A10
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
WEDNESDAY
January 17, 2018
Grant Union boys outpace Elgin for first league win
Pros ranked fifth
in state
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Duane Stokes flies up to
score under pressure from Elgin Husky Kendrick
Johnson.
The Grant Union Prospec-
tor boys started off their Wapiti
League season with two victo-
ries — a 56-34 win over the El-
gin Huskies at home Friday and
a 74-51 win Saturday in Union
over the Bobcats.
On Friday, Prospector Duane
Stokes said he was happy with
the outcome with Elgin.
“I’m glad we got off to such
Tiger boys fall to
Grant Union JV in OT
By Angel Carpenter
a good start, and I think this
proves that we have really high
hopes to go far this season,” he
said.
“We really blended well out
there and played as a unit,” add-
ed his teammate Kellen Shelley.
“We’re first in league, so far, and
we’d like to keep that until the
end of the season.”
The energy from both teams
was strong in the first quarter.
Elgin made attempts for the
basket in the first minutes, grab-
bing offensive rebounds until
Husky Ian Smith scored.
Grant Union’s Cole Deiter
and Cauy Weaver both got on
the board. Then Smith tied it 4-4.
After Wade Reimers scored
2, Elgin landed a 3-pointer.
Stokes tied it at the free-
throw line. Then Zack Deiter got
the lead back at the free-throw
line 2-2 after Elgin committed a
technical foul.
Prospector Jacob Vaughan
topped it off, scoring beyond the
arc to give Grant Union a 12-8
lead to close the quarter.
Grant Union stayed in the
lead from there, outshooting El-
gin 18-9 in the second for a 50-
25 lead heading into halftime.
See BOYS, Page A13
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector
Zack Deiter pushes
through to score in
Friday’s game against the
Elgin Huskies.
Total domination
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Monument/Dayville
Tiger varsity team pushed
Grant Union Prospector junior
varsity players into overtime
in their Jan. 9 contest in John
Day, but Grant Union battled
on for a 6-point victory.
Tiger JT Hand led overall
in scoring with 13 points, and
his teammate Drew Wilburn
had 9.
Grant Union had 10 players
contributing points, including
Devon Stokes, leading with 9,
and Jacob Vaughan and Jor-
dan Hall had 8 each.
Monument/Dayville (0-
12), having lost four seniors
to graduation last year, are in
building mode this year. Still,
the Tigers gave Grant Union a
run for their money.
In the first quarter, the Ti-
gers sprang ahead with a 10-6
lead.
Things started swaying
Grant Union’s way offensive-
ly and defensively in the sec-
ond.
Prospectors
Jacob
Vaughan, Mason Gerry, Dev-
on Stokes and CJ Glimpse
scored 2 each to start.
Jordan Hall shot 2-2 at the
free-throw line to give Grant
Union a 20-10 lead.
The teams scrambled for
the ball on both sides of the
court in the final two minutes
of the half, then Tigers Hand
and Wilburn found the basket,
with the Prospectors leading
20-14 at halftime.
Monument/Dayville out-
shot Grant Union 9-8 in the
third, and began narrowing
the gap in the fourth.
Mark Thomas gave the
Tigers a 29-28 lead after land-
ing a 3-pointer, and the teams
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Monument/Dayville Tiger
JT Hand (21) jumps to
score over the reach of
Grant Union Prospector
Mason Gerry (24) and Opie
McDaniel (42, left).
traded leads three times as the
clock ticked down.
The Monument/Dayville
fans went wild when Hand
made a 2-point shot with just
a second left for a 39-39 tie,
sending the game into extra
minutes.
Freshman Jacob Smith and
sophomore Taylor Hunt each
went 1-2 at the free-throw line
for the Prospectors.
Then Hall honed in, scor-
ing three times, consecutively,
for 6 points.
Hand added 2 for the Ti-
gers in the final seconds, and
Grant Union came away with
the win.
Hall said there was a rea-
son behind his intensity in
See OT, Page A13
Tiger girls lead early for
2-point win over Lady Pros JV
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
An early lead and burst
of energy in the third quarter
gave the Monument/Dayville
Tigers an edge for their 38-
36 win over the Grant Union
Prospector junior varsity team
Jan. 9 in John Day.
Monument/Dayville
leaped to an 8-4 lead in the
first quarter.
Tigers Aubrey Bowlus
and Denali Twehues added 2
each to start the second, then
Bowlus scored again after
teammate Kyla Emerson re-
bounded.
Grant Union’s Kori Jo
Girvin nabbed a steal and a
rebound with Baylee Combs
cashing in for 2 points and
landing a 3-pointer. Maris-
sa Smith also contributed 2
points.
Faythe Schafer added 2 for
the Tigers in the final seconds
to give Monument/Dayville a
16-11 lead going into the sec-
ond half.
