1A boys basketball roundup: Dufur boys win first two Big Sky basketball games; Bickleton drops fourth straight; Sherman loses two in Big Sky

Dufur sophomore Olson Meanus led the Rangers in scoring with 12 points, junior Josh Taylor had 11 and sophomore JJ Johnston added seven. On Dec. 16, the Rangers traveled to Trout Lake to face the Trout Lake High Mustangs in the Big Sky League opener for both teams and the Rangers won, 67-40. Dufur (2-0 league, 3-2 overall) jumped in front 14-2 after the first quarter and extended its advantage to 32-10 at halftime. The Rangers outscored the Mustangs 35-32 in the second half. Taylor led Dufur with 17 points and seniors Carson Smith (10 points) and Gave Petroff (14 points) also scored in double figures. Senior Josh Keller led Trout Lake with 12 points and junior Ben Erickson added 10 for the Mustangs.

The No. 15 ranked Rangers play their next two games on the road Dec. 27 versus the No. 5 ranked Perrydale High Pirates (4-1) at 5:30 p.m. at Perrydale High School and Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m. against the St. Paul Buckaroos (4-4) at St. Paul High School. Horizon played a nonleague road game Tuesday against the Elgin Huskies (result was after the printed edition deadline). The Hawks play their next contest Wednesday at 4 p.m. on the road versus the Griswold Grizzlies (1-4) at Griswold High School in Helix.

Klickitat/Glenwood (0-2 league, 1-4 overall) faced Horizon (1-1 league, 4-3 overall) Dec. 17 and lost the Big Sky League contest 68-32 in Hood River. The Hawks, guided by first-year Coach Kim Linder, jumped out to a 26-6 first quarter lead and had the momentum going in their favor the entire contest. Horizon led 45-18 at halftime and was up 62-28 after three quarters. Both teams played their reserves in the fourth quarter.

“We played hard but we still have a lot of work to do, but we got things done by playing tough defense,” said Linder. “We rely a lot on our seniors and they both did a good job. We have a couple of guys who have had injuries. We’re hoping to get Arthur Li back soon, which might be sometime in January, and he’ll help provide us with more depth at the post position Things are going really well in my first year and I have a great group of young people to work with and there’s great support from parents, too, so it’s been an enjoyable opportunity for me to coach the Hawks.”

Sophomore Mason Bates and senior Alex Whitaker both scored 17 points for Horizon. Junior Caleb Yuan had 11 points, senior Josh Rogers scored five and sophomore Julius Gutierrez added four points. Senior post Konner Kessinger led the Vandals with 12 points.

Sherman loses two in Big Sky

The Sherman High Huskies (0-2 Big Sky, 3-3 overall) began the week with an impressive 67-43 non-league victory at home Dec. 14 over the Damascus Christian High Eagles (2-4) at Sherman High School in Moro. The Huskies recorded a season-high point total in the victory.

The young Huskies (one senior) then suffered Class 1A Big Sky League back-to-back losses over the weekend. Sherman lost, 61-45, on the road to the Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler Loggers (1-1 league, 3-3 overall) Dec. 17 at Spray High School, followed by a, 64-46, loss at home Dec. 18 to the No. 12 ranked Ione/Arlington High Cardinals (2-0 league, 7-0 overall).

Sherman faced the Dayville Monument Tigers (0-4) at home Monday followed by a Tuesday road game versus the No. 9 ranked Prairie City Panthers (results were after the printed edition deadline). Sherman’s next contest is Jan. 7 at Echo High.

Bickleton drops fourth straight

The Bickleton High Pirates faced two top-ranked Class 1A teams back-to-back. The struggling Pirates (0-4) dropped their fourth straight game Dec. 18 at home 75-44 to the No. 7 ranked Condon High Blue Devils (2-0 league, 6-1). On Dec. 17, the Pirates lost on the road, 74-25, to Ione/Arlington at Arlington High School. Bickleton plays its next contest Jan. 7 on the road versus Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler at Wheeler High.