B2
Sports
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Prospectors end season with two-point OT loss
Team finishes
fourth at district
tournament
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant Union Prospec-
tor boys came prepared for the
fray with Union at the Feb. 17-
18 Wapiti District Basketball
Tournament, but the contest
didn’t go their way.
The Union Bobcats took
the 50-48 win in overtime
Friday at Quinn Coliseum at
Eastern Oregon University in
La Grande.
“We knew it was going to
be a huge dog fight going in,”
said Grant Union head coach
Kelsy Wright. “We were ready
and prepared. We did a great
job offensively and defensively
— a great job stopping their top
scorers.”
The teams split wins in the
regular season.
“It was a tough match up
for us, but we did a great job,”
Wright said. “We were down
12 points at one time and came
back and tied the score and
went into overtime.”
The score was 46-46 as the
teams went into overtime.
Both teams scored two
points. The clock was running
down, when the Prospectors
had a driving opportunity.
The ball came out of Pros-
pector possession, loose on
the floor, with the Bobcats and
Prospectors diving for the ball.
A foul was called on Grant
Union, and with 1.8 seconds
left, a Bobcat player hit 2-2 at
the free-throw line for the win.
Grant Union followed up the
next day defeating Elgin 47-26,
the game deciding fourth and
fifth place in the tournament.
Prospector seniors Billy Co-
penhaver and Jack Gentis en-
tered the contest as starters on
the team.
“We just had a great time.
All the players on my bench
had plenty of time,” Wright
said. “It was a great experience
for the younger kids to get into
a playoff game on a big court in
front of a lot of people.”
Wright said, although he
feels they should be advancing
to state, he’s looking forward to
a bright future with the team.
“I’m grateful and I’m bless-
ed to have this opportunity to
coach these boys,” he said. “I
hope I’ve made a difference.
I’m happy and pleased with the
way the boys played all season
long.
“The great thing is next
year we’re going to be pretty
loaded, and I think we have a
great chance to become league
champions, district champions
and state champions.”
Grant Union vs. Union
Duane Stokes: 17 points
Cauy Weaver: 10
Cole Deiter: 8
Ty McDaniel: 7
Zack Deiter: 6
Grant Union vs. Elgin
Duane Stokes: 14 (one three-pointer)
Cauy Weaver: 5
Cole Deiter: 4
Zack Deiter: 5 (one three-pointer)
Ty McDaniel: 5 (one three-pointer)
Jack Gentis: 4 (one three-pointer)
Jacob Vaughan: 5
Kellen Shelley: 2
Billy Copenhaver: 3
Tiger boys fall to
Panthers, 54-46
Team finishes
one place out of
state contention
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Photos by The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Prairie City Panther head coach Bo Workman gives a pep talk during the second half of Thursday’s district game
against Monument/Dayville.
Lady Panthers experience thrill
of victory and agony of defeat
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Prairie City Lady Panther
coach Bo Workman said his
team has shown improvement
with each game throughout the
season.
The Panthers were hopeful
they would come far enough to
reach the state competition, but
their season came to a close at
the district tournament.
The 1A-8 High Desert
District Tournament started
off right for Prairie City last
Thursday when they defeated
their cross-county opponents,
the Monument/Dayville Ti-
gers, 44-30 in Game One.
The contest was followed
by a 68-20 loss on Friday to
the Adrian Antelopes, which
entered the tournament as the
top seed.
With third place and ad-
vancement in the state playoffs
on the line on Saturday, the
Panthers lost 54-47 to the Jor-
dan Valley Mustangs.
The Panthers faced the
the
Mustangs three times in the
regular season, all three dou-
ble-digit losses. This time,
Prairie City narrowed the gap
to seven points.
In the first quarter, it was
Jordan Valley 13, Prairie City
12, but that was the closest
Prairie City would get as the
Mustangs galloped away with
the lead.
The halftime score was 24-
16.
Workman said he was
proud of how his team played
against Jordan Valley.
“My girls came a long ways
from day one,” he said. “They
were trying to overcome the
mental toughness of the top
three teams in the league, and I
thought they played well.”
Prairie City was No. 4 en-
tering the tournament and fin-
ished fourth.
He said Sarah Ennis had a
great performance in the game.
“Sarah had a great game
and a great tournament all the
way around,” he said. “We’re
going to lose her, and we’re
corner’s
HOT
SH T
EEK
OF THE W
DUANE STOKES
School: Grant Union
Grade: 11
Parent: Kelly and Lori Stokes
Sport: Basketball
Position: Point Guard
What I like best about my sport: “I like being
able to spend time with my friends and my team,
doing what I like most.”
Coach’s Comment: “He’s such a versatile player.
He can dribble and shoot the ball extremely well
and always has a great attitude, no
matter what circumstance. He’s
always a great kid to coach.”
-Coach Kelsy Wright
going to miss her a lot. She’s a
big asset to this team.”
He added he was happy
with his team’s effort in the
game.
“I’m proud of how they
played tonight. They fought
and dug deep,” he said.
The tournament winners
were the Crane Mustangs,
which beat Adrian in the
championship game.
