A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
SPORTS
BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL
Baker rallies past Vale in 3 OT thriller
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker’s boys basketball team
lost an hour crossing into the
Mountain time zone, but the
Bulldogs had barely begun to
extend their evening.
It took three overtimes — 12
minutes total, the equivalent of
an extra quarter and a half —
but Baker finally vanquished
the Vale Vikings, 88-87, on
Tuesday, Jan. 18, in a raucous
Vale gym.
Isaiah Jones scored off a
missed layup with 2 seconds
left, the final lead change in a
tense, exciting game in which
the teams swapped momen-
tum like trading cards.
Jones was fouled on the
putback.
He missed the free throw,
and although his dad, Jebron
Jones, who’s also Baker’s head
coach, said the miss wasn’t in-
tentional, it was actually to the
Bulldogs’ advantage.
Had Isaiah Jones made
the free throw, Vale could
have called timeout — Vi-
kings coach Colby Shira had
tried to do so before the free
throw — and potentially set
up a play that would have led
to at least a decent look at a
game-winning shot.
But with just 2 seconds left,
the Vikings had no chance
to rebound the missed free
throw and get anything re-
sembling a shot.
“It worked out great for us,”
Jebron Jones said.
That last missed free throw
was the only one, however, that
he would describe in anything
but negative terms.
Baker went just 6 for 14
from the line, including 4 for
10 in the three overtime pe-
riods.
“We could have won in reg-
ulation if we had made one or
two more free throws,” Jebron
Jones said. “It just goes to show
how important free throws are.
We missed a bunch.”
Vale did not.
The Vikings were 11 of 12
from the line, including 8 for 8
in the overtimes.
Despite his disappointment
credited Vale with making “a
lot of tough shots.”
“We can’t continue to give
Logsdon 0 3-4 3, Gambleton 1 0-0 Stepleton 4 4-4 16, Wolfe 7 0-0 15,
up 14 3’s and expect to win,”
2, Quintela 1 0-0 2, Younger 2 0-0 Steele 3 2-2 8, McCourty 5 0-0 14,
he said.
5, Molina 1 0-0 2, Spike 10 1-2 22, Johnson 11 4-4 31, Haueter 1 0-0 2,
Jones was generally pleased
Jones 10 2-8 23, Long 6 0-0 12,
Karata 1 1-2 1. Totals 31 11-12 87.
with Baker’s offensive perfor-
Hobson 6 0-0 17, Mitchell 0 0-0 0. Baker 17 19 18 10 9 5 10 — 88
mance, which yielded a sea-
son-high 88 points — albeit
Totals 37 6-14 88.
Vale 20 16 11 17 9 5 9 — 87
with 12 extra minutes.
“We shared the ball well,” he
said.
twisting layup that gave Baker were both in position to grab
Baker had four players score
the lead at 77-76 with 1:42 left. the rebound, and Jones made
in double figures, with Isa-
the game-winning putback.
Baker led 78-76, but Vale’s
iah Jones tallying 23, Spike 22,
Prior to the overtime dra-
John Wolfe scored inside with
Hobson 17 and Long 12.
39 seconds left to tie the score, matics, the game was close
The Bulldogs, who have
most of the way, just as Jebron
and the game went to a third
won four straight and, at 10-3,
Jones expected.
extra period.
are ranked eight in the Class
Vale entered the game with
Vale led 85-81 after Colten
4A division, now prepare for
Stepleton made two free throws a 12-3 record, with two wins
each over Ontario and Weiser, their twice-delayed start to the
with 1:43 left, but Baker’s Jax-
Idaho. The Vikings lost 61-
son Logsdon made two free
GOL season, by playing host to
throws 12 seconds later to cut 56 to La Grande, which is
Ontario on Friday, Jan. 21, at
likely Baker’s chief rival for the 7:30 p.m. in the Baker gym.
the Vikings’ lead to 85-83.
Greater Oregon League title, on
Logsdon then made one of
Baker is then scheduled to
two free throws to cut the lead Dec. 16.
travel to Milton-Freewater
“I knew going into the game on Saturday, Jan. 22, to take
to 85-84 with 55 seconds left.
Vale would be ready to go,”
Baker’s Jaron Long stole a
on Mac-Hi at 2:30 p.m. That
pass, then rebounded his own Jones said.
game was initially set for Jan.
The game was tied at 36
miss to give Baker an 86-85
14, but was postponed due
at halftime, but Baker forged
lead with 23.8 seconds left.
to COVID-19 issues on the
ahead by as many as 10 points Mac-Hi team.
On Vale’s ensuing posses-
in the third quarter before set-
sion, Isaiah Jones, going for
Jones said he’s confident
tling for a 54-47 lead entering
a steal, committed what Jeb-
that Baker is ready for back-
the fourth quarter.
ron Jones called a “silly” foul,
to-back games, after showing
Vale rallied in the fourth
and Stepleton made both free
that they’re in good condition
throws to give Vale its final lead quarter thanks largely to
by playing strong against Vale
3-pointers.
with 17.7 seconds left.
despite the extra quarter and
The Vikings had three of
On the final possession,
a half.
their 14 3-pointers in the
Spike beat his man off the
“I think our kids are in de-
dribble and drove to the bas- fourth quarter.
cent shape,” Jones said. “We
Jones said a few of the 14
ket, but his layup attempt
know that we have to be, be-
long balls resulted from Bak-
rolled off the rim.
cause we’re not very big. We’re
er’s defensive lapses, but he also looking foward to league play.”
Isaiah Jones and Logsdon
BAKER (88)
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker’s Isaiah Jones, shown here against Fruitland on Jan. 6, 2022,
scored the game-winning rebound basket with 2 seconds left in the
Bulldogs’ 88-87, three-overtime win at Vale on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.
at Baker’s free-throwing shoot-
ing woes, Jones was impressed
by the Bulldogs’ fortitude in a
road game in front of an en-
thusiastic group of Vale fans.
“They definitely had the ad-
vantage, and their fans were
really intense,” Jones said. “It
was a great atmosphere to play
in. I like the way they handled
themselves on the court. They
didn’t seem too flustered, and
they didn’t fold.”
Indeed the Bulldogs seemed
to thrive on adversity.
Baker trailed in each of the
overtime periods.
“We had to battle back for
sure,” Jones said.
Vale had a chance to win
the game in regulation, with
the score tied at 64, but Baker
forced a turnover in the final
second to send the game into
the first overtime.
Baker led 73-69 with 1:40
left in the first extra 4-minute
period, but Vale rallied.
Baker still led 73-71 with
17.8 seconds left, but Isaiah
Jones missed a free throw
with 14.7 seconds left and the
referees called a foul on Paul
Hobson on a rebound at-
tempt, sending Vale’s Tanner
Steele to the free throw line.
Steele made both shots with
13.9 seconds left.
Baker had two potential
game winners in the final 5
seconds, but Hobson’s three-
pointer, and Hudson Spike’s
15-footer, both just missed,
sending the game into a sec-
ond overtime.
Vale’s Diesel Johnson, who
led all scorers with 31 points,
banked in a three-pointer with
2:02 left in the second over-
time to give Vale a 76-75 lead.
Jones beat his defender with
a crossover and soared for a
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