SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
SPORTS
BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL
Baker rally falls just short
 Homedale holds
off Bulldogs to
avenge Dec. 2 loss
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker freshman Jaron
Long grabbed the errant pass,
raced downcourt for a layin,
and the decibel level from
the Bulldog fans reached a
crescendo.
The home crowd in the
Baker gym sensed the cul-
mination of a fourth-quarter
comeback as Long’s basket
trimmed Homedale’s lead,
which had been 10 points just
a few minutes earlier, to 52-50.
The Bulldogs hadn’t been
so close since the third quarter
in their home opener Thurs-
day night, Dec. 9.
But it wasn’t to be.
Homedale coach Cam Long
called timeout after Jaron
Long’s score, and Trojan senior
Hayden Kincheloe’s rebound
basket with 1:48 left pushed
the lead back to four, at 54-50.
Baker was forced to foul in
the fi nal minute to stop the
clock, and although Home-
dale missed three of four free
throws, including the front
end of two straight one-and-
ones, the Bulldogs were
unable to take advantage,
missing one shot and turning
the ball over on another pos-
session.
The Trojans went on to win
57-52, avenging Baker’s 55-49
win at Homedale on Dec. 2.
“We didn’t execute overall
at the level we have been, but
I can’t fault their effort,” Baker
coach Jebron Jones said of the
Bulldogs, who dropped to 2-2.
“The boys continued to fi ght.”
After Baker freshman
Isaiah Jones made two free
throws to cut Homedale’s lead
to 38-36 with 2:49 left in the
third quarter, the Trojans con-
cluded the quarter with a 12-2
run to boost their lead to 50-38
at the end of the quarter.
Jebron Jones said a full-
court press was the Bulldogs’
best chance to quickly pare
that lead, and early in the
fi nal quarter the strategy
yielded dividends.
Isaiah Jones scored off a re-
bound, and Long had another
putback basket after a Baker
steal, and 40 seconds into the
fourth quarter the Homedale
lead was down to 50-42.
After Trojan senior Eli
Heck hit a 14-foot jumper in
the key to push the lead back
to 10, Long took over.
He scored six of Baker’s
eight points in an 8-0 run
— senior Hayden Younger
swished a 15-footer for the
other points — that ended
with his steal and layin that
cut the lead to 52-50 and
prompted the timeout.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker sophomore Hudson Spike shoots Thursday
night, Dec. 9 against Homedale defenders Alijah
Joyner, left, and Hayden Kincheloe. Spike had seven
points in Baker’s 57-52 loss.
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Baker’s Alex Ritter, top, wrestles during the Enterprise Kickoff tournament Dec. 3.
Jebron Jones said Long
took advantage of his quick-
ness both on defense and on
a pair of drives to the basket
where he beat his defender.
“Jaron had a great game,”
Jones said. “He got to the
rim — he’s quick enough to do
that.”
Jones said he was pleased
with his young team’s resil-
ience — the Bulldogs also
had a 13-3 run in the second
quarter.
“But I’d rather we didn’t
get into the situation where
we have to come back in the
fi rst place,” he said.
Baker took a quick 2-0 lead
on senior post Nick Mitchell’s
rebound basket.
Homedale senior guard
Sigmund Goode scored the
Trojans’ fi rst 11 points, includ-
ing a trio of 3-pointers, the last
of which gave Homedale an
11-7 lead.
Baker took a brief 14-13
lead late in the fi rst quarter on
another Mitchell putback, but
Homedale junior guard Elijah
Renteria fi nished the quarter
with two straight 3-pointers,
within 15 seconds, to give the
Trojans a 19-14 lead at the
end of the quarter.
Jones said he didn’t expect
Homedale’s long-range shoot-
ing — the Trojans had fi ve
3-pointers in the fi rst quarter
alone, and eight for the game.
Homedale made just four
3-pointers in the Dec. 2 game.
Goode and Renteria
combined for six 3-pointers
Thursday, and neither had a
3-pointer in the earlier contest.
Jones said the 3-pointers
were “big momentum chang-
ers.”
Homedale senior Josh
Brown had a 3-pointer that
boosted the Trojans’ lead to 26-
16 early in the second quarter.
But Baker then went on
the 13-3 run. Three Bulldogs
had 3-pointers in the run —
sophomore Hudson Spike,
freshman Jaxon Logsdon
and, lastly, sophomore Paul
Hobson. Hobson’s shot with
1:32 left in the quarter gave
Baker its second, and last,
lead, at 27-26.
Homedale scored the last
fi ve points of the half to lead
31-27 at the break.
Jones said Baker just
couldn’t overcome its poor
shooting, including missing
its fi rst six shots.
