<I>The Eagle/David Heldreth</I><BR>Grant Union's Kiaya Wilson looks for an open player as Lakeview's Katie Stofleth guards her Saturday, Dec. 13 during the third-place game of the Grant Union Tournament.

JOHN DAY – It’s been three strikes and you’re out for the Grant Union boys basketball team this season.

The Prospectors have yet to win three straight games this season. They beat Crane 57-54 Tuesday, Dec. 9 and La Pine 65-56 Friday, Dec. 12, but fell 53-46 to Lakeview Dec. 13. Grant Union faced a similar outcome in its first week of play. The Pros beat Culver Dec. 2 and Joseph Dec. 5, but lost to Culver Dec. 6.

Grant Union started the week strong against Crane. The Pros went down 13 points early but were able to turn the tables in the second half and come out on top.

Austin Ranft led the team with 16 points. Dalton Moore had 11 points and Gage Immoos had nine.

“We dug ourselves a hole early and the kids played hard and fought back,” Grant Union coach Jason Miller said. “We got the lead by halfway through the third quarter and pulled out the win.”

The Pros continued their tough play against La Pine in the first game of the Grant Union Tournament. They controlled most of the game and held onto the nine-point lead they had after the third quarter.

Immoos led the team with 15 points against La Pine and Ranft had 14.

Despite the wins free throws continue to be a problem for the Pros. They shot 13-21 from the line against Crane and 19-31 against La Pine.

“We have to get our free throw percentage up to 75 or 80 percent,” Miller said.

Grant Union’s victory against La Pine forced a championship game against Lakeview. The Pros trailed 25-19 at halftime, but outscored the Honkers 18-12 in the third quarter to tie the game. Grant Union was slow to respond in the fourth quarter and allowed Lakeview to retake the lead and the game.

Ranft led with 13 points in the game. Cash Wenick had 11 points in the game and Immoos had nine.

“We had a very stagnant fourth quarter,” Miller said. “We weren’t getting great rebounds. We’re still not in great basketball shape.”

The Pros will have plenty of time to work themselves into shape during the next two weeks. The Grant Union boys basketball team doesn’t have another game for 10 days. The Pros will play Joseph at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 27.

By David Heldreth

Blue Mountain Eagle

JOHN DAY – The Grant Girls keep finding themselves in third place.

The Grant Union girls basketball team finished in third place in the Grant Union Tournament Saturday, Dec. 13. The Grant Girls took third place in the Sherman Tournament last week. The team also currently has the third best overall record in the Eastern Oregon League behind Umatilla and Burns. EOL play won’t begin until January 16.

Grant Union dropped the openers in both tournaments to high-ranked schools. They lost 85-53 to La Pine, the No. 5-ranked 4A team, on Friday, Dec. 12, to enter the consolation bracket. The Grant Girls had a similar encounter with Joseph, the No. 1-ranked 1A team, in the Sherman tournament. They lost 70-49.

“La Pine is a tough team,” Grant Union coach Ryan Carpenter said. “They beat Burns by 10 and led by 21 at half. (La Pine’s Maria Ramirez) had 23 points against us, and they have a big center that’s over 6-foot. I think they are by far the best team we’ve played this season, and will probably be the best team we’ll play all year.”

However, Grant Union bounced back and won the second game in both tournaments. They beat Sherman 73-51 Dec. 6 and Lakeview 51-31 Dec. 13.

The Grant Girls controlled the game against Lakeview last week. They led 26-9 at halftime and never let the Honkers within 13 points in the second half.

Lakeview coach Jamie Anderson said his team is young and had trouble with the basics in the game.

“It was the fundamentals that cost us shooting, passing and dribbling,” Anderson said. “They know the offense, but if you give the ball away on a pass or can’t dribble it to a spot you can’t run the offense.”

Only one Lakeview player managed to put points on the board during the first half of the game. Kaitlin Shuffield had nine points in the first half and 14 overall.

The Honkers only had seven players at the game, limiting their ability to substitute. When Lakeview’s Donna Cahill fouled out in the fourth quarter, it only further slowed the team.

“We only had seven on the entire team today,” Anderson said. “We had a couple kids out sick and one of our main ball handlers, Kati Hall, was out because of a death in the family. Cahill fouled out, but that doesn’t upset me. When they foul out, it means they’re playing aggressive.”

Grant Union continued to improve on its new offense against Lakeview. The Grant Girls were led by center Katelyn Page with 12 points in the game.

The team also shot well from the outside, with Shannon and Taylor Croghan each hitting three-point shots and Sharon Houpt getting a few deep jump shots as well.

The Grant Girls didn’t start the week off as well as they finished. They fell 58-53 to Crane Tuesday, Dec. 9, despite closing a large gap late in the game. The Grant Girls trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter and made a run to close to within five points, but never took the lead and lost. The loss to Crane is their third to a top-10 ranked team. Crane is the No. 7 ranked 1A team.