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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2019)
PAGE LABEL BlueMountainEagle.com Wednesday, February 20, 2019 A9 WEDNESDAY February 20, 2019 Prairie City boys beat Crane by 1 in district championship Panthers will host for round two of state Feb. 22 PRAIRIE CITY STATS Syd Holman: 14 points (4-6 free throws) Levi Burke: 10 By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The Prairie City Pan- ther boys basketball team is moving on to the state play- offs, hosting a second round game on Friday, after win- ning the championship title at the Feb. 14-16 District 8 High Desert Tournament. The team is in celebra- tion mode after defeating the Crane Mustangs 46-45 Sat- urday night in John Day. The win, at the packed Grant Union Junior-Senior High School gym, was a repeat for Prairie City, which also had a second-place fi n- ish at state last year. The Panthers, entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed for the west, reached the championship game after defeating the Hun- tington Locomotives (No. 3 east) 80-34 on Thursday and the Jordan Valley Mustangs (No. 1 east) 70-58 on Friday. Saturday’s contest came down to the last second — when Panther Lucas McKin- ley shot the ball, it rolled off the rim and Levi Burke took it up to score for the lead with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. “When I hit the shot Cole Deiter: 8 Jojari Field: 7 (one 3-point- er, 2-2 free throws) Lucas McKinley: 7 (3-7 free throws) The Prairie City Panthers basketball team, left to right: head coach Sam Workman, Jonathan Lawrence, Brett Copenhaver, Marcus Judd, Jayden Winegar, Levi Burke, Syd Holman (holding ball), Jojari Field, Declan Zweygardt, Lucas McKinley, Brandon Horrell, Cole Deiter, Opie McDaniel, Carson McKay and Kaden Madden. Lane Williams, not pictured, is also a member of the team. Prairie City Panther Syd Holman, named player of the game, scores over Crane defender Chase Joyce in Saturday night’s District 8 championship game. I tried to stay calm, but I couldn’t help freaking out,” Burke said. Crane’s fi nal attempt didn’t fall, and the Panthers came away with another dis- trict tournament title. Prairie City knew the Mustangs would present a challenge as the Panthers lost a 65-55 game in Crane Jan. 29 — one of only two losses on the season, the other to Jordan Valley 53-51 on Feb. 1. The Panthers also defeated Crane 77-45 on Jan. 18 in Prairie City. Crane was the No. 1 seed from the west entering the tournament. On Saturday night, Prai- The Mustangs called a full timeout. Then Crane’s Jacob Dunn was fouled and hit 1-2 at the free-throw line, with 51 seconds left. Joyce was next at the free-throw line but was unable to score as Panther fans made noise. Then Burke scored for the win. During the timeout before the winning shot, Workman told the team “to go to the basket for an offen- sive rebound and a put back — that’s what they did,” he said. “We’re all excited now,” the coach said. “We played good together.” Eagle photos/Angel Carpenter rie City led 16-7 in the fi rst quarter, and Crane took a 26-20 lead going into halftime. The Panthers came back with fury after the break. “We went in the locker room, and I said we’ve got to keep moving more with- out the ball,” said Prai- rie City head coach Sam Workman. Crane’s Chase Joyce hit a 3-point shot near the start of the third, and his teammate Peyton Kreuger added 3 near the end. Prairie City’s Levi Burke, Cole Deiter and Jojari Field combined for 12 points in those eight minutes. Deiter blocked a Crane shooter’s attempt early in the quarter and, with one minute left, stole the ball, scoring on a fast break. Kreuger’s 3-pointer tied the score 32-32 going into the fi nal quarter. The teams knotted up the score 34-34, then 38-38. Crane’s head coach Matt Zander called a time out. Joyce scored 2, and another timeout was called with 3:40 left to go, Crane leading 40-38. Crane players Jake Dunn and Kreuger and Panther Syd Holman traded scor- ing twice, then Holman tied it 44-44 when he scored off a steal. Holman was named player of the game. “I think it’s pretty cool that we can all come together as a family, as brothers, and have that satisfaction of win- ning,” Holman said. “Being able to play through what we faced, it shows how strong our connection is.” McKinley said the win was a relief. “It was a rough start, so I’m glad we were able to pull it off,” he said. Field said, if they keep it up, they’ll make it to the state championship game, like last year. “Every single player on this team — each person has their own special role, and that’s the reason we won,” he said. “We’ve built a strong brotherhood.” Crane’s coach said his boys “played their hearts out.” “Congratulations to (Prai- rie City),” he said. “They’re a great team.” Grant Union girls host Gervais in state playoff Feb. 23 Lady Pros place second at district tourney GRANT UNION STATS Hailie Wright: 14 points (one 3-pointer, 1-3 free throws), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle The No. 5 Grant Union Prospector girls will host the No. 12 Gervais Cougars for a round one state basketball playoff at 2 p.m. Saturday in John Day, and the winner will continue on to the Feb. 28-March 2 OSAA State Basketball Championship Tournament in Pendleton. Grant Union, league champions of the Blue Mountain Conference (11- 2), fi nished second at the BMC Tournament on Satur- day with a 62-57 loss to the Heppner Mustangs. The Prospectors had a good start with a 16-14 lead in the fi rst quarter. However, Heppner moved ahead 33-23 going into halftime and out- scored Grant Union 17-9 in the third. Kaytlyn Wells: 10, 10 re- bounds, Kaylee Wright: 4 (2-2 free throws), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 3 steals Contributed photo The Grant Union girls placed second at the Blue Mountain Conference District Tournament on Feb. 16 in Pendleton. From left: Kaylee Wright, Soren