High school boys basketball roundup: Cougars finish 1-1 at Baker Holiday Classic

Published 10:35 am Friday, December 30, 2022

BAKER CITY — The Union boys basketball team opened play at the Baker Holiday Classic with a 76-37 rout of Wallowa on Thursday, Dec. 29.

“We picked up the tempo today offensively and did a great job getting out and running,” Union head coach Odin Miller said.

After scoring 18 points in the first quarter, the Bobcats exploded in the second quarter for 31 points. Miller played the second half with mostly younger players while the starters took to the bench. In all, 10 Bobcat players placed points on the board.

Prior to sitting down, Tee Ledbetter ended his game with 16 points to lead Union. Bo Ledbetter finished with 10 points and Evan Cloutier and Trae Frank each added nine points.

“Our defense created a lot of turnovers and more opportunities to get transition buckets,” Miller added. “I’m also really happy with how our bench played with the extended minutes they received. It was nice to see all the smiles.”

Turnovers plagued the Cougars leading to easy baskets for the Bobcats. Wallowa was only able to score 12 points in the first half against the Bobcat starters, scoring 25 points after Union went to the bench in the second half.

In the loss, Isaac Barnum led the Cougars (1-6 overall) with 13 points Kellan Knifong ended his day with 10 points.

Union (9-1 overall) meets Prairie City to conclude its stay at the Baker Holiday Classic on Dec. 30.

Wallowa, which beat the Prairie City JV 45-36 on Dec. 29, was scheduled to return home to host Griswold (1-8 overall) in a nonleague game between league opponents on Dec. 30.

BURNS 68, ENTERPRISE 40

BAKER CITY — The Enterprise boys basketball team dropped its second game while taking part in the Baker Holiday Crossover on Thursday, Dec. 29, falling 68-40 to 3A Burns.

Enterprise was scheduled to wrap up the tournament with a game on Dec. 30 against Nixyaawii (8-1 overall). The Golden Eagles have a 2-0 tournament record, beating both Powder Valley and Cove prior to meeting Enterprise.