SPORTS
6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021
BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL FINISHES SEASON WITH 8-3 RECORD
BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bulldogs top Vale in finale Baker girls roll
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Senior Gabe Gambleton
capped his Baker High
School basketball career by
scoring 32 points and leading
the Bulldogs past Vale, 79-62,
on Thursday evening, June
17 in the BHS gym.
Baker fi nished its season
with an 8-3 record.
“If you are a great player
you can miss a couple of
shots, you just have to keep a
good mindset, a fast memory,
you miss a shot you just have
to move on and get to the
next one,” said Gambleton,
who topped 30 points for the
second time this season.
He scored 35 points
against La Grande on June 8.
On Thursday, Gambleton
scored 14 points in the fi rst
quarter as Baker took a 21-
15 lead.
The Bulldogs extended
Locals make
junior high
rodeo finals
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Gabe Gambleton scored 32 points in his fi nal high
school game on Thursday, June 17.
the advantage to 44-36 at
halftime.
Tanner Steele, with a
team-high 21 points, and
Diesel Johnson, who scored
19, kept Vale relatively
close until late in the fourth
quarter.
“I knew they would play
hard no matter what the
score was, they hit shots,”
Baker coach Jebron Jones
Three Baker City rodeo competitors
qualifi ed for the National Junior High Finals
Rodeo June 20-26 at Des Moines, Iowa.
Ashlyn Dalton, Krece Moore and Reagan
Martin qualifi ed by the national event with
fourth-place fi nishes at the Oregon state
TOURNEY
Oregon School Activities Association,
but the Baker and Powder Valley
Continued from Page 5A
athletics directors are aiming to
Baker will host games throughout conduct the tournament like any
all four days of the tournament, in- other season.
cluding the championship matchups.
“We’re just trying to do the best
Powder Valley will hold contests
that we possibly can to make it as
through the semifi nals, with some
close to what the original would
games running simultaneously in
have been like and honor their
the school’s secondary and main
efforts and celebrate the kids,” Gon-
gymnasiums.
zales said.
“Everything is coming together
The brackets are slated to include
really well and I’ve been impressed the two top teams from each Class
by everyone’s efforts so far,” said
1A conference, but opt-outs and
Powder Valley Athletic Director
summer commitments play a role in
Brad Dunten.
which teams can attend. The Crane
The 1A boys and girls teams
girls basketball team is the reigning
will each compete in a 16-team,
champion on the girls side, while
double elimination bracket. The
Damascus Christian won in 2020 on
tournament will not be an offi cial 1A the boys side.
state tournament, according to the
Powder Valley will compete on the
said of Vale, which fi nished
its season with a 5-3 record.
Although Gambleton
has graduated, Thursday’s
win also gave Baker fans a
glimpse of what’s to come
next winter when the Bull-
dogs will return to the court
for what’s expected to be a
normal season.
The rest of Baker’s points
were scored by freshmen,
sophomores or juniors.
Freshmen Paul Hobson (16
points) and Hudson Spike
(14) combined for 30 points,
while junior Kaiden Dalke
had 13 points.
“Next year is going to be
a lot different, there’s some
younger kids coming up, they
are going to be a little bit
hungry, and I challenge them
to work in the offseason to
get better, and we will see if
they’d be willing to do that,”
Jones said.
fi nals in Burns May 22-23.
The Baker trio will be competing for a vari-
ety of prizes and scholarships at Des Moines.
Results and other information is available
at https://www.catchdesmoines.com/event/
national-junior-high-fi nals-rodeo/27398/
girls side as the No. 3 seed, while the
boys team is still waiting on end-of-
season results. Allen Bingham’s girls
squad will tip-off against Elkton at 7
p.m. June 21 at Baker High School.
June 21 games will entail a mix
of boys and girls games across the
three available courts. Boys teams
will then play games at Baker on
June 22 and at Powder Valley on
June 23. Likewise, girls teams will
play at Powder Valley on June 22
and at Baker on June 23.
The championship games on June
24 will be at Baker High School with
the girls set for 5:30 p.m. and the
boys tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Both schools will hold attendance
to 50% capacity for the games in or-
der to comply with state and county
guidelines for indoor events. Masks
past Vikings,
improve to 8-3
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
The Baker girls basketball team won its second
straight game, and fourth in the past fi ve, with a 50-16
romp over Vale on Thursday at Vale.
Baker improved to 8-3 on the season.
Sophomore Jozie Ramos led Baker in scoring with
16 points. Sophomore Macey Moore added nine points,
sophomores Rylee Elms and Makenzie Flanagan had
six each, and senior Sydney Keller scored six points as
well.
Baker coach Mat Sand said he was proud of his
team’s efforts at both ends of the court, and in particu-
lar on defense, as the Bulldogs held Vale to 11 fewer
points than the Vikings scored in Baker’s 51-27 win the
Baker gym on June 1.
“It was a good team effort on our part,” Sand said.
“You got to be able to contribute no matter what is go-
ing on through the night, so when you see the contribu-
tions across the board with scoring, and contributing
defensively, so when I saw that last night I was very
pleased.”
Baker wrapped up its season on Friday against rival
La Grande at La Grande. The Tigers entered the game
9-0, including a 51-32 win over Baker on June 8.
See the Tuesday, June 22 issue of the Baker City
Herald for a story about the Baker-La Grande game.
will be required for spectators in
attendance unless vaccinated for
COVID-19.
“You’ve just got to stay organized
and follow the guidance with all the
regulations,” Gonzales said. “Then,
we try to clearly communicate that.”
Baker County Tournaments is
hosting the 2021 1A state tourna-
ment, as they have in years past.
The organization will be in charge of
tickets, score-keeping, announcing,
trophies and other matters related
to the tournament.
Adults can purchase four-day
passes for $45 or pay $8 for single-
session tickets. Student tickets are
available at $35 for four-day passes
and $6 per single-session.
With so many teams traveling for
the tournament, Gonzales antici-
Saint Alphonsus Baker City
pates coaches and athletes lodging
across Baker and Union counties.
Due to the infl ux of travel during
the summer, several teams have
informed Gonzales that they will be
camping or staying in RVs for the
duration of the tournament.
Each team will compete in three
games regardless of results of the
fi rst round, with losing teams play-
ing for a chance at redemption in
the consolation bracket. Nixyaawii
(11-1) enters the 1A tournament as
the top seed on the boys side, while
Crane (8-0) is the top-seeded girls
team.
“Athletics were my world at that
age and I wouldn’t be what I am
without that,” Dunten said. “It’s a
great opportunity for some closure
at the end of the season.”
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