B1
WEDNESDAY
February 28, 2018
STAYING ALIVE!
Joseph squads make it to state
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
or the first time in 36 years, both
the Joseph Charter School boys
and girls basketball teams will
enter state competition together,
going 2-0 each after last week’s
contests. The ladies last visited the upper
reaches in 2009 while The boys made their
last visit to state in 2005.
F
Eagles 64,
Condon/Wheeler 59
The boys played at Condon/Wheeler
Feb. 20, coming away with a 64-59 victory
after staving off a fourth quarter spurt from
their opponents.
The Eagles led 13-10 after the first quar-
ter and 46-36 at the close of the third. How-
ever, Condon caught fire, eventually pull-
ing within one before a timeout chat with
coach Olan Fulfer led to a game-ending
drive, leaving the Knights to eat the dust
off their talons.
“We know that we lose leads, but what
we don’t know is that we can battle back
and win afterwards,” Fulfer said. “They
stepped up and did what they needed to do
to win that game.”
Post point machine Caevan Murray led
the Eagles’ scoring with 20 points while
brother Chase sank 14. Tyler Homan was
close by, pouring in 13 for the cause, includ-
ing going 6 for 6 at the free throw line in
the second half. Trey Wandschneider added
four crucial points in the final quarter, as
did Mason Ferre down the stretch.
“It was the best I’ve ever seen us play,”
Fulfer said.
Eagles 55, Damascus 43
The game on the following Saturday
saw the Eagles headed into a house of hor-
rors against the Damascus Christian Eagles,
a team Fulfer said had the worst sportsman-
ship he’d ever seen, fans and players alike.
The mighty Eagles were up for the chal-
lenge and with David-like ferocity, slew
their Philistine opponents, toppling them
from their third-ranked plateau while leav-
ing them with scarcely a feather in their
hides with a decisive victory.
The Eagles began with a rout, leading
30-11 before Damascus brought it to within
10 at the half. Point guard Tyler Homan,
We know that we lose leads, but what we don’t
know is that we can battle back and win afterwards.
They stepped up and did what they needed to do to
win that game…. It was the best I’ve ever seen us
play.”
— Coach Olan Fulfer
who led the scoring with 21 points, had
scored 14 in the second quarter alone.
The Eagles outscored their doppel-
ganger 12-5 in the third quarter, lead-
ing 41-24, and spent the entire final quar-
ter shooting free throws in response to the
desperate plight of Damascus, whose court
impotence led them to intense fouling in an
order to change the tide of the game.
Fulfer called the majority of the fouls
“hacking” or “flagrant” to give an idea of
play on the floor. He added that Damascus
earned plenty of technicals with their poor
play and sportsmanship while Joseph kept
piling on the points.
“We played our game, kept our cool and
left with the win,” Fulfer said. The coach
described the finale as a den of madness with
the fans booing Joseph as they threw debris
at the referees upon leaving the floor. In a
tantrum, one of the players refused to shake
Fulfer’s hand and instead elbowed him.
“I was worried about my kids’ safety
after the game,” Fulfer said. “I had to get
my team out of there as soon as possible.”
The coach said that his team’s play is
exactly what he wished for. “We’re peak-
ing at the right time,” Fulfer said. “We’re
a completely different team from District.
My team outsmarted them and took away
their offense completely.”
As part of his amazing 21-point out-
put, Homan sank a fifth three-pointer in
the third quarter and was steady on the free
throw line when it counted. Chase Murray
stacked up 10 points and freshman phenom
Mason Ferre followed with eight.
In an excellent performance, Wand-
schneider, the most heavily fouled player
on the team, sank seven free throws in the
fourth quarter to keep the rabid Damascus
fans at bay. Caevan Murray added six to the
battle.
The Eagles next play Jordan Valley on
Thursday, March 1 as part of the final eight
in state.
Lady Eagles 72, Sherman 27
The lady Eagles also notched two wins,
over Sherman and Crane, in their belts
on the road to state. Coach Lance Homan
was impressed with his team’s stamina.
