Prairie City/Burnt River senior Tucker Wright goes up for a layup against Jordan Valley in a 68-47 victory in the High Desert League Tournament at Grant Union High School on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024.

JOHN DAY — The Prairie City/Burnt River boys basketball team punched their ticket to the semifinal round of the 1A High Desert League tournament with a 21-point win over Jordan Valley that was much closer than the final score would suggest in a hard-fought contest on Dean Nodine Court at Grant Union High School on Thursday, Feb. 15.

The first quarter was the Wes Voigt show as the lanky Prairie City senior poured in 14 points to stake his team to a 16-11 lead.

His teammates found their range in the second period as several Panthers scored to build a 15-point lead over the Mustangs going into halftime, with the scoreboard reading 32-17 in favor of the host team.

Things turned physical in the third quarter, with both teams delivering a number of hard fouls, but Prairie City would maintain its advantage to end the period with a 44-29 lead.

The visiting Mustangs turned up the defensive heat in the final quarter, mounting a full-court press that led to several Prairie City turnovers. Jordan Valley tried valiantly to climb back into the game, trimming the Prairie City lead to nine at 49-40 with just under 4:00 left to play.

But that was a close as the Mustangs would get as the Panthers beat the press and made enough free throws to pull away, pushing the final score to 68-47 on a Ritter Rookstool layup as time expired.

The Panther boys will take on the Adrian Antelopes at 2:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at Grant Union High School for a chance to play in Saturday’s championship game.