JOHN DAY — The Grant Union 2A boys’ basketball team went the distance against Stanfield Saturday, Feb. 12, but could not keep the momentum as Stanfield, the league’s No. 2 team, ran away with a 62-49 win in the Prospectors’ final home game of the season.

Grant Union, which fell to Union (the league’s No. 1 team) 62-30 the night before, came back with a vengeance on Saturday.

RC Huerta, the Prospectors’ coach, said the game was close, and it looked like the squad had a chance at one point.

“We felt like we were really close and right there with (the Tigers), but we just couldn’t hold on.”

Stanfield burst out of the gate in the first quarter, outscoring Grant Union 18-6. However, the Pros responded in the second, scoring 19 points and holding the Tigers to 12.

Charley Knowles, a freshman, led the Pros in scoring with 15 points for the game on three 2-point field goals and three 3-pointers.

Parker Neault collected 13 points after knocking down six 2-point field goals and going one for three at the free-throw line. Sheldon Lenz, a sophomore, had a solid offensive output, scored 13 points on five 2-point field goals and three out of five free throws.

Ryland Beil, a freshman, poured in seven points on three 2-point field goals and one free throw, while Cash Madden hit one out of two free throws.

Huerta said the team showed a lot of grit in a never-say-die effort against the 10-2 Tigers.

“They got up to the line and played hard defense,” Huerta said. “They were on the ground for the basketball, and they were crashing the boards, trying to get steals, and they were there to help each other.”

Parker Neault, the Prospectors’ lone senior as the school celebrated Senior Night, said it meant a lot that his teammates played with so much intensity in the final game of his high school career.

Grant Union finished the season with an overall 4-18 record and went 3-9 in Blue Mountain Conference play.

Huerta said the wins and losses throughout the season do not reflect the team’s tremendous improvement.

“They really were a coachable group of young men who just continued to improve every day,” Huerta said. “The wins and losses are not going to show that, but every single game, they poured their heart out, and I think anybody would attest to that.”