BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2021
BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL
BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bulldogs roll past Powder
By Corey Kirk
Baker romps
over Ontario
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Hayden Younger goes to the basket against Pow-
der Valley on Wednesday, June 2.
Baker dominates
Badgers, 75-47
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
In the middle of playing three games in three days,
the Baker boys basketball team fought off fatigue, and a
feisty Powder Valley squad, to stop the Badgers, 75-47,
on Wednesday, June 2 in the Baker gym.
Baker coach Jebron Jones said he encouraged the
Bulldogs to focus on unselfi sh team play.
“We need to make
the extra pass, and I
think they did a good
job doing that, and
we got easy buckets,”
The Baker boys, play-
Jones said.
ing their third game in
The fast pace of the
three nights, ran their
game was challeng-
winning streak to four
ing for Baker, coming
with a 78-44 win over
off a tough 73-66 win
Ontario Thursday, June 3
at Vale the previous
in the Baker gym.
evening. But the Bull-
Baker broke the game
dogs adjusted, taking
open early, leading 26-7
a 21-13 lead over the
after one quarter.
Badgers after one
Freshman Hudson
quarter.
Spike had a game-high
“They’re (Powder
18 points. Freshman
Valley) scrappy, we all
Paul Hobson added 14
know those kids, living
points, senior Mason
20 minutes down the
Van Arsdall had 11, and
road,” Jones said. “We
three Bulldogs had nine
knew they were going
points each — senior
to play hard, so I had
Gabe Gambleton,
to do something to try
junior Hayden Younger
and get them out of
and sophomore Diego
their comfort zone, and
Quintela.
the kids did a good job
tonight.”
Baker extended its
lead to 40-27 at halftime, but Jones said he emphasized
to the Bulldogs a few areas they could improve on in the
second half.
“They beat us with every loose ball, they beat us on
the boards, and they still did that in the second half, but
we created more turnovers, which led to easy layups,”
Jones said.
Bulldogs
rout Tigers
See Baker/Page 6A
BAKER MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Baker Dawgs wrap
up hoops season
The Baker Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade
boys basketball teams played a Grant Union team on
May 26 that combined seventh- and eighth-graders.
While the mixed Grant Union team played through-
out, the Baker seventh-graders played the fi rst half, and
the eighth-graders the second half.
Baker ended up rallying behind the eighth-graders in
the second half to win, 42-39.
In the fi rst half, Tyler Wirth had four points, Kale
Dalke three, and Hunter Coleman and Chase Roy two
points each as Grant Union took a 28-11 lead.
In the third quarter, with the Baker eighth-graders
on the fl oor, the Dawgs outscored Grant Union 20-5, cut-
ting the lead to 33-31 entering the fi nal quarter.
Baker took the lead early in the fourth quarter and
held on for the win.
Eli Long led Baker with 11 points. Grant Gambleton
had six, Daniel Brown fi ve and Palmer Chandler four.
Baker sweeps La Grande
On May 27 Baker played their last games of the
season, against La Grande, with the seventh-graders
winning a close one, 27-24, while the eighth-graders
routed the Tigers, 49-12.
See Dawgs/Page 6A
In front of a sizable crowd
in the Baker High gymna-
sium, the Bulldogs domi-
nated Powder Valley, 48-27, on
Wednesday, June 2.
It was a rare matchup be-
tween the Class 4A Bulldogs
and Class 1A Badgers.
The teams also played, at
North Powder, on Jan. 28,
2020, with Baker winning by
a nearly identical score, 49-27.
Before Wednesday’s game
at BHS, Baker coach Mat
Sand said he emphasized the
importance of communication
with his team, which has had
limited practice time during
this shortened season.
“You have to learn how
to let the game come to you,
because if you try to force it
and do more than it’s allow-
ing you to do it’s going to be a
trainwreck,” Sand said.
Baker was tested imme-
diately when point guard
Sydney Keller, the team’s sole
senior and veteran from the
Bulldogs 2019 state champi-
onship team, picked up two
early fouls.
Sophomore Sydnee Pierce
came off the bench and had
an early basket.
Sand was excited to see
how the experience boosted
Pierce’s confi dence.
“To see her come out and
have the game that she had,
that’s her building that confi -
dence, and her understanding
her role for this team,” Sand
said.
Pierce ended up with nine
points.
Baker built a 14-5 lead af-
ter one quarter and extended
the advantage to 27-14 at
halftime.
Despite the lead, Sand said
he told his team in the locker
room that they couldn’t relax
against the Badgers, a peren-
nial Class 1A power.
He said he wrote three
words on the blackboard —
rebounds, execute, defense.
“Rebounds are a huge thing
for us, I’m a fi rm believer that
rebounds and free throws win
games,” Sand said. “The sec-
ond thing was execute. Being
patient with your execution,
wait for it to come to you, and
play good solid defense, which
we did.”
Baker improved to 3-1
on the season, traveling
to Ontario on Thursday,
June 3 and dominating
the Tigers, 80-15.
Jozie Ramos scored
19 points to lead four
Bulldogs in double
fi gures. Fellow sopho-
more Macey Moore had
17 points, sophomore
Sydnee Pierce added
13, and senior captain
Sydney Keller had 12.
Baker will go for its
fourth straight win, after
a season-opening loss
to Nyssa, when it travels
to Powder Valley on
Monday, June 7 for a 6
p.m. tipoff against the
Badgers, who are 2-2 on
the season.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Sophomore Sydnee Pierce had a strong outing off the
bench Wednesday, June 2 against Powder Valley.
Sand said he was pleased
with Baker’s overall perfor-
mance.
