Rich Rautenstrauch/Chieftain Joseph sixth grader Sabrina Albee is surrounded by Enterprise defenders.

JOSEPH — It was a fun night of basketball in the Joseph gym Tuesday evening, March 10, when the middle and elementary school kids from Joseph and Enterprise squared off. While these games seem mostly fun, there’s also some serious basketball unfolding.

Four teams from second grade on to sixth played four games, with Joseph coming out on top in three of them.

In the first game, Enterprise’s youngest girls beat Joseph 26-10. Chelsie Gray and Donna Yost coached the kids to this victory. The second game featured sixth grade girls with kids from lower grades mixed in. Alicia Borgerding coached the Joseph girls over Tamarah Duncan’s Enterprise girls for a 21-12 win.

In the fifth grade boys’ match-up, coaches Marcus Lynn and Jake Thompson rallied their Joseph Eagles to victory, beating Jacob Micka’s Outlaws 31-11.

In the final game of the night, sixth grade boys’ teams played it close until the end, perhaps marking the start of a new rivalry between these classes that will continue through their high school years. The game was up for grabs until the final minute, with the Eagles ultimately prevailing over the Outlaws, 15-12.

Highlights of the evening included fifth grader Jada Gray of Enterprise scoring 12 points and the rest of the fifth grade team all contributing points. Sabrina Albee and Ellie Tingelstad of the sixth grade Joseph girls team worked together nicely. Joseph Eagle Chase Homan led the charge with Harley and Hanley Miller showing off their stuff in the boys bracket. For the Enterprise boys the Decker brothers, Spencer and Jackson, played well with teammates Gidion Gray and Hunter Harvey contributing.

More than 40 kids competed in the evening of fun, and the short season, which started in mid February, will continue. Games were played in Wallowa on Thursday (results not available), and the Cougars were to be traveling to Joseph the evening of March 17.