Prospector Tyler Blood
started the scoring in the third
with a 2-point shot, but Mon-
ument/Dayville ended up out-
shooting the Prospectors 12-6
for an 11-point lead.
Grant Union fired up in the
final 8 minutes, outscoring the
Tigers 19-10.
Alcie Moore contributed 9
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The Monument/Dayville
Tiger varsity girls celebrate
after their 38-36 win over
Grant Union Prospector
junior varsity on Jan. 9 in
John Day.
of her 13 points in the fourth.
Makenna Culley scored
twice beyond the arc for the
Prospectors, her second shot
bringing the score to 30-27,
See JV, Page A13
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union’s Trinity Hutchison (5) fights for a rebound in the game against Elgin, her teammate Mariah Wright
(2) in the action.
Grant Union girls take 32-point win over Huskies
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
T
he Grant Union
girls are setting
themselves up for
a great season in
the 2A Wapiti
League, after toppling the
Elgin Huskies 82-44 in the
Prospectors’ league opener
Friday night, followed by a
59-35 win on Saturday over
the Union Bobcats.
The Prospectors are 9-3
overall and ranked No. 5
among OSAA teams.
Grant Union set the bar
high from the start Friday
with Mariah Moulton land-
ing 11 of her game-high 19
points in the first quarter
and Kaylee Wright adding 6
of her 16 points. Wright was
also 6-6 at the free-throw
line for the night.
“We started the game
with intensity, and we’re
definitely working on be-
ing more consistent,” said
Prospector Madi McKro-
la, who had 9 points in the
game.
That intensity showed in
Grant Union’s 25-10 lead in
the first quarter, besting El-
gin 49-24 at the half.
Elgin’s Tymra Anderson
had 9 points in the second
quarter with a couple bas-
kets from two other players,
including a 3-pointer, while
six Prospectors got in on the
scoring, combining for 24.
Grant Union’s defensive
intensity continued in the
second half.
In the third, Prospec-
tor Mariah Wright took a
rebound on a fast break to
score, followed by another
bucket.
As Grant Union’s Alcie
Moore attempted a shot from
outside the arc at the buzzer,
she was fouled, and went 1-3
at the free-throw line, the
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector Hailie Wright takes a shot in
Friday’s game against Elgin.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Grant Union Prospector
Makenna Culley (20) races
past an Elgin opponent en
route to the basket.
score 67-31, Prospectors.
“Every second counts,”
said Grant Union head coach
Casey Hallgarth, comment-
ing on that moment in the
game.
Elgin’s Jocelyn Palmer
earned 8 points for the Hus-
kies in the fourth, but Grant
Union outshot the visitors
15-13 for the win.
“We’re leaning on our
defense — that’s been our
game,” Hallgarth said,
adding his team’s quick-
ness and full-court pressure
tends to wear out their op-
ponents.
He said Kaylee Wright
was a leader on the court.
“Kaylee had a lot of
steals,” he said. “She’s at
the head of our snake, and
we feed off of her.”
Hallgarth said their aim
is to get all their players
shooting well.
“We have to have our
bench playing at a high level
by the end of the season,” he
said. “They need that play-
ing time.”
Ten of the 11 Prospectors
scored for the night.
Elgin’s team, led by head
coach Kirt McClure, had six
players contributing. The
Huskies have a 6-8 overall
record.
Kaylee Wright said she
was pleased with how things
went for the Prospectors.
“I thought we connected
well,” she said. “We were
very disciplined, and our fast
break was really great.”
After defeating the Union
Bobcats 59-35 in league
play on the road Saturday,
the Grant Union girls are
2-0 in league, 10-3 overall
and ranked No. 5 among 2A
OSAA teams.
Hallgarth said his team
showed resiliency.
“This was a physical
game,” he said. “We missed
many good shots because of
the physicality.”
He said their defense held
up well.
“I am excited for these
girls because they show
me every day a new aspect
as to why they are a great
team.,” Hallgarth said. “We
were able to execute our ad-
justments and put the game
away midway through the
fourth quarter.”
Grant Union was prepar-
ing to face the 3A Hilanders
in Burns (10-5 overall) on
Tuesday, past press time.
Then they’re on the road Fri-
day to face the Panthers at 6
p.m. in Imbler (3-11 overall,
0-1 league).
Grant Union vs. Elgin
Mariah Moulton: 19 points (two
3-pointers)
Kaylee Wright: 16 (6-6 free throws)
Hailie Wright: 13 (one 3-pointer)
Mariah Wright: 9 (one 3-pointer)
Whitney McClellan: 9
Marissa Smith: 5
Makenna Culley: 3 (one 3-pointer)
Grant Union vs. Union
Moulton: 13 (two 3-pointers)
McKrola: 12
K. Wright: 12 (one 3-pointer)
McClellan: 7
M. Wright: 5
Alcie Moore: 4
Trinity Hutchison: 2
Hailie Wright: 2
Marissa Smith: 2