Joseph boys lose three competitive games

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Joseph Eagles’ boys were defeated by a few baskets in all three games of the three-day La Grande Optimist Club’s Holiday Classic Tournament just before Christmas, but their coach considers the event good pre-season practice for upcoming league play.

They lost 58-64 to Weston-McEwen, 54-61 to the Union Bobcats and 38-42 to the Powder Valley Badgers during the Dec. 21-23 first-year Optimist tournament.

“We’ve just got to learn to finish games, as I’ve been saying. They played well enough to win, but just came up a little short,” Joseph coach Ron Lathrop said.

Lathrop said he felt best about his team’s first game of the series against the Weston-McEwen TigerScots. “Weston-McEwen is a good team and I thought that was the best game we played,” he said.

High scorer was Trevor Lewis with 18 points, including three three-pointers and five free throws, and Anthony Smallen with 14 points total. Others on the scoreboard were Lucas Staigle and Riley Steen, nine points each; B.J. Warnock, six; and Kaden Lathrop, two.

The Eagles were hoping to redeem themselves from their Weston-McEwen loss, but that’s not how it turned out.

Lathrop noted the Union game was basically lost at the free throw line, with two starters – Lewis and B.J. Warnock – fouling out of the game. Smallen, Lathrop and Dakoda Shadle each picked up four fouls.

“We were in foul trouble the whole game,” Lathrop said. “It was very frustrating. I was having to find players to rotate.”

The Bobcats made 24 out of their 35 free throw attempts, and won by only six points. However, the Union team committed its share of fouls, also. The Eagles scored 17 at the free throw line out of 24 attempts, led by Lewis’ five charity tosses.

Despite fouling out, Lewis again led Joseph scoring with 15 points total, followed by Riley Steen with 14 and B.J. Warnock with 13. Other Eagle scores were Smallen, seven points; Staigle, four; and Shadle, one.

Joseph played the third game at 9:30 a.m. on the final day of the tournament against the Badgers, and the coach said he thought “a little fatigue” had set in.

The Eagles tied the game at 35-35 in the fourth quarter, before Powder Valley pulled ahead.

“I don’t think either team shot very well,” Lathrop said. “But we did stay out of foul trouble.”

Eagles who scored were Smallen, 14 points (including six free throws); Lewis, nine (including two three-pointers); B.J. Warnock, six; and Shadle, Steen and Lathrop, three points each.

Lathrop said despite the losses, he feels good about his team’s prospects when 1A-7 Old Oregon gets under way in January. “The kids are playing well … We know what we have to do,” he said, pointing out that though the pre-season record was 4-6, the Eagles’ losses were by an average of only four points.

“We’ve never been blown out, we’ve been competitive in every game,” the coach said. “We just have to take better care of the basketball.”

Joseph played against Union again and and also against Nixyaawii this week in Dec. 27- 28 games during the Wallowa Lions Invitational tournament. Results were not known at press time.

The Eagles’ first league game is scheduled Saturday, Jan. 7, against Pine Eagle on the Pine Eagle court.