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IMBLER —Badgers players walked off the hardwood, heads down, faces sour, just like a fighter leaving the ring. They took Panther punches early, responded defiantly with jabs and hooks late, but in the end, there was Imbler, walking out of the ring victoriously, 58-50. Panther TKO. The heavyweight belt stays here. “It feels good to get a win,” said Panthers coach Jarod Teeter, whose team improved to 13-5, 7-0 Old Oregon League. “We have to win (tonight) to mathematically get the league championship, but this was huge for that. “It was kind of like a heavyweight title contest ... standing toe-to-toe, hitting each other, trading shots.” It was. Bodies hit the hardwood floor so much in the fourth quarter, the Imbler gym sounded like boxers falling to the canvas. Here was Imbler guard Nick West, battling with Badgers guard Justin Allen, bumping bodies, exchanging words. Here was Badgers senior Michael Stephens, laying it all out on the line, diving for loose balls, knocking over Panthers sophomore Bryan Mills at one point. Loose balls looked like fumble piles. Rebounds off missed shots looked like mosh pits. It was intense. Physical. Passionate. Even heated, at times. Imbler led 36-29 at halftime, then extended its lead to 11 entering the fourth. Powder roared back, cutting the deficit to four with 4:20 remaining, but couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm to tie the game. Badgers junior Jordan Pratt barely touched the ball down the stretch, and a lot of that was due to the Panthers pressuring Badgers guards on the perimeter. “We had our chances, believe me,” Badgers coach Kyle Dixon said. “Offensively, I think we struggled a little bit — didn’t run a play. We kind of came down and went one-on-one a lot — and basketball doesn’t work like that.” Panther TKO. The heavyweight belt stays here. Imagine if these teams meet again in the postseason. “We’re going to meet them again at districts,” Badgers freshman Trenton Dixon said. “The next time it will be us on top instead of them. Allen agreed, saying, “We’re going to beat ‘em (next) time.” Informed about this, West offered his thoughts — in Super Bowl spirited fashion, too. “I’m not going to go with the Joe Namath stuff,” the Imbler junior said, referring to the former New York Jets quarterback who guaranteed victory before Super Bowl III. “This is around Super Bowl time, so I guess a lot of stuff like that is going on. But I just know next time we play them, it’s probably going to be a high-profile game, and it’s going to require us to play our best. “No guarantees. I’m not going to pull a Joe Namath, but I’ll ... I’ll say it’s going to be a good game.” It would be the third consecutive postseason meeting, too, if this does occur. “I’m ready,” Kyle Dixon said. “We’ll get one more chance at them. “The last two years, we’ve beat them in the district final. “But, this year, it seems a little tougher, I think.” POWDER VALLEY (50) T.Dixon 6 1-2 15, Allen 6 0-2 13, Conro 4 0-0 11, Pratt 4 1-2 9, Stephens 1 0-0 2, W.Kandle 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 2-6 50. IMBLER (58) Mills 6 1-3 14, McDaniel 5 0-2 10, McIntosh 4 0-2 9, West 4 0-0 9, Thompson 3 0-1 7, Ricker 2 1-2 5, Peterson 1 2-2 4, Bridge 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 4-12 58. Powder Valley 13 16 10 11 – 50 Imbler 18 18 14 8 – 58 3-point goals: Imbler, Thompson, McIntosh, West, Mills; Powder, Conro 3, Dixon 2, Allen. Fouls, Imbler 8, Powder 13. Rebounds, Imbler 36 (Mills 10); Powder 39 (Pratt 14)
Brainerd lifts LeopardsCOVE — Todd Gorham could not hide his excitement. After Cove guard Justin Brainerd hit a game-winning three-pointer with one second remaining, giving Cove a 44-42 victory, here is what the Leopards boys basketball coach said. “We beat Joseph, baby. It was awesome.” Brainerd finished with five three-pointers and 20 points. Logan Ross scored 10 and Jared Witty had 12 for the Leopards. “It was crazy,” Gorham said. “Our defense was phenomenal from start to finish. I can pick out so many guys that did great.” Cove plays at Wallowa today at 5 p.m. JOSEPH (42) Makin 8 0-2 16, Patton 4 1-2 9, Hurley 3 0-0 6, Harshman 2 0-0 5, Steen 1 1-2 4, Baynes 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 2-6 42. COVE (44) Brainerd 7 1-2 20, Witty 4 4-6 12, Ross 3 2-2 10, Pagliarulo 1 0-0 2, DelCurto 0 0-2 0, Hamilton 0 0-0 0, Iturbide 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-12 44 Joseph 5 10 13 14 – 42 Cove 9 12 13 10– 44 3-point goals: Cove, Brainerd 5, Ross 2; Joseph, Harshman, Steen. Fouls - Cove, 11; Joseph 12
Harshfield leads CougarsWALLOWA — Tyler Harshfield battled through sickness to score 14 points and lead Wallowa to a 63-49 victory against Pine Eagle. “He’s a pretty tough kid,” Wallowa coach Kyle Burnett said. “Everyone steps out onto the court and wants to win, right? “Not everyone is willing to play at the level of intensity that Tyler does. “He’s just a really competitive kid.” Wallowa hosts Cove today at 5:30 p.m. Pine Eagle 9 12 12 16 – 49 Wallowa 11 15 17 20– 63 WALLOWA (63) Wilson 4 2-2 13, Harshfield 4 3-4 14, McKenzie 0 0-0 0, Jamerson 1 4-6 6, Waters 0 0-0 0, Mahon 4 6-8 16, Shelton 3 0-0 7, King, 0 0-0 0, Both 0 0-0 0, Gladden 2 1-2 7, Evans 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 16-25 63. PINE EAGLE (49) Matos 4 0-0 10, Binford 1 0-2 2, Traw 0 0-0 0, Huff 0 0-0 0, Durr 0 0-1 0, Marks 8 4-7 20, Walker 0 0-0 0, Kingsbury 0 1-2 1, J.Roberts 0 0-0 0, Z.Roberts 2 1-2 7, Smit 3 3-4 9, Akers 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 9-18 49. 3-point goals: Wallowa, Mahon 2, Shelton, Gladden 2, Wilson 3, Harshfield 3; Pine Eagle, Matos 2, Z.Roberts 2. |