“I was really happy with
the whole team effort, it’s not
just one individual,” he said.
Seniors Belle Blair and
McKenzie Leggett led the
Badgers with six points each,
and senior Keanna Bingham
had fi ve.
Rylee Elms and Keller had
six points each for Baker.
Macey Moore had four points.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2
POWDER VALLEY (27)
Blair 3 0-0 6, DJ Bingham 1 0-0 2, K. Leggett 0
3-6 3, Wallace 0 0-0 0, K. Bingham 2 1-2 5, J.
Bingham 1 0-0 2, M. Leggett 0 6-8 6, A. Bingham
1 1-2 3. Totals 8 11-14 27.
BAKER (48)
Elms 3 0-0 6, Flanagan 0 0-0 0, Jaca 1 1-2 3,
Wilde 0 0-0 0, Keller 2 2-4 6, Pierce 4 0-0 9, Dal-
ton 0 0-0 0, Roy 0 0-0 0, Paulsen 0 0-0 0, Ramos
7 6-9 20, Robb 0 0-0 0, Campbell 0 0-0 0, Moore
2 0-0 4. Totals 18 9-15 48.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Sophomore Taylor Dalton lines up a shot against Powder
Valley on Wednesday, June 2.
Powder Valley 5
9
4
9 — 27
Baker
14
13 17
4 — 48
Three-point baskets — Pierce. Total fouls —
Powder Valley 11, Baker 16.
THURSDAY, JUNE 3
Baker held the Badgers to
just four points in the third
quarter, while the Bulldogs
scored 17 points — fi ve by
Pierce — to extend the lead
to 44-18 entering the fi nal
quarter.
Sophomore Jozie Ramos
scored eight of her game-high
20 points in the third period,
despite facing double teams
much of the time.
“I thought it was awesome,
she came out and let the game
come to her, and she made
shots that she was missing
before,” Sand said of Ramos.
“That’s the type of player she
is, she is so wise with her ap-
proach to the game.”
BAKER (80)
Elms 2 0-0 4, Flanagan 4 0-0 8, Jaca 3 0-0 6,
Wilde 0 0-0 0, Keller 6 0-0 12, Pierce 6 0-0 13,
Dalton 0 0-0 0, Roy 0 0-0 0, Paulsen 0 0-0 0,
Ramos 9 1-2 19, Robb 0 0-0 0, Moore 8 0-2 17.
Totals 38 1-4 80.
ONTARIO (15)
Hernandez 1 0-0 2, Esquivel 0 0-0 0, Oester 1 0-0
2, Ortega 2 0-0 5, Pearson 2 0-0 4, Wilson 1 0-0 2,
Evans 0 0-0 0, Campbell 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 0-0 15.
Baker
18
14
25
23 — 80
Ontario 4
2
2
7 — 15
Three-point baskets — Pierce, Moore, Ortega.
Total fouls — Baker 8, Ontario 8.
Nuggets eliminate Trail Blazers
including 22 in the opening quarter, for
the third-seeded Nuggets. Denver will
PORTLAND — The Denver Nuggets take on Phoenix, which eliminated the
were undaunted, even when down 14
Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6, 113-100.
points in the third quarter and facing an Game 1 in the series is Monday, June 7 in
antagonistic Portland crowd.
Phoenix.
Nikola Jokic had 36 points and the
Denver advanced to the Western Con-
Nuggets eliminated the Portland Trail
ference semifi nals for the third straight
Blazers in six games with a 126-115 vic- season.
tory Thursday night, June 3.
Damian Lillard fi nished with 28 points
“Nobody can take the fi ght out of us,”
and 13 assists for the sixth-seeded Blaz-
Jokic said. “We will just go out there and ers. They led by 14 points in the third
fi ght and that’s what we have been doing. quarter but couldn’t stave off elimination.
We’re never going to quit. Quit is not in
Monte Morris hit a buzzer-beating
our vocabulary.”
3-pointer to close Denver to 101-98
Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points,
heading into the last period. Jokic hit a
By Anne M. Peterson
AP Sports Writer
3-pointer to put Denver ahead 108-106
and the Nuggets stretched it to 117-108
on Austin Rivers’ 3 with 3:52 left.
Portland tried to catch up, pulling to
121-115 on CJ McCollum’s layup, but
Aaron Gordon hit a corner 3-pointer that
all but sealed it for Denver with less than
a minute to go.
Portland crumbled in the fi nal quarter,
outscored 28-14.
“We didn’t do what was necessary to
win the series,” Lillard said. “We’ve got
to keep fi ghting, keep working and keep
coming back to battle. Regardless of how
it ended, we are always going to have our
heads held high, have class.”
EASTERN OREGON
2021
PHOTO CONTEST
Official Rules:
Photo Contest open now and closes at
11:59 pm Sunday, June 20, 2021.
Staff will choose the top 10. The public can
vote online for People’s Choice from 12:01
am Monday, June 21 through 11:59 pm
Thursday, June 30.
Digital or scanned photos only, uploaded
to the online platform. No physical copies.
Only photographers from Oregon may
participate.
The contest subject matter is wide open but
we’re looking for images that capture life
in Eastern Oregon.
Submit all photos
online at:
Entrants may crop, tone, adjust saturation
and make minor enhancements, but may
not add or remove objects within the
frame, or doctor images such that the final
product doesn’t represent what’s actually
before the camera.
The winners will appear in the July 8th
edition of Go Magazine; the top 25 will
appear online.
Gift cards to a restaurant of your choice
will be awarded for first, second and third
place.
bakercictyherald.com/photocontest