THE DALLES — Sherman County locked down Dufur in the second half and pulled away to win the 2025 Big Sky League boys basketball championship, 56-39, on Feb. 22 at The Dalles High School.
The Huskies (21-5 overall) trailed 24-21 at halftime but limited the Rangers to two field goals in the decisive third quarter to build a 40-30 lead. Seniors Isaiah Riggs and Jamie Phelps provided most of the Sherman offensive output in the period.
Riggs, who kept the Huskies close with seven second-quarter points, scored the same amount in the third period and finished with 18 on the night. Phelps, who sat out most of the second quarter because of foul trouble, scored eight of his 18 points in the third.
Dufur held a 24-21 lead late in the second quarter and had its last lead of the game, 29-27, with a little more than three minutes remaining in the third period. That’s when Riggs scored in the key to spark a 10-0 run as the Huskies took control of the game.
Dufur (20-6) was led offensively by senior Nolan Cates’ 12 points; Jacob Kent added 10 for the Rangers.
Sherman, which finished the regular season 19-4 and was 12-0 in league play, was the East Division’s top seed. The boys district basketball title was the first for Sherman since the 2018 tourney. The year prior, Husky Coach Max Martin was part of Sherman’s 2017 Big Sky title team.
Dufur, which beat Sherman for the 2024 championship, was the West Division No. 1 seed. And, like the Huskies, the Rangers earned a first-round playoff bye. Dufur won its semifinal game at home Feb. 21, 52-45 over the East’s No. 3 seed, Condon. It was the Rangers’ 20th win this season and seventh straight.
Condon advanced to the semifinals with a 55-50 home win Feb. 19 over Horizon Christian School (8-13), the West’s No. 3 seed.
Sherman earned a spot in the title game with a 69-39 win over South Wasco County, the West’s No. 2 seed. The Redsides won their first-round playoff game at home, 59-56, Feb. 19 over Ione/Arlington, but South Wasco never could get going offensively against Sherman.
The Huskies limited the league’s Player of the Year, junior Jason Hull, to 3-for-19 shooting from the field. Hull finished with 17 points (including 9-for-9 on free throws) against frequent double and triple teams by Sherman. Storm McCoy added 13 points for South Wasco.
Sherman was led by Gabe Fritt’s 17 points and 16 by Jamie Phelps. The Huskies also got 10 points from Isaiah Riggs. Defensively, Calvin Avila dogged Hull the entire game, interspersed with short rest breaks when a teammate took over the task.
South Wasco rebounded a day later in the third-place district game at The Dalles. Hull dropped 27 points as the Redsides beat Condon (14-10), 61-42. South Wasco broke open the game in the third period. Trailing 25-24, Gavin Hagan started a 9-0 Redside scoring run. After Condon made a field goal, George Barnett hit back-to-back baskets to start an 8-0 run to put the Redsides comfortably ahead.
Sherman, Dufur, and Condon qualified for the Class 1A state playoffs (see related story this issue).
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