Caudill, Madi McKrola, Hailie Wright, Tiler Voigt, Carson Weaver, Taylor Blood, Baylee Combs, Kaytlyn Wells, Marissa Smith, Alcie Moore and Abby Lusco. Grant Union started a comeback in the fourth, scor- ing 25 points to Heppner’s 12, but was unable to catch up. “Heppner is a great team, and they played hard throughout the game,” said Grant Union head coach Kristi Moore. “We dug ourselves a hole in the third quarter,” she said. “The girls stepped it up in the fourth quarter, but we couldn’t fully recover from the defi cit. I am proud of them for fi ghting to the very last second.” Prospector Madi McKrola led her team in scoring with 19 points, followed by Hai- lie Wright with 14. For Hep- pner, Sydney Wilson scored a game-high 31 points. Receiving BMC All- League recognition are seniors Hailie Wright and Kaylee Wright, fi rst team, and senior Madi McKrola, second team. Grant Union’s high rank- ing earned the team a home playoff game. “The team is motivated and positive going into this week,” Moore said. “We are going to work hard and focus on the things that we do best.” Grant Union has a 9-4 league record, 17-5 overall. They’ve scored 1,276 points overall and have allowed 943. Gervais has a 10-4 league record, 18-8 overall. They’ve scored 1,199 points overall and have allowed 917. Although Moore said she doesn’t know much about the team, she knows they’re from a strong league, the Tri-River Conference, which includes Grant Union’s Drew Lusco earns district championship title Two Prospector boys wrestlers advance to state By Angel Carpenter Blue Mountain Eagle Grant Union Prospector wrestler Drew Lusco won the championship title at the OSAA 2A/1A Special Dis- trict 4 Tournament, wres- tling at 285, and Russell Hodge placed second, wres- tling at 182. The two juniors advance to the Friday-Saturday, Feb. 22-23, OSAA State Wrestling Championships at the Portland Veterans Coliseum. Grant Union, led by head coach Andy Lusco, placed third with 15 wrestlers scor- ing 130 points at the district tournament hosted by Pine Eagle in Halfway. Culver placed fi rst with 23 wrestlers scoring 340 points, and Pine Eagle placed second with 13 wrestlers scoring 179. “I felt like we achieved close to our maximum potential,” said coach Lusco. “Culver was very good as a team, and Pine Eagle had an awesome tournament — credit to them for taking both trophies.” Drew Lusco D r e w Lusco (38-1) had byes in the quarter- and semi- fi nals, then defeated Klint Nor- ton (26-11) Russell Hodge of Enterprise by a 7-0 decision to win the championship title. He scored 20 team points. He said he hadn’t wres- tled Norton this year. “It was a tougher match than I expected,” Drew Lusco said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to go to state again.” He won the state cham- pionship title in the 285 bracket last year, win- ning in triple over- time. As a freshman, he placed fourth, wrestling at 220. Hodge (22-6), wrestling at 182, had a bye in the quar- terfi nal, then pinned Isaac Anores of Culver (8-11). In the fi rst place match, he was Contributed photo Grant Union Prospector junior Drew Lusco won the 285-pound state championship title on Saturday at the District 4 Tournament in Halfway. defeated by Joseph Russo (29-12) of Culver by a 4-1 decision. Hodge then won by rule over Anores for sec- ond place. He earned 18 team points. “Russo was a good match,” Hodge said. “It was the fi rst time I wrestled him, and he was probably the hardest one.” Hodge said he’s excited to compete at the state cham- pionships again. “This year, I have a better opportunity, because I’m not injured,” he said. “Last year, I had a separated shoulder.” Freshman Justin Hodge (36-14) placed third and scored 19 team points, wres- tling at 145. Hodge wrestled in seven matches and was defeated by Logan Butcher of Imbler (32-7) by a 5-3 decision. Damion Young (28-14), a senior, earned fourth place at 145 after he was defeated by teammate Justin Hodge by a 15-2 decision. Young earned 18 team points. Sophomore Ethan Moore placed fourth wrestling at 106 for 14 points, and soph- omore Quinten Hallgarth placed fourth wrestling at 170 for 10 points. Additionally, fresh- man Sam McCracken, 120, placed fi fth; sophomore Ben Henry, 126, placed sixth; sophomore Logan McClus- key, 152, placed sixth; and Ashley Henry, 120, placed sixth (placing at both the girls and boys district tournament). Coach Lusco said he was pleased to see 10 wrestlers make it to the podium. “We have a young team, and I am thrilled to see us move up to third as a team after fi nishing the fi rst day in fi fth and falling to sixth to start the second day,” coach Lusco said. “Obvi- ously we’d have liked to take a couple more to state, but they are young and get to come back next season for another opportunity.” Madi McKrola: 19 (3-6 free throws), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 5 steals Marissa Smith: 5 (one 3-pointer), 4 rebounds, 1 steal Baylee Combs: 6 (2-2 free throws), 1 rebound, 1 steal Abby Lusco: 1 (1-2 free throws), 1 steal Kennedy and Culver. “We hope the commu- nity will come support these girls as they have worked hard, not only this year, but for the past four years,” she said. SPORTS SCHEDULE FRIDAY, FEB. 22 Prairie City boys basketball hosts round two 1A state playoff , opponent and time TBD Grant Union boys wrestling @ 2A state championships at Portland Veterans Colise- um, 4 p.m. SATURDAY, FEB. 23 Grant Union boys and girls wrestling @ 2A state championships at Portland Veterans Coliseum, 8:30 a.m. Grant Union girls basketball hosts round one 2A state playoff vs. Gervais, 2 p.m. Grant Union Gold dance team @ Pendleton competi- tion, TBD WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27 Quarterfi nals of the boys 1A state basketball champion- ships at Baker High School, time and teams TBD THURSDAY, FEB. 28 Quarterfi nals of the girls 2A state basketball champion- ships at Pendleton Conven- tion Center, time and teams TBD
