.

But towards the end of middle school, a job offer in wyoming for mathis' mom presented a fork in the road for young anthony.

Anthony: she sat me down and said we're going to gillette, you can either stay here with the pritchards or you can come where it's probably not gonna be great basketball.

Payton: and it was just a better opportunity for school and for sports to move with us and he was already with us.

Anthony: the pritchards were obviously there for me so much and they gave me my own room and all that.

Payton: my parents became his legal guardians over that time and he just moved in fully.

Now living like brothers, they, along with the pritchard parents had to get used to what it means to have brothers in the house.

Andrew haubner: what was home life like with him there and what did you fight over?

Payton: we fought like any other brothers over video games.

Anthony: i can't remember if it was me beating him or his dad.

Payton: i mean when you're growing up you fight for no reason at times.

Anthony: his mom comes in and unplugs it and i said 'do you need help moving something?'

And she's like 'no i'm fine.

She takes it out, unplugs it, gives it over her head and throws it on the ground.

Payton: my mom broke the xbox.

Anthony: she grabs a hammer and starts smashing it.

Payton: so yeah...it was just like that.

Anthony: so we had no xbox for a month and then christmas came.

Funny stories aside, both pritchard and mathis found their way in basketball, winning three straight titles at west linn.

When anthony headed to new mexico to play college ball, payton won a fourth straight before heading to eugene.

Payton: there was no other drama, there was no stats involved.

Just playing with the fun of it, with your boys.

They stayed in close contact throughout their college careers.

And when payton returned to oregon for one last season, anthony, with an extra yer of eligibilty, hatched a plan.

Payton: we knew that he was gonna get an extra year, it was kind of advanced.

Kind of in the works.

Anthony: if it can happen, i'm gonna make it happen.

I'm not gonna take any other visits.

I'm just gonna come here and get to work.

So the brothers donned the oregon jersey, and the bond became abundantly clear to anyone watching them play.

Payton: i think that part about brothers is you just know when they're off and on emotional.

Anthony: i know that just from looking at him and i'm sure he can see the same thing in me.

Anthony was second in the pac-12 in three percentage and now holds the matthew knight arena record for three pointers made.

Payton was named the bob cousy point guard of the year and the first ap all-american in program history.

Payton: when it comes to brothers you want the best for your brother.

You want him to be so successful and his dreams come true.

I think that's what helped him the most.

Anthony:it's just fun because sometimes, i'm just like, it's super cool to see.

I just start thinking about the times we were in the gym together in high school, middle school, everything so it's super cool to see.

Their final game in their home state, what would be the final game of their college careers...ended like their time in west linn.

Cutting down nets, and being named champions.

Nats brothers then, brothers now, brothers always.

Anthony: i think it's funny because they don't really know the history.

They think they know the history.

We're not just friends, we're more than brothers for sure.

Payton: we know it's the end for us playing together unless something crazy happens at the next level but this has been one heck of a ride that we'll always remember.

And our kids will know about it and all of west linn.