1A Basketball roundup: Redsides start 2-0, top Wallowa, Joseph

“We played really well and it’s nice to start the season on an upward trend,” said Hull. “... Over the last several years, we haven’t always had a good start like this, so it’s nice to get two wins at the beginning of the season.”

In the season opener versus Wallowa, the senior trio of Remington Anderson-Sheer (20 points), Oscar Thomas (18 points, 10 steals) and Brock LaFaver (16 points, eight rebounds) helped lead the Redsides to the lopsided win. Redside junior forward Ian Ongers was also in double figures in scoring with 14 points. On Dec. 4 at Joseph, the Redsides jumped in front 17-11 after the first quarter and they led 33-17 at halftime. The Redsides outscored the Eagles 32-16 in the second half to get a blowout win. LaFaver led the Redsides in scoring with 19 points, followed by Thomas with 17 and Ungers, who  scored 14 and had a team-high 10 rebounds.

South Wasco continued its schedule with a non-league match-up Tuesday versus the Class 3A Irrigon High Knights (1-2) at Irrigon High School (result was after the printed edition deadline). The Redsides play their opening home game Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the Dayville/Monument High Tigers.

On Saturday, South Wasco has a match-up scheduled against a yet-to-be determined opponent in the four-team John Howey Memorial Tournament at South Wasco County High in Maupin. The Redsides face Dayville/Monument again Dec. 14 at Dayville High School.

Dufur loses opener

The Dufur High Rangers (0-1), guided by Coach Hollie Darden, had a rough start to the Class 1A boys basketball season as they lost a non-league game at home 54-40 to the No. 4 ranked Powder Valley High Badgers (2-0) Dec. 4 at Dufur High School.

“They (Powder Valley) have a lot of seniors (six) on their team and they’re pretty athletic,” said Darden. “We played hard and we did a good job of staying with them in the first half. We kind of lost some of our steam and we had some turnovers in the second half that ended up being costly because they got some easy baskets as a result of that.”

The contest was closer than indicated by the final score. Powder Valley (2-0) took a 10-9 lead after the first quarter. Dufur sophomore JJ Johnston (six points) sank a jumper near the end of the second quarter to help the Rangers gain a 23-23 tie at halftime.

“They (Badgers) are more athletic than us and they have some older kids who are bigger and physically stronger and have played together longer than our kids,” said Darden. “They were obviously a little better team than us, but I thought my kids played hard and battled.”

The Rangers then fell behind 36-30 at the end of the third quarter. The Rangers fought back in the fourth and freshman Jacob Kent (nine points) sank a 3-point field goal from the corner to help Dufur get within 36-34 with 5:58 left in the contest.

Powder Valley stayed in front while physically outplaying Dufur through most of the fourth quarter. After the Badgers built a 42-34 advantage, Dufur junior Josh Taylor (seven points) sank a basket in the lane and was fouled and made a free throw for a three-point play, trimming Powder’s lead to 42-37 with 3:21 remaining.

“They had a bunch of more physical and bigger guys than us,” said Taylor. “We just needed to play harder. They played much better than us, particularly in the second half and they out-rebounded us and shot better than us ... They’re one of the best teams in the state.”

Dufur sophomore Olson Meanus (team-high 12 points) sank a 3-pointer from the corner, trimming the margin to 46-40, with a little more than two minutes remaining. Powder Valley then took control of the game, outscoring Dufur 8-0 to pull out a double-digit victory.

Dufur returns to action in a tournament Dec. 10-11 at Powder Valley High School. Dufur meets the Imbler High Panthers (0-2) Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a Dec. 11 noon contest versus the Prairie City High Panthers.

Sherman gets a split

The Sherman High Huskies (1-1) got off to a good start in the Class 1A boys basketball season by winning a season-opening non-league game 47-41 over the Pilot Rock High Rockets (1-2) Dec. 3 at Sherman High in Moro. The Huskies then lost Dec. 4 at home, 60-35 to Mannahouse Christian Academy (3-0), a Class 2A squad from Portland.

The Huskies, guided by Coach Gary Lewis, were hosting a four-team tournament Friday and Saturday. The other teams competing in the event included the Class 2A Culver High Bulldogs (1-1).

