BAKER BASKETBALL: Bulldog boys to make season debut in front of home fans

Published 10:39 am Friday, January 3, 2025

The Bulldogs are back.

For the first time in 10 months, the Baker boys basketball team, the reigning Class 4A state champion, will play on its home court.

The Bulldogs take on Crook County on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 11 a.m.

That game will be followed by the Baker girls, also against Crook County, around 12:30 p.m.

The Baker boys last played on Peacock Court on March 1, 2024, when the Bulldogs beat Newport to advance to the Class 4A state tournament for the third straight year.

Baker won three straight games at Forest Grove High School, all in dominating fashion, to claim the school’s third boys state title.

The Bulldogs return home trying to end a five-game losing streak, their longest since 2013.

That statistic comes with an asterisk, though, as it reflects by far the most daunting schedule during Jebron Jones’ tenure, now in his seventh season, as coach.

The first of the five losses was to Rocky Mountain High School of Meridian, Idaho, on that school’s home court during a tournament Dec. 14.

Baker then traveled to Portland to compete in one of the more prestigious high school tournaments in the nation, the Les Schwab Invitational Dec. 26-30.

The Bulldogs lost all four games, starting with La Lumiere, Indiana, one of the country’s top prep squads. The three other defeats were all to Class 6A schools. The enrollments for the teams were 841 (Roosevelt), 1,027 (Nelson) and 906 (Lakeridge). Baker’s enrollment is about 400.

Baker also was missing its leading scorer, senior Isaiah Jones, in the four games at the Les Schwab Invitational. Jones had an unexpected appendectomy a few days before the tournament. It’s not clear when he’ll be able to return to the court.

Crook County is one of the bigger Class 4A schools, with an enrollment of about 620.

Baker rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Cowboys 63-57 on their home floor on Dec. 7 in a tournament at Prineville.

The Baker girls lost to Crook County 59-50 on Dec. 6 at Prineville.

Huntington at Pine Eagle

In other local basketball action, Pine Eagle played host to Huntington girls and boys games Friday, Jan. 3, at Halfway. 

Pine Eagle won the girls game, 46-31, to improve to 7-3 on the season. Huntington is 4-3.

Huntington led 26-21 at halftime of the boys game but Pine Eagle outscored the Locomotives 13-2 in the third quarter to take a 34-28 lead entering the final period.

Huntington cut the lead to four points in the final minute but the Spartans held on for a 45-37 win to improve to 2-8 on the season. The Locomotives dropped to 1-6.

Pine Eagle will be back on its home court Saturday, Jan. 4 against Tri-Valley, Idaho. The girls game starts at 4 p.m., the boys game at 7:30 p.m.