Prairie City’s Laken McKay, a junior, goes up for a shot Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022 against Four Rivers during the High Desert League tournament at Grant Union.

JOHN DAY — The Prairie City boys and girls basketball teams are heading into the postseason after their respective third-place finishes at the High Desert League District Basketball Tournament over the weekend.

Held at Grant Union High School, the district tournament featured six girls squads and six boys squads from the 12-team High Desert League, with the top three teams in each bracket moving on to the state tourney.

In addition to Prairie City, the other participants were Crane, Jordan Valley, Adrian, Huntington and Four Rivers.

On the boys side, Crane took first place, defeating Adrian 76-62 on Saturday, Feb. 19. Crane’s girls earned the top spot, besting Jordan Valley 44-31 earlier in the day.

The three-day tournament, which has a 15-year history in Grant County, returned after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing some much-needed economic activity to the area. Hotels, restaurants and coffee shops saw a significant uptick in business with hundreds of out-of-town guests from the games.

Tournament co-director Billy Colson noted that visiting teams, coaches and fans stay in local motels, eat in local restaurants, and spend money at local stores and gas stations, bringing money into the Grant County economy from outside the area.

Colson calculates that the event brings roughly 350 to 400 visitors to the county. His estimate is based on a traveling team bringing around 30 players and coaches per school plus a comparable number of supporters traveling with each group.

Tammy Bremner, manager of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce, said hotels and restaurants rely on sporting events for supplemental income during the winter.

“It’s a nice little shot in the arm for the businesses this time of year,” she said. “Especially because this usually is their slow time.”