“Mannahouse has a very talented team, and we knew that they were going to be really tough,” said Lewis. “Our kids played them nose-to-nose in the first half, but we just ran out of gas in the second half. We had big win the night before and we’re just not in the physical condition that we need to be in right now. We just got blitzed in the second half and it was an uphill climb for the remainder of the game.”

Sherman overcame a 10-point deficit and outscored Pilot Rock 20-10 in the fourth quarter to get the victory over the Rockets. Sherman junior guard Eduardo Rubio led the Huskies in scoring with 18 points and freshman James Phelps had 10. Huskies junior wing Kole Martin had seven points and senior Dillan Stanfield had six. Freshman Calvin Avila scored four and sophomore Luke Fritts had two points.

“Rubio got hot, and he scored 10 points in the fourth quarter,” said Lewis. “Our two freshmen, Calvin Avila and James Phelps, both made some big baskets in the fourth quarter to help us pull out the win. We were able to stretch out the lead and hang on ... The kids just worked so hard in both games. We’re so young (with one senior) and these kids are going to make a lot of mistakes, but that’s just something we have to live with.”

Sherman was unable to regain the momentum it had from its season-opening win and lost to the stronger Lions on Saturday. The Huskies played well in the first half and led 24-23 at halftime. However, they were unable to match the high-powered Lion offense in the second half and were outscored 20-5 in the third quarter. The Lions outscored the Huskies 37-12 in the second half to pull away for the lopsided victory. Martin led Sherman with 12 points, Stanfield scored nine and Fritts added eight points.

Sherman plays its next contest on the road versus the Elgin High Huskies Dec. 11 at 2:30 p.m. at Elgin High School. The Huskies’ next home game is Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. against the Damascus Christian High Eagles (1-1).

Horizon Christian wins opener

The Horizon Christian Hawks opened the Class 1A boys basketball season on the road with a 50-17 non-league win over the Central Christian High Tigers Dec. 1 in Redmond. The Hawks, guided by first-year Coach Kim Linder, built a 22-7 halftime lead and their momentum continued in the second half as they got a lopsided victory. On Dec. 4, the Hawks nearly got a second straight win, but just fell short in a, 44-43, non-league loss at home to the North Clackamas Christian Saints (3-0) of Oregon City.

“It was a highly contested game the entire night,” said Linder. “It was 17-17 at the half and then we led in the second half until North Clackamas took the lead by one with four seconds left in the game. The boys played very hard, and our defensive intensity was great the entire night.”

In the game versus Central Christian, Hawk senior wing Josh Rogers scored a team-high 18 points, senior post Alex Whitaker and sophomore guard Mason Bates each scored nine. Caleb Yuan had eight, Luke Wells scored four and Arthur Li added two points. In the contest versus the Saints, Whitaker led the Hawks with 16 points and Rogers scored 10.

The Hawks played the St. Stephens Academy High Archers (0-1) Tuesday at home (result was after the printed edition deadline). Horizon is hosting the four-team Hawk Invitational Tournament Dec. 10-11 at Horizon Christian High in Hood River. The Hawks meet the Wallowa High Cougars in a 7:30 p.m. match-up Friday, followed by a 5:30 p.m. game Dec. 11 versus the Open Door Christian Academy High Huskies (1-0).

Other Big Sky teams

The Trout Lake High Mustangs are also competing in the Hawk Tournament. Trout Lake faces Open Door Christian Friday at 4:30 p.m., followed by a 2:30 p.m. contest Saturday versus Wallowa.  

Other Big Sky League teams that played season openers included the Bickleton High Pirates, who won 44-28 over the Lyle/Wishram High Cougars Dec. 3 at Lyle High School. The Cougars play their next game on the road Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at Mannahouse Christian. The Klickitat/Glenwood High Vandals open their season with a 6:30 p.m. contest Wednesday at home versus Bickleton.

The Vandals then will compete in the Arlington Snowball Tournament Dec. 10-11 at Arlington High School. The Vandals meet the Ione/Arlington Cardinals Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. contest Saturday against the Four Rivers High Falcons.