“We missed layups and
jumpers — there were a lot
of missed opportunities,” he
said. “We had passes we usu-
ally catch.”
Baker had a balanced
scoring night, but only
one Bulldog was in double
fi gures — Hobson, with 10.
Long had eight points, Spike
and Jones seven each, and
Mitchell, Logsdon and Grant
Gambleton had six points
each.
Goode led Homedale with
16 points. Kincheloe added
14 points, and Mason Strong
had 13.
Baker’s fi rst home game
was also its last for more
than two weeks.
The Bulldogs’ next fi ve
games are on the road, start-
ing with a road trip to West-
ern Oregon this weekend for
games Friday night, Dec. 10
at Estacada, and at Molalla
the following afternoon.
Baker travels to Klamath
County next weekend for
games against Mazama on
Friday, Dec. 17, and Klamath
Union the next day. The Bull-
dogs then head to Pendleton
on Dec. 21 before returning
home for the Baker Invita-
tional Dec. 27-29.
Wrestlers top Vallivue
Baker City Herald
NAMPA, Idaho — The
Baker wrestling team
topped Vallivue, Idaho, in
a dual match Wednesday
evening, Dec. 8 at Colum-
bia High School in Nampa,
Idaho.
The Bulldogs also
wrestled against Columbia
in a dual, losing 60-24.
“Everyone had a fun
night at Columbia High
School,” Baker coach Bran-
don Young said. “We lost to
Columbia but there were
a couple of matches where
we just got caught in a bad
position in matches that
we were actually pretty
close in. I think as the
season progresses we will
defi nitely close that gap on
Columbia, as we improve
and get our team down
closer to the weight they
will compete at for region-
als.”
Young said he was
pleased with the team’s
conditioning level for so
early in the season.
He said freshman
Aldo Duran, wrestling at
120 pounds, had a strong
match against Vallivue,
winning 9-6. Duran was
leading his Columbia op-
ponent when the wrestler
used a spladle move, a
common counter technique.
“Aldo Duran had some
of the toughest matches of
the night and got into some
positions he isn’t used to,
so it was a great learning
moment for him,” Young
said.
Senior Gavin Stone,
at 160 pounds, also went
1-1, beating his Vallivue
opponent and putting in
a strong match against a
Columbia wrestler who is
one of the top competitors
in the Idaho 4A level.
“Gavin was close on a
couple of reversals,” Young
said. “One was right at
the end of a round and
the other one he didn’t
quite fi nish, so didn’t get
awarded his points. It was
a good fi ght, just an in your
face physical kind of grind,
which is exactly what
Gavin likes to do.”
See, Wrestlers/Page A6
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BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL
Shorthanded Bulldogs
breeze past Homedale
Baker used its pressing
defense to good effect in a 66-
36 win over Homedale on the
The Baker girls basket-
ball team wasn’t deterred by Bulldogs’ home court Dec. 2.
On Thursday at Home-
its depleted roster, and the
Bulldogs handled Homedale dale, Baker maintained a
modest lead most of the
46-30 on Thursday, Dec. 9 at
game, leading 11-8 after the
Homedale.
Junior Makenzie Flanagan fi rst quarter and 26-14 at
wasn’t able to play after being halftime.
Junior Jozie Ramos, who
injured late in Baker’s 48-47
loss at Pendleton on Tuesday, led all scorers with 19 points,
had 11 in the fi rst half.
Dec. 7.
“Jozie again played really
And junior guard Sydnee
well,” Gonzales said. “She’s a
Pierce had only one practice
tough match up for anybody
before returning from an
we play.”
injury, Baker coach Buell
Gonzales said fellow junior
Gonzales Jr. said.
Rylee Elms also had another
With fewer players avail-
able, Gonzales said he didn’t strong game on both ends of
the court, scoring eight points
call for as much aggressive
— including fi ve of seven
full-court defense as he
normally would — a strategy from the free throw line —
that can yield turnovers and and playing good defense.
Junior guard Taylor
easy baskets but also is physi-
Gyllenberg also had a strong
cally demanding.
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
outing with nine points.
Baker dominated the third
quarter, 10-3, to push its lead
to 36-17 entering the fi nal
period.
“We opened it up a little
in the second half,” Gonzales
said.
Junior Skylar Roy added
four points, and fellow juniors
Brooklyn Jaca and Macey
Moore had a basket each.
Baker, which improved to
2-1 on the season, is in West-
ern Oregon this weekend for
a pair of games.
The Bulldogs played
Estacada on Friday, and will
take on Molalla Saturday.
Assistant coaches Jason
Ramos and Amy Younger will
guide the team this weekend,
as Gonzales will be attending
a funeral.
The Baker JV team routed
Homedale 50-12 on Thursday.
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