Teams jockeying for final spots

Sherman (19-3 overall, 13-0 league) jumped ahead 16-6 after one quarter and 36-23 entering the final period.

Aside from Tabor McLaughlin, who drilled seven field goals and went 0 of 2 on free throw tries for a team-high 14 points, the rest of the Ranger group managed seven of the team’s 14 baskets to go along with 4 of 9 from the line.

Daniel Radcliffe notched 10 points; Cooper Bales added six and Cole Kortge finished with two points to make up the rest of Dufur’s scoring leaders.

This loss sets up a pivotal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday on senior night in Dufur between No. 17 Condon-Wheeler (13-8, 8-6) and the No. 19 Rangers (13-8, 9-5) that could very well determine the fourth and final district playoff spot (depending on tiebreakers).

No. 2 Sherman had an eight-point lead on South Wasco County but used balanced scoring and good defense to take a 67-37 victory Friday in Moro.

Sherman, who outscored SWC 31-17 in the second half, canned 28 field goals, four 3-pointers, and made 7 of 16 free throws.

Owen Christiansen led the Huskies with 13 points; Keenan Coles tacked on 12; the duo of Tyler Jones and Luke Martin chipped in 11 points and Caleb Fritts and Wade Fields were good for eight points apiece. Bryan Macnab also notched five points.

SWC hit 15 field goals, two 3-pointers, and connected on 5 of 7 free throws, as Garrett Olson led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Oscar Thomas had six points, Ben Birman rattled home four points and Tanner Davis dished off five assists.

Sherman travels to Hood River to take on No. 4 Horizon Christian (15-5, 12-1) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

After that, they host Arlington at 7:30 p.m. Friday for senior night, and wrap up the regular season in Mitchell with a start of 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

SWC (7-15, 3-11) is at Echo Friday (6:30 p.m.) and then hosts Ione at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

No. 4-ranked Horizon Christian had just enough to avoid the upset of the hoops season, inching past South Wasco County by a 47-41 margin Saturday in boys action in Maupin.

The Redsides actually led, 23-19, at the half and were down by one with three minutes to go, but could not get the bounces to go in their favor down the stretch.

SWC sophomore post Garrett Olson had 23 points and five rebounds; Oscar Thomas added nine points and six rebounds. Tanner Davis displayed his defensive prowess in limiting Horizon sharpshooter Alex Petshow to three points, while scoring six points of his own.

For Horizon Christian, Bailey Holste tallied 19 points and Caleb Lingel put up 10 points.

Olson, a second team all-league winner as a freshman last year, was a monster inside scoring 17 of SWC’s 23 first half points, and the other six were off the fingertips of Thomas on his two three pointers.

With an upset on their minds, the Dufur Rangers gave Horizon Christian everything it could handle by taking a 29-25 halftime advantage.

In the second half, however, Dufur went from 13 total field goals down to five in the final half, as Horizon Christian pulled away with a 32-13 second-half flurry to score the 57-42 win Friday in boys hoops play in Hood River.

For the Rangers, Trey Darden tacked up 13 points, six in the first half; Cooper Bales checked in with 10 points, eight in the first half; Daniel Radcliffe added nine, seven in the first half and Tanner Masterson totaled six points, four in the opening half of action.

Horizon Christian had Derek Johnston drop 17 points; Alex Petshow kicked in 14; Caleb Lingel had 12, and both Bailey Holste and Kyle Brown posted seven points each.

DUFUR – The Dufur Lady Rangers ran their streak to seven wins in the past eight games after defeating Sherman by a 47-26 margin Saturday night in Dufur.

Both squads engaged in a defensive battle early on with Dufur enjoying a 17-11 halftime lead.

In the second half, Mona Meanus swished four third-quarter 3-pointers as part of a 19-6 surge to break through for a 36-17 cushion.

All told, Dufur canned 18 field goals, four 3-pointers, and made 7 of 16 free throws.

Meanus had 14 points, all in the second half, Jessica Brown tacked on 11, Kierstin White added eight, Mikayla Kelly was good for four and Zoe Hester finished with three points.

Sherman dropped 10 field goals, one 3-pointer, with six baskets coming in the second half.

Desiree Winslow led the Huskies with 14 points; Sammie Lepinski notched five, and the trio of Taylor Henderson, Makayla Macnab and Allie Marker checked in with two points apiece.

Dufur (8-11 overall, 8-4 league) and Echo (10-12, 8-4) were tied for third place entering this final weekend, but both teams have already clinched district spots.

The Lady Rangers host Condon-Wheeler at 6 p.m. Friday on senior night, while Sherman hosts Arlington with a start time of 6 p.m. Friday and then heads to Mitchell at 4 p.m. Saturday.

The No. 6-ranked South Wasco County Lady Redsides inched ahead 14-9 through one quarter of play and followed that up with outbursts of 13-7 and 12-3 over the second and third quarters to extend the lead to 39-19 entering the fourth quarter of what turned out to be a 53-30 road win over Sherman at Moro.

The Redsides (19-3, 11-1) hit 24 field goals, three 3-pointers, and drained 2 of 7 free throws.

Jade McCoy and Abby Birman each posted a team-leading 10 points, Jada Myers went off for nine, and both Destiny Mora-Lopez and Kyrsten Sprouse tallied six apiece.

Sherman sank 12 field goals, three 3-pointers, and rang in 3 of 4 free throws.

Emma Stutzman led the Lady Huskies with 10 points, Desiree Winslow had nine, and the tandem of Allie Marker and Daisy Brown finished the night with four points apiece.

SWC, who defeated No. 12 Perrydale by a 42-20 score Saturday, heads to Echo Friday for a 5 p.m. start and hosts No. 15 Ione (17-3, 12-1) at 4 p.m. on senior night Saturday.