By Mike Weber
For Columbia Gorge News
MAUPIN — The Big Sky League district champion South Wasco County High Redsides (28-4) capped a spectacular season by earning the sixth-place trophy in the OSAA Class 1A boys basketball state tournament March 4-7 at Baker High School.
The No. 3-ranked Redsides, guided by longtime Coach Jim Hull, won one-out-of-three games at the eight-team event, which marked their first time reaching the state tournament quarterfinals since 2022.
“We had a great year and if the ball would’ve bounced a little different, we could’ve been playing in the championship game,” said Hull.
Country Christian (25-6) of Molalla won the state title with a 60-48 win March 7 over Union (28-3).
South Wasco lost 65-60 to the No. 6-ranked Open Door Christian Academy Huskies (23-6) of Troutdale in a March 4 quarterfinal match-up. The Huskies, the second-place team from the Valley 10 League, outscored the Redsides 17-8 in the second quarter to take a 30-24 halftime advantage.
Led by seniors Rowen Huff (team-high 20 points), Big Sky League Player-of-the-Year Jason Hull (15 points) and freshman Ryker Thompson (16 points), the Redsides made an impressive comeback. The Redsides outscored the Huskies 22-15 in the third period to take a 46-45 lead. The seesaw battle included 13 lead changes. The Huskies regained control of the momentum in the fourth, overcoming a four-point South Wasco lead to advance to the semifinals.
“They [Huskies] pretty much wouldn’t let Jason get to the hoop and that’s why Rowen had such a good game,” said Coach Hull (Jason’s father). “Defensively, we gave up too many easy points inside.”
The Redsides rebounded in the March 5 consolation round, beating No. 23-ranked Prairie City/Burnt River (19-11), the second-place team from the High Desert League, 65-58. The Redsides took control of the game from the outset, leading start-to-finish behind Hull’s 36 points. Thompson added 18 points.
“We have such a great group of kids, and, of course, we were disappointed to lose our first game,” said Coach Hull said after the contest. “Our attitude was, we didn’t come here to play two games. We came out and we controlled the contest all the way and it was an important win for us. Everything worked out great, because the kids are all in a good mood now since we’ll be getting a trophy. It’s a great way to conclude the season being here in Baker.”
Following a day off, the Redsides resumed competition in the tournament with a March 7, 8 a.m. fourth/sixth place trophy contest versus the No. 9-ranked Crosspoint Christian High Warriors (24-8) of Klamath Falls. The teams exchanged leads throughout the contest, with nine lead changes and six ties.
The final deadlock of the game was 43-43. The Warriors then outscored the Redsides 6-2 in the final two minutes to earn the fourth-place trophy. “It’s always hard to lose the final game of the season,” said Coach Hull. “It was difficult to play an 8 a.m. game, too, because nobody is really ready to play at that time of the day. Both teams had to do the same thing, though, and it was a good, close game and we thought we had a good chance to win.”
Jason Hull led the Redsides with 15 points, followed by Barnett with 10. Huff added eight points and nine rebounds.
The contest marked the final game of the South Wasco County basketball careers of seniors Hull, Huff, Barnett and Junior Cortes.
“I had an absolute blast this year,” said Jason Hull, whose scoring average of 34 points is the highest of all six OSAA classifications. “It didn’t quite end the way we wanted it to. There’s still a lot of good memories that we made, and so there’s no complaints about that. They (Warriors) played good man-to-man defense, and it was an 8 a.m. game, so neither team really played their best. That’s what often happens in consolation round games.
“I definitely enjoyed the tournament in Baker, it was a good experience and we had lots of fun. We achieved the goals we had at the beginning of the season of winning the Big Sky League title and going to Baker.”
Jason Hull capped a fabulous season in which he broke a 74-year-old record. Swede Halbrook held the all-time single season all-classifications scoring record of 1,035 points. Hull broke the record, as he totaled 1,072 points. Hull (2,560 points) also set the Class 1A all-time career scoring record, breaking the mark previously held by Matt Eidler (2,344) of Trinity Lutheran.
“I’m going to miss the seniors a ton,” said Coach Hull. “In terms of the last three years, Jason, Junior and George they just fit together so well on our team. They were really unselfish with how they played. The four seniors were successful, they worked hard and they had a great culture that they displayed well all year. I’m looking forward to seeing what the seniors will do next year. They’ve just been a pleasure to have on the team.”
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