Basketball: League play starts for county schools

Published 1:00 pm Monday, January 1, 2024

1A Old Oregon League action begins for Wallowa County teams on Thursday, Jan. 4, as the girls and boys basketball teams from Joseph Charter School travel to Wallowa High School for a pair of games.

League play also opens this week for Enterprise.

Here are previews of this week’s games:

Joseph at Wallowa boys

When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 4

Records: Joseph, 3-7 overall; Wallowa, 5-8 overall.

This game marks the opener for both teams in 1A Old Oregon League action and renews an in-county rivalry.

Joseph travels to Wallowa hoping to end a four-game skid starting back on Dec. 14, a skid which ended a three-game winning streak. The Eagles have lost their last two games by a combined six points.

Wallowa has experienced just the opposite start to the season: The Cougars went 1-8 in their first nine games and since then have rattled off four straight victories, including a 3-0 showing at the recent Eastern Oregon Holiday Crossover.

After this Thursday showdown, Joseph heads to Echo for a nonleague game scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Wallowa’s next game also is a nonleague encounter, against Pilot Rock, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Joseph at Wallowa girls

When: 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 4.

Records: Joseph, 4-7 overall; Wallowa, 9-4 overall.

Like their male counterparts, this game marks the start of league play for both teams.

Judging by their OSAA rankings, this game is about as close as you get to lead off the league year. Despite only winning four games, Joseph (No. 23) is ranked higher than Wallowa (No. 25) due to the quality of teams played to date. The Eagles played the first weeks versus a scattering of 2A and 3A teams in addition to highly ranked 1A squads.

Wallowa chose a more conventional route in the early season, playing a few 2A teams but predominantly battling 1A teams on the court. The Lady Cougars did take a loss to the top-ranked Crane Mustangs and have split with Enterprise. Like Joseph, Wallowa enters this game riding a win on the road in Helix versus Griswold.

After this Thursday game, Joseph travels to Echo for a nonleague game scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. Wallowa has another nonleague game on the schedule against Pilot Rock at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Outlaws open league play

Both the Enterprise boys and girls basketball teams open league play this week, with games against Grant Union on Friday, Jan. 5 and home dates with Irrigon on Saturday, Jan. 6.

The boys team, now in first place in the 2A-4 Blue Mountain Conference with a 10-3 mark, begin league play with a 7:30 p.m. Friday game at Grant Union. The second-place Prospectors were 8-3 heading into a Wednesday nonleague game against Burns.

The boys return home Saturday for a game against Irrigon, which had a 1-10 record heading into a Friday match against Stanfield. That game tips off at 6:30 p.m.

The Outlaw girls team, now 7-6 on the year, opens league play at Grant Union at 6 p.m. Friday. The girls hope to halt a three-game losing streak when they take the floor against the 1-10 Prospectors.

On Saturday, the Outlaws return home for a 5 p.m. tip-off against the Irrigon Knights, who have a 1-10 overall record heading into a Friday game against Stanfield.