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Sports Local Sports Badgers fend off courageous Cougars
Badgers fend off courageous Cougars
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 BEWARE OF THE BADGER: Justin Allen drives to the basket Friday versus Wallowa. Allen would finish the game with 14 points — one of four Badgers who finished in double-digit scoring. - The Observer/BRUCE MASON Sixteen points for Powder. Two for Wallowa. This Top-10 1A boys basketball team was going to blow Wallowa out of the gym like a Ladd Canyon wind gust, right? Wrong. Powder prevailed Saturday, 63-53, fighting off Wallowa until the final minutes, escaping a valiant comeback from its Old Oregon League foe. “Kind of unbelievable,” Powder coach Kyle Dixon said about watching that 16-2 first-quarter lead translate into an eventual tie game. “I thought we had them at the start. “When you let a team like that back in, it’s going to be a war.” It was. And the Cougars’ Dalton Weaver was the Commander-in-Chief. Here was Weaver, knocking down two triples, scoring 12 points in that second quarter, allowing his Cougars to lift their heads out of that hole and catch a glimpse of daylight. At halftime, they trailed by two. Early in the third quarter, they were out of that hole altogether, standing on ground level. Tie game. New contest. Maybe Wallowa would walk out of North Powder victorious after all. Not so fast, said The Powder Big Fella. That would be Pratt, who came alive offensively in the second half. He grabbed rebounds. He went strong to the basket. He was the X-Factor on a team with multiple weapons. “They have so many guys that can score,” Wallowa coach Kyle Burnett said. “When you have one guy inside that you can’t control, it makes it really tough.” Powder freshman Trenton Dixon agrees. “We want to get the ball to (Pratt) as much as we can — have him score as much as we can,” said Dixon, who chipped in 15 points — one of four Badgers in double-digit scoring. “He’s our bread and butter when we get in close games like this.” Expect more of these close games in this Old Oregon League. Need proof? Just listen to Conro. “I think we have one of the toughest leagues in the state,” Conro said while standing in street clothes just minutes after the Badger faithful cleared the small gymnasium. “It will be a tough season, that’s for sure.”
Wilson 1 0-0 3, Harshfield 6 0-0 15, McKenzie 0 0-0 0, Waters 0 0-0 0, Jamerson 4 0-0 8, Mahon 2 2-4 8, Shelton 1 0-0 2, King 0 0-0 0, Both 0 0-0 0, Gladden 1 0-0 2, Evans 0 0-0 0, Weaver 6 0-0 15. Totals 21 2-4 53. POWDER VALLEY (63) Dixon 7 1-5 15, Pratt 6 1-4 13, Allen 5 2-3 14, Conro 7 0-0 15, Stephens 1 2-2 4, W.Kandle 1 0-0 2, Jo.Brown 0 0-0 0, Je.Brown 0 0-0 0, B. Kandle 0 0-0 0, G.Kandle 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 6-14 63. Wallowa 8 19 12 14 – 53 Powder Valley 16 13 17 17 – 63 3-point goals: Wallowa, Harshfield 3, Mahon 2, Wilson. Powder Valley, Allen 2, Conro.
Elgin falls to HeppnerHEPPNER — Turnovers. They can turn the tide in any game, digging teams into an insurmountable hole. Elgin learned just that Saturday in a 65-41 loss to Heppner, as it dropped to 1-11. “To me, I think we just beat ourselves,” Elgin coach Casey Hallgarth said. “Turnovers is what killed us. If we don’t fix that problem, it’s going to be a long season.” Elgin hosts Union at 7:30 p.m. Friday. ELGIN (41) Predmore 2 0-2 4, Naughton 2 0-0 4, Da.Moore 1 1-2 3, Crawford 5 0-2 10, Hardy 2 0-0 4, G.Clark 3 2-2 9, Di.Moore 2 0-0 5, Miller 0 2-2 2. Totals 17 5-10 41. HEPPNER (65) Holland 2 0-0 6, Eckman 4 0-1 10, Huddleston 4 5-6 14, Bailey 3 1-1 7, Rauch 4 0-3 8, VanCleave 0 0-1 0, Elguezebal 8 3-6 19, Britt 0 1-2 1. Totals 25 10-18 65 Elgin 8 9 15 9 – 41 Heppner 12 22 15 16 – 65 3-point goals: Elgin, Clark, Di.Moore; Heppner, Holland 2, Eckman 2, Huddleston.
Imbler loses to UmatillaUMATILLA— This time, it wasn’t Umatilla’s Steve Williams who damaged Imbler basketball. It was Levi Russell, Casey Pankey and free-throw shooting. As a result, Imbler lost, 70-58. But it wasn’t because of a lack of effort. Dalton McDaniel continued his productive season — he scored 23 — and Bryan Mills scored 16. Imbler coach Jarod Teeter called it a “good final tune-up going into league,” adding he was “happy” with the Panthers’ performance. Imbler (6-5) plays at Wallowa at 7:30 p.m. Friday
Bridge 0 0-0 0, Thompson 2 0-2 4, Peterson 1 0-0 2, White 1 0-0 2, McIntosh 2 3-4 7, West 1 0-5 2, West 1 0-5 2, Mills 6 1-2 16, Ricker 1 0-0 2, McDaniel 11 1-6 23. Totals 26 5-19 58. UMATILLA (70) Russell 5 6-6 18, Williams 4 0-0 12, Stice 0 0-0 0, Johnston 2 2-2 6, Bursell 1 0-2 2, Crenson 4 0-0 8, Pankey 11 2-4 24. Totals 27 10-14 70. Imbler 17 12 14 15 – 58 Umatilla 15 15 18 22 – 70 3-point goals: Imbler, Mills 3; Umatilla, Williams 4, Russell 2.
Union defeats IrrigonUNION — Union overcame an aerial assault from Irrigon to win 72-64 Saturday. The Knights connected on seven three-point goals, but the Bobcats returned fire with a balanced scoring attack. Four Union players reached double figures. Bobcats head coach Brett Dunten said he got the effort he needed from his team. “The boys came out very strong,” Dunten said. “We had to have a good effort against (Irrigon) and that’s what the boys gave tonight.” Zach Kimball paced Union with 17 points. Kyle O’Brien and Kaden Titus scored 12 points apiece. Union will travel to Pilot Rock Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Burns 3 1-2 9, Nunn 8 6-8 23, Osbourne 2 1-2 6, Taylor 0 0-0 0, Estrada 0 0-0 0, Hotel 5 0-0 11, Munez 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 13-20 64. UNION (72) Bennett 0 0-0 0, O'Brien 5 2-4 12, Titus 3 3-4 12, Bra. Savely 3 2-4 8, Bri. Savely 5 1-2 11, Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Kimball 6 4-4 17, Langford 4 0-0 8, J. Stout 0 0-0, Warren 0 0-0, Griffths 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 12-18 72. Irrigon 10 18 16 20 – 64 Union 22 13 17 20 – 72 3-point goals: Irrigon, Burns 2, Nunn, Osbourne, Hotel, White 2; Union, Titus 3, Kimball. |
