A winning three-point shot at the buzzer in a game against Cove capped off a good weekend for the Joseph Eagles boys varsity team.

Joseph put two in its win column, defeating the Prairie City Spartans varsity boys team by 71 to 46 at home Friday and the Cove Leopards in Cove by a 47-44 squeaker Saturday.

Joseph’s league record is now 5-2 (11-8 overall), tied for second in the Old Oregon League with Wallowa, behind Powder Valley, who stands at 6-1 in league play.

“We started out with a 27 point lead in the first quarter, and kind of cruised from there,” head coach Ron Lathrop said of the Eagles’ game against Prairie City. “Everyone on the team got playing time.”

Scoring in the game were Trevor Lewis, 22 points, including three three-pointers and one free throw; Anthony Smallen, 19, including five for seven at the free throw line; Riley Steen, 11; B.J. Warnock and Dakoda Shadle, six; Will Story and Austen Wells, three each; and Kaden Lathrop, two.

The Cove game was completely opposite the night before: the Eagles were behind by 10 points by the end of the first quarter. The team scored only 24 points in the first three quarters, and had to put 23 more points on the scoreboard – including a last-second three-point bucket by senior guard Trevor Lewis – to pull out the win.

“We’ve played many close games this season,” Lathrop said. “We have been down as much as 21 points and come back to win. These kids never quit.”

The coach heaped praise on Lewis for a “very good weekend,” especially the 13 points he scored in the last quarter to beat Cove. “He sure didn’t want to lose any,” Lathrop said of Lewis’ effort.

The Eagles’ adding points against Cove were: Lewis, 16 (including two three-pointers and two for three free throws); Smallen, 10; Steen, eight; Warnock, seven (including a three-point bucket); and Shadle and Lathrop, three each.

Senior Lucas Staigle is still out of commission with a sprained ankle. The coach said they hoped to see him playing again by the time of the district tournament the last weekend in February.

Joseph faces its most formidable league rival, the Powder Valley Badgers and the Wallowa Cougars, at home this coming weekend.

“They’re first place and the kids are excited to play them,” Lathrop said of the 7:30 p.m. Friday match with the Badgers. The Eagles previously beat the Cougars in a close game, but Lathrop noted that anything could happen in the re-match at 5 p.m. Saturday.