1A boys basketball playoffs: Union eliminates Redside boys from state playoffs

“They (Bobcats) are a very good team; they shot the ball really well,” said Redside Coach Jim Hull. “We were struggling offensively, and it was hard to overcome a big early deficit. We fought back and we got to within 14 points late in the game. You just can’t get down like that because it’s too much to overcome sometimes.

“I’m totally proud of what we accomplished, and we had a great season. Of course, we were hoping to go to Baker, but sometimes you just don’t make it there. My two seniors (Ian Ongers and James Best) just played their hearts out and they did everything they could.”

The Redsides struggled early in the contest and fell behind 26-10 after the first quarter and they were down 39-29 at halftime. The Bobcats played with a tremendous offensive rhythm and their momentum continued in the second half.

South Wasco was led by Ongers (22 points) and Best (12 points), who both played the final game of their high school basketball careers.

“It didn’t end the way I was wishing it would, but I had a pretty good senior season,” said Best. “It was a tough way to go out in my last game. It was our first home loss in four years and the first home loss in my high school career, so that kind of sucks, but that’s what happened.”

The loss to Union marked the Redsides’ first defeat at home since Feb. 2, 2019 (a 47-41 loss to Horizon Christian).

“If we would’ve had Jason, it would’ve provided us with another dynamic weapon,” said Hull, referring to his son, who is out with an injury. “I’m not taking nothing away from our other team members, but anytime you lose a player of his caliber (team leading 29 points per game average), it just makes the floor a little tighter for players. He’s really great at spreading the floor for us and helping us get a number of fast-break opportunities, and we didn’t have many of those against Union.”

South Wasco advanced to the game against Union with a first-round win over Days Creek. The No. 6-ranked Redsides recorded a come-from-behind, 58-54, overtime win over the Wolves (13-14) in a Feb. 22 home game.

“We survived another close game and it was a tough matchup,” said Hull. “Sometimes, like we did today, we struggled to score and we only had two three-pointers,” said Hull. “We’ve learned that we have to scrap to make some good things happen and we played good defense down the stretch. We got some steals and we turned those into transition points late in the game. Luckily we’re able to have Ian Ongers and Joey Holloway help lead our offense and they both made some big shots near the end of the game.”

The Redsides (25-3) fell behind 12-9 after the first quarter and they were down 26-20 at halftime. South Wasco, which has Class 1A’s second-ranked offense (75.4 points per game average), turned things around in the second half, led by Ongers (32 points), the Big Sky League player-of-the-year.

The Redsides outscored the Wolves, 15-6, in the third to take a 35-32 lead after three. The two evenly matched teams then traded baskets in the fourth quarter, and it was knotted 50-50 at the conclusion of regulation play. South Wasco outscored Days Creek 8-4 in overtime to pull out the victory.

Joey Holloway (17 points), James Best (nine assists), Storm McCoy (six rebounds, seven steals) and George Barnett (three points) also contributed to the Redside effort.

Nixyaawii ends Huskies’ season

The Sherman County High Huskies (14-13) suffered a season-ending, 95-65, loss to the No. 2-ranked Nixyaawii High Golden Eagles (26-2) in a first-round state playoff game Feb. 22 at Nixyaawii High School. The contest marked the first state playoff appearance for the Huskies since 2019.

For the Huskies, guided by Coach Gary Lewis, they allowed the highest point total for any game this year in the loss to Nixyaawii. Lewis concluded a seven-year coaching career at Sherman, as he is retiring. It also marked the final game of the Husky basketball careers of seniors Cade von Borstel, Kole Martin, Josiah Carlson, Ed Rubio, and Logan Barrett.

“They (Eagles) are a really good team, and they have a very solid offense (ranked No. 1 at 75.7 points per game average),” said Lewis. “We did pretty good offensively, but we just couldn’t stop them on defense. Unfortunately, it was easily our worst defensive performance all season. However, they (Eagles) have a lot of offensive weapons. They can drive, they can shoot and they’re a very athletic team.

“We had a good year though with a good group of kids who really accomplished a lot. We exceeded the goals that we had at the beginning of the season. I’m just real proud of the effort that these kids put in all year in helping us reach the state playoffs.”