He noted that the ladies got home around
midnight Saturday, Feb. 17 after District
and saddled up for Sherman the following
Tuesday and played Crane on Friday.
Sherman County put up the surrender
flag almost immediately against the Eagles’
attack. The Huskies trailed 26-8 after the
first quarter, and things didn’t get better
before they succumbed 72-27.
“The girls came out and really
played with a lot of energy,” coach
Homan said. “Our press was very
effective.”
He noted that everyone on the
team spent time on the floor.
Point guard Sabrina Albee
tore up the defense, scoring 22
points in the first half while
senior Alexis Sykora finished hot
on her heels with 19 points.
“It was a total team effort on
the defensive and offensive ends,”
Homan said. “We passed and shot
the ball pretty well. Our girls are
really focused and have a goal in
mind.”
Lady Eagles 44, Crane 30
Friday saw the ladies playing in Crane
in what Homan politely called “a very hos-
tile environment” with a trip to the state
tournament on the line. As usual, the lady
Eagles were more than up to the task,
breaking out the hobbles and foot ropes to
tame the Mustangs 44-30.
Homan credited the defense of Sykora
and Hite’s defense down low as the key to
victory. Eagle guards applied the pressure
up top while Sykora and Hite performed
sentry duty under the hoop. He noted Syko-
ra’s superior job on the Mustangs’ six-foot-
one-inch post, while master thief Hite
racked up a number of steals.
Offensively, Sykora and Albee car-
ried the lion’s share, with 10 and 24 points
respectively. Homan noted that all other
team baskets came at crucial times in the
contest. He added that he’s had fun watch-
ing Albee mature over the season and con-
tinue to perform at a high level in the state
playoffs as a freshman.
“I can’t tell you how impressed I am
with our girls,” Homan said. “They battle
no matter the situation, no matter how they
are feeling, no matter what is going on.
They have earned this trip to Baker, and I
couldn’t be prouder.”
The girls next play Country Christian at
3 p.m. on Feb. 28 at Baker High School in
the 1A state championships.
END OF THE ROAD
Lady Outlaws’ season comes to a close
By Steve Tool
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Outlaw ladies trav-
eled to Oakland with their
vaunted defense on Feb. 23
looking to climb the next rung
on the state championship
ladder. They sadly learned
that defense isn’t everything
as they held Oakland to 34
points, but forgot to load their
six-shooters as they managed
only 23 points, shooting only
22 percent from the field.
No player managed more
than five points.
Coach Mike Crawford
hated to end the season on
2011 CHEVY
SILVERADO
What’s most disappointing to me is that
I know there’s teams in the final eight
we can beat. It’s really frustrating.”
— Mike Crawford
Girls basketball coach
that note.
“We could have played
so much better than we did
offensively, but we played
a great defensive game,” he
said. “We did not get off the
bus offensively.”
Crawford noted that only
six points separated the teams
for much of the game while
the Outlaws watched their
shots roll off the rim to the
side.
“No matter what we did,
we could not make a hard
run at them,” Crawford said.
He noted that Oakland played
patient ball and only commit-
ted a few turnovers.
2000 FORD
EXCURSION
2001 FORD
F150
“There’s a reason they’re
the number three team in the
state.”
The Outlaws took only 37
shots in the entire contest and
sank only eight. The ladies
were 6 of 8 from the free
throw line and were 1 for 7
outside the paint.
Senior Reece Christman
shot 67 percent from the field,
sinking two of three shots, but
her closest competitor shot
29 percent and more than one
stalwart shot a flat zero per-
cent. Karli Bedard blocked
two shots and hauled down 12
rebounds in the effort.
“What’s most disappoint-
ing to me is that I know
there’s teams in the final eight
we can beat,” Crawford said.
“It’s really frustrating.”
The Outlaws are losing
four seniors, but the junior
varsity looks good and has
some likely prospects for
next year’s squad. Also, the
Outlaws will have a bigger
league, which should help
them.
“I’m going to also have a
good core of players back,”
Crawford said. “We’re going
to be pretty tough and be in
the same mix we were this
year. We’re going to compete
again.”
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