It has been a long opening to the Wallowa boys’ basketball 2011-12 campaign. A pair of razor-thin losses at the Joseph Invitational Tournament left the Cougars exactly where they had started before the weekend began: zero-for-the-season.

Any day now, Wallowa figures to break the spell and find itself in the winning column. The Cougars came awfully close Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17. On Friday they lost to Cove, 41-43, and suffered a heartbreaking defeat Saturday to host Joseph, 63-65.

The Cougars displayed some admirable self-belief Friday against Cove. After they fell behind early (down by four after one quarter and by 10 at the half), they began to battle back, outscoring their opponents by eight points during the second half.

Wallowa coach Warren Wilson noted that his team, down by only two points very late in the contest, had a good chance to either tie or win the game. Two chances, really. The first opportunity came after a timeout. Wallowa inbounded from the sideline and drove toward the hoop, but lost control of the ball before the team could put the shot in. The Cougs had one more shot attempt, from just beyond the three-point line, but the shot missed.

“They were both very good looks at the basket,” Wilson said of the two final chances.

Cougars scoring against Cove: Pierce Millar, 13 points; Dusty McDaniel, 12; Pablo Duque, nine; Wes Conrad, four; Derek Shike, three. The team had three three-pointers: one apiece for Millar, Shike and Duque.

McDaniel was tops in rebounds with 11.

The Dec. 17 heart-stopper with Joseph saw Wallowa appear to run away early (up 39-18 at the half), only to fall into a second-half funk. Wilson credited the Eagles with playing “pretty good defense.” For the Eagles, B.J. Warnock and Trevor Lewis delivered the fateful blows, respectively, a three-pointer at the regulation buzzer to tie it, and Lewis’ game-winning bucket at the end of overtime.

“I feel for the (Wallowa) boys because they played so well. They played well enough to win. They just haven’t gotten over the hump,” Wilson said of the weekend disappointments.

Wallowa scoring against Joseph: Millar, 22 points; McDaniel, 14; Kody Swift, 13; Duque, seven; Conrad, four; Shike, three. Four three-pointers: Millar (2), McDaniel and Shike. Team free-throwing: 21-for-29.

Conrad was rebounds leader with 11.