High school basketball games last 32 minutes, but the results often come down to a handful of seconds.

At the Dec. 1 tournament in Echo, the Wallowa High School boys lost 47-45 to Stanfield High School. Casey Irving made the deciding basket with less than two seconds on the clock. The Cougars suffered the dramatic loss a day after whipping the City Christian High School Lions, 60-27. The Cougars’ record fell to 1-2.

Irving’s shot spoiled the Cougars’ comeback in the last quarter. Trailing, 42-37, their defense held the Tigers to just one other field goal. Sophomore guard Tyler Harshfield tied the score with just 10 seconds remaining in the game.

Harshfield led the Cougars with 16 points, senior guard Dalton Weaver had 10, while senior guard Brandon Mahon and freshman forward Ronald Gladden had 9 each.

Weaver and sophomore forward Mark Jamerson got into foul trouble in the third quarter. The Cougars had a 27-26 lead at halftime, but paid dearly for an active defense that accumulated too many personal fouls. When Coach Kyle Burnett had to sit Weaver and Jamerson , the Tigers took advantage and leap-frogged the Cougars to the lead.

On Nov. 30, the Cougars jumped ahead of the Lions and never looked back. Weaver finished with 17 points, Harshfield scored 9, while Mahon and Jamerson each had 8.

This weekend, Wallowa make the short drive to Enterprise for the Winter Classic at Quinn Court.

Contact reporter Hector del Castillo at 426-4567, or by e-mail at hdelcastillo@wallowa.com.