>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

MAKIN A RUN: Joseph senior Corby Makin and his teammates will face Imbler tonight at 6:30 for the Old Oregon District 7-1A championship. - The Observer/BRUCE MASON

Countless lead changes. Heart-stopping moments. Nerve-wracking momentum swings. A roller coaster of emotions.

Yep, this lifetime memory for everyone in attendance is right up your alley.

And when it was all over, when Joseph left with a 76-70 overtime victory Friday against Powder Valley at Baker High, there were the Eagles, soaking in the glory, cherishing the wonderful aftermath of an electric contest.

Gavin Baynes raised Chris Harshman off the ground. Fayira Touray wrapped his arms around another fellow human.

Then someone walked into the Joseph locker room, spotted Wyatt Shetler, and the two leaped high into the air, banging bodies. 

Joseph Jubilation.

Onto the district title game.

Roller-coaster affair

“It was just like a heart monitor — ups and downs, all around,” said Eagles senior Corby Makin, who finished with 23 points.

“We were up, we were down, just momentum was changing all through the first and second half.”

Here was Powder, ripping off a 9-0 run to end the first quarter. Here was Joseph, making a run of its own, taking a six-point lead into halftime.

When one side started feeling good, the other responded, over and over and over, again.

There was the Badgers’ Jordan Pratt, blocking shots on one end. There was the Eagles’ Tavin Hurley, blocking shots on the other.

Here was Keegan Conro, putting the Badgers on his back in the second half. Here was Makin, following suit.

Then came the frantic finish.

And people will remember it for quite a while.

Frantic Finish

The Badgers trailed by one with 10.2 seconds remaining, and were forced to foul.

So they did.  And Shetler went to the line for a one-and-one, only to miss the free throw, and here came the Badgers, down the other way.

Trenton Dixon flew down the court, motoring like a race car down an asphalt track, pounding the ball on the hardwood like a mallet on a drum.

He dished to Allen, and here came this Powder junior, determined to take the lead. He faked right, he drove left, he crashed into a Joseph defender, drawing a whistle.

What was the call?

Charge. Offensive foul.

Joseph ball on the baseline with 2.7 seconds remaining.

All over, right? 

Allen tilted his head back onto the hardwood, disappointed with the result. Makin stood nearby, shouting, exulting, shaking his arms and elbows and fists and shoulders, pumping with adrenaline.

On the ensuing inbound, the Eagles’ Harshman was fouled, sending him to the free-throw line with 0.9 seconds remaining.

He made the first attempt.

Then the second.

So now his Eagles were ahead, 68-65.

Nine-tenths of a second left?

It’s all over, right?

The shot heard ‘round Eastern Oregon

The Badgers inbounded from their own baseline, needing a miracle to tie the game.

Here was Conro, corralling the leather sphere, bouncing it off the hardwood, cool, calm and collected.  He took one step before half-court, placed the ball above his right shoulder, then released a two-handed line drive toward the hoop.  

Bong, off the rim. Whoosh, through the net. Thud, off the floor.

Good from half court.

Good from half court?

GOOD FROM HALF COURT!

Tie game, 68-68. Overtime was next.

Powder Pandemonium.

“I couldn’t BELIEEEVE it when that thing went in,” Joseph coach Larry Nall said looking toward the heavens,

perfectly emphasizing Conro’s miracle-tying shot.

 “I was happy for Conro, just for the thing going in the hole. He’ll remember that shot the rest of his life.

 “The cool thing about it ... is within five seconds of that shot going in the hole, we have a senior over here saying, ‘Hey! let’s go, we’ve got work to do.’”

The leader

That senior was Makin.

He gathered his teammates in that huddle, weathering the storm in that moment of Powder Pandemonium.

 “I was like, ‘It doesn’t even matter, doesn’t even matter. We’re going to win it,’” Makin explained.

“That shot didn’t give them any momentum. I knew we were going to win it. We were all confident going in there.”

And sure enough, Makin led by example, sinking three free throws in that overtime, propelling his team into the district final tonight at 6:30 vs. Imbler.

Joseph Jubilation.

“Overtime killed us,” said Powder coach Kyle Dixon, whose team faces Wallowa in the third-place game today at 12:30 p.m. “We shot terrible.

“But, you know, Joseph came out and played a hard game. That was definitely the best game of the season.”

Nall agreed.

“I couldn’t be happier with that game,” he said. “We gave the fans their six bucks worth.”

He laughed. 

“It’s the best game I think I’ve been involved with in my life.”

You think so?

“I think so.

“It doesn’t get any better than this.”

JOSEPH (76)

Harshman 1 2-2 4, Shetler 1 0-0 2, Makin 8 7-10 26, Patton 4 6-7 14, Hurley 4 2-2 10, Touray 1 0-2 2, Steen 5 3-5 14, Baynes 1 2-2 4. Totals 25 22-30 76.

POWDER VALLEY (70)

Dixon 5 1-2 11, Allen 7 1-3 14, W.Kandle 4 0-0 9, Conro 10 0-0 23, Pratt 4 2-5 10, Wendt 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Stephens 0 3-4 3. Totals 29 7-14 70.

Joseph                14      24 12      18  8  – 76

Powder Valley     16 16      22 14  2  – 70

3-point goals: Joseph, Makin 3, Steen; Powder Valley, Conro 3, W.Kandle

Imbler boys roll into title game

BAKER — Nothing real flashy, but Imbler took care of business, defeating Wallowa, 58-39 Friday.

With the win, the Panthers advance into the district championship versus Joseph tonight at 6:30.

The Cougars’ loss places them into the third-place game versus Powder Valley at 12:30 p.m.

“We just kind of did the things we needed to do to win,” Imbler coach Jarod Teeter said. “Nothing real flashy.”

Taylor McIntosh scored 14 points, Bryan Mills 13 and Nick West 10 for the Panthers.

“There’s always something to work on,” Imbler senior Nick Thompson said. “But we’re kind of, hopefully, peaking at the right time here.”

As for the championship versus the Eagles?

“They’re going to come out pretty excited,” he said. “Playing five quarters, I think they might be a little tired, but I think they’ll be ready to play.”

“We’ll be up for the challenge.”

IMBLER (58)

Thompson 1 2-2 5, McIntosh 7 0-0 14, West 5 0-0 10, Mills 6 0-0 13, McDaniel 6 0-4 12, Bridge 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-0 0, Cornford 0 0-0 0, Ricker 2 0-1 4, VanLeuven 0 0-0 0, Kanoho 0 0-0 0. Totals 27 2-7 58.

WALLOWA (39)

Harshfield 3 4-6 10, Jamerson 2 0-0 5, Mahon 3 2-2 9, Shelton 1 0-0 2, Gladden 4 0-0 8, WIlson 2 0-0 5, McKenzie 0 0-0 0, Waters 0- 0-0 0, Both 0 0-0 0, Evans 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 6-9 39.

Imbler    13    14    16    15 – 58

Wallowa    7    9       13    10 – 39

3-point goals: Imbler, Thompson, Mills; Wallowa, Jamerson, Mahon, Wilson.