Grant Union's Zack Deiter drives the ball against the Elgin Huskies Saturday.

The Grant Union Prospector boys won the 2A Wapiti District Tournament decisively with a 60-39 victory over the Elgin Huskies on Saturday at La Grande High School.

Former and present school officials could not recall the last time the boys won the district tournament.

This year was the first time in 28 years the Prospectors finished the regular season atop the league with a 7-1 record.

“I thought it was good to get a district win after a long time,” said Prospector Duane Stokes, who was named Wapiti’s Player of the Year. “We played our game pretty well for the win.”

Prospector Wade Reimers added it was a great team win.

“It’s been a while since Grant Union has taken home the district championship, so that was exciting,” he said. “We paid attention to defense and how to stop their offense. I’m looking forward to practice this week to keep our run going.”

The Prospectors host the Santiam Wolverines at 2 p.m. Saturday for a round-one playoff at Grant Union in John Day.

The winner will continue to the Thursday through Saturday, March 1-3, state tournament in Pendleton.

Last Saturday’s game was the third meeting between Grant Union and Elgin.

Grant Union defeated the Huskies in John Day 56-34 on Jan. 12, and the Huskies took the 53-52 win on Jan. 27 at their home court in Elgin.

Stokes said the Prospectors worked to keep a strong lead in the championship game.

Reimers led Grant Union with 16 points, followed by Stokes with 14.

For Elgin, Brandon Howes led with 22.

Grant Union was ahead 17-10 in the first quarter, and kept a 6-point lead at halftime.

“We approached this game knowing that we could definitely beat these guys,” said Grant Union head coach Kelsy Wright who was named Wapiti Coach of the Year.

“We knew their offenses and knew who their best players were. We stuck our best players on their best players,” he said. “The boys performed awesome. We pretty much led the whole game from the start.”

Grant Union was ahead 17-10 in the first quarter. The Prospectors stayed ahead 43-28 going into the fourth and outshot the Huskies 17-11.

One highlight from the game was Cauy Weaver’s excellent rebounding, Wright said, adding every team member contributed what was needed for the win.

Wright said he expects Santiam to be good competition, noting the Wolverines have some “great” shooters and guards. He said they aren’t a big team, but should be fast.

“We’re also fast and can get up and down the court,” he said. “We have bigger kids, so I think rebounding will be an advantage. All we can do is practice hard and make sure our defense is on point. We’re just going to have to be aggressive on defense and offense.”

The coach said he hopes to have the gym packed with a great crowd.

“I think it’s going to be a dogfight all the way to the end,” he said.

Grant Union met up with Santiam once before this school year — during football season when the Prospectors fell to the Wolverines in the quarterfinals held in John Day. Grant Union’s quarterback Wade Reimers was injured early in that game.

“It’s definitely going to be a grudge match to beat them,” Stokes said.

Santiam is No. 8 among OSAA-ranked teams and have a No. 10 RPI ranking. The Wolverines finished third in the Tri-River Conference with a 9-3 league record, and 17-9 overall. The Wolverines have scored 1,370 points this season and allowed 1,186 points.

Grant Union is ranked No. 10 in OSAA, with a No. 7 RPI ranking, and they are 17-6 overall. The Prospectors have scored 1,371 points this season and allowed 1,095 points.

Grant Union

Wade Reimers: 16 points (one 3-pointer, 3-6 free throws)

Duane Stokes: 14 (2-3 free throws)

Zack Deiter: 9 (one 3-pointer, 2-5 free throws)

Cole Deiter: 9 (one 3-pointer, 2-2 free throws)

Kellen Shelley: 6 (2-2 free throws)

Cauy Weaver: 4

Ty McDaniel: 2