The Prairie City girls won
the Sportsmanship Award,
and Brianna Zweygardt and
Megan Camarena were recog-
nized as High Desert League
Scholar Athletes.
High Desert League
All-Tournament selections
Second team: Brianna Zweygardt
and Cassie Hire
Prairie City vs. Monument/
Dayville
Brianna Zweygardt: 14 points (one
three-pointer)
Sarah Ennis: 12 (two three-pointers)
Cassie Hire: 11 (one three-pointer,
6-9 free-throws)
Emily Ennis: 3
Hailee Wall: 2
Megan Camarena: 2
Prairie City vs. Jordan Valley
Cassie Hire: 20
Sarah Ennis: 10
Emily Ennis: 7
Hailee Wall: 6
Brianna Zweygardt: 4
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Monument/Dayville vs. Prairie City
Hayden Schafer: 14 (three three-pointers)
Tanner Walczyk: 10 (three-three-pointers)
Cody Kluser: 9 (3-6 free throws)
John Ramirez: 5 (one three-pointer)
Drew Wilburn: 4
GW Clark: 3 (3-6 free throws)
Gabe Walker: 1
Monument/Dayville vs. Adrian
Hayden Schafer: 13 (three three-pointers)
John Ramirez: 6
Drew Wilburn: 6
Cody Kluser: 6
Tanner Walczyk: 3 (one three-pointer)
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Prairie City Panther Brianna Zwegardt (20) goes up to
score in the district game against Monument/Dayville.
Zwegardt led the team with 14 points.
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The Monument/Dayville
Tigers had a season of growth,
but it came to a close at the Feb.
16-18 1A-8 High Desert Dis-
trict Tournament.
Monument/Dayville lost a
54-46 match Friday to the Prai-
rie City Panthers.
The Tigers, led by head
coach Jeff Schafer, met up with
their Panther rivals twice this
season, losing close matches
each time.
Last Friday was yet another
close clash between the teams.
At the half, the Tigers had a
23-22 lead, coming back from
a 12-point deficit in the first
quarter.
In the third, the teams tied
the score 33-33 with two min-
utes left in the quarter. Then
Prairie City pulled ahead 39-34,
going into the fourth.
The game was marked by
a battle beyond the arc in the
fourth.
Tiger Tanner Walczyk
scored two three-pointers, and
his teammate Hayden Schafer
hit one — back and forth with
Panther player Levi Burke,
who landed four three-point
shots.
In the end, Prairie City was
able to keep the lead for the win.
“They fought hard,” said
Monument/Dayville
head
coach Jeff Schafer. “Prairie
City is a deep team and well
coached. We’re just still young,
but they did a great job. All the
kids did a great job and played
hard. We always have faith in
this team. When they work as a
team they always do a great job
— we can beat anybody, but
Prairie City just kept fighting.”
The Tigers lost their final
chance to reach the state play-
offs as they were defeated 43-
34 by the Adrian Antelopes.
The game decided third place
and the opportunity to advance.
“They played hard,” Scha-
fer said. “They’re a young
team, and I’ll look forward to
coaching them next year. They
did a great job.”
Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Monument/Dayville Tiger Drew Wilburn grabs a loose ball
in the battle with the Prairie City Panthers in the 1A-8
High Desert District Tournament. From left, Tigers Hayden
Schafer and Gabe Walker (10), Panther Syd Holman (23,
back), Tiger GW Clark (23) and Panther Brogan McKrola.
Monument/Dayville Lady
Tiger season ends at districts
Tiger coach
praises team for
never stopping
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Monument/Dayville
Tiger girls never gave up in the
season or in the three-day 1A-8
High Desert District Tourna-
ment.
The Tigers, led by head
coach Taylor Schmadeka,
played aggressively in Game
One against the Prairie City, but
the Panthers won 44-30.
The Tigers had a strong
showing in the first quarter
with Kendall Hettinga and Ra-
vyn Walker each hitting a three-
point shot and Faythe Schafer
sinking two two-pointers.
The teams were tied 10-10
going into the second. Then the
Panthers outshot the Tigers 16-
11 in the second.
Scoring was fairly even
in the third, but Prairie City
pushed ahead in the final eight
minutes, outshooting the Tigers
12-5.
“We had a good first half,”
Schmadeka said. “In the second
half, we didn’t have a lot of our
shots go down and started to get
a little discouraged. Prairie City
wanted it a little more towards
the end.”
Midway through the season,
Monument/Dayville lost a key
player, Kyla Emerson, to an in-
jury, but the starter was able to
return for the tournament.
Schamadeka praised Emer-
son for her aggressive perfor-
mance in the game.
“Overall, I’m happy with
our season,” he added. “The
girls never stopped playing.”
The Tigers followed up
on Friday with a 42-32 win
over Harper in the consolation
game.
Tiger Kendall Hettinga was
recognized as a High Desert
League Scholar Athlete, earn-
ing a 3.5 or higher cumulative
GPA.
High Desert League All-Tournament
selections
Second team: Ravyn Walker
Monument/Dayville vs. Prairie City
Ravyn Walker: 8 points (two three-point-
ers)
Kendall Hettinga: 6 (two three-pointers)
Faythe Schafer: 6
Danielle Rhoda: 6
Kyla Emerson: 4