Wallowa locks up league title against Cove

JOLTING JOHNSON: Wallowa’s Jake Johnson drives to the basket, helping fuel a 56-26 win Friday. PAUL HARDER/The Observer

The staple of the Cougars success the last four seasons suffered a high-ankle sprain. Despite taking part in pre-game warm-ups, Harshfield was a spectator during Wallowa's 56-26 win.

“We struggled in the opening half,” Cougars guard Jake Johnson said. “Guys were still trying to figure out their role.”

Defense in the first half allowed Wallowa to stay in the game.

Ian Parks locked down Cove’s Jered Witty again.

In the first meeting, Witty scored eight points.

After Saturday’s game Parks ran to the scorer’s table. Not to see how many points he scored, but to see how many his opponent scored. The Leopard senior had five points.

Parks held Witty to five points, all in the first half. He shot 2 of 8 in the opening half.

“Ian really did a great job again,” Wallowa head coach Warren Wilson said. “That’s a tough job, but he did it very well.

“It was a great team effort in the defensive end.”

Without Harshfield and Mark Jamerson on the floor, Wallowa stayed in the game, trailing 22-21 at the half. Jamerson sat on the bench with three fouls.

Cove’s Jordan Brown gave his team the momentum heading into halftime by hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“We’ve been working on that play all season,” Leopard head coach Tony White said. “Jordan got the open look and took it.”

However, that momentum evaporated during the 10-minute intermission. Instead of building on Brown’s shot, Cove disappeared.

The Leopards were outscored 34-4 in the closing two quarters.

Johnson helped fuel a 17-2 third-quarter advantage, scoring 11 points.

“We needed people to step up in the second half,” Johnson said. “Everyone played better. I think we relaxed a little bit.”

Sophomore Dusty McDaniel scored four points in the first start of the season. He had four turnovers running the Wallowa offense. 

Jamerson scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half. He also recorded 16 rebounds.

Brown led the Leopards with nine points.