The jerseys were new — featuring “The City” across the chests — but the Baker boys basketball team looked like the same juggernaut its fans have come to expect.

The Bulldogs opened the Greater Oregon League season Tuesday night, Jan. 14, with a 72-38 romp over Pendleton that gave spectators a fast-paced show reminiscent of most Baker games over the past few years.

There were steals and swished 3-pointers and acrobatic layins.

The points came fast and the clock ran for most of the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs pushed the lead past the 30-point mark.

Rasean Jones even threw down a couple of slam dunks, elevating the applause to a crescendo.

Baker, 9-6 on the season, made four 3-pointers in the first quarter, two by Eli Long and one each by Jaxon Logsdon and Isaiah Jones, to lead 24-9. Baker scored 12 straight points.

The Bulldogs, playing without two seniors, starting guard Grant Gambleton and guard Palmer Chandler, had a 14-3 run in the second quarter. Baker led 45-16 at halftime, and the Buckaroos never mounted a serious rally.

Baker held Pendleton to single digits in each of the first three quarters.

After losing six straight games, five of those without leading scorer Isaiah Jones, Baker, with Jones back in the lineup after an appendectomy and a subsequent illness, have won three straight by margins of 15, 23 and 34 points.

Coach Jebron Jones said the Bulldogs have taken advantage of the return of Isaiah Jones, the reigning Class 4A player of the year (and, along with Rasean, one of the coach’s two sons).

“Him being back just brings more confidence to everyone else,” Jebron Jones said of Isaiah, who led Baker with 15 points in the win over Pendleton. “He’s a vocal leader, a leader on and off the court.”

Logsdon, a fellow senior, said the Bulldogs are benefiting from their daunting nonconference schedule, which included four losses during the prestigious Les Schwab Invitational tournament in late December in Portland. Baker played an Indiana school that is among the nation’s best, as well as three Class 6A teams from the Portland area.

The tournament, Logsdon said, was a “wake up call. There’s a lot of good teams out there.”

Logsdon, who scored seven points against Pendleton and dished several assists, said the Bulldogs also thrive on their home court.

“We’re treating every home game pretty serious this year,” Logsdon said. “We don’t have very many.”

Baker has five home games on its schedule, but the Bulldogs could play two more games on Peacock Court, for the league championship and a state playoff game.

Isaiah Jones was one of four Bulldogs to score in double figures against Pendleton. Long had 14, Rasean Jones 13 and Jake Holden 10. Quin Wellman had a season-high eight points.

Second quarter

Baker started the quarter with the fans’ favorite play, as Colton Clark threw a perfect alley-oop pass to Rasean Jones, who slammed the ball through the rim with authority.

Rasean Jones followed that a couple minutes later with a breakaway two-handed slam after stealing the ball near midcourt, and Baker led 29-9.

Baker extended its scoring run to 14-3 with contributions from multiple Bulldogs, including Long beating multiple defenders on a drive through the lane, a putback by Holden, a conventional three-point play by Rasean Jones and Logsdon’s inside basket.

Wellman swished a 3-pointer in the final 15 seconds to boost Baker to its biggest lead, 45-16, at the break.

Third quarter

The teams traded baskets a few times but the Bulldogs still extended the lead, to 60-25, after three quarters. That led to a running clock in the fourth quarter, as Baker’s lead was over 30 points.

Baker, the defending 4A state champion, has rarely been challenged in league games over the past two seasons. The Bulldogs were 6-0 in 2023-24 and 2022-23.

Baker’s last league loss was to La Grande on Feb. 8, 2022, in the Baker gym. Not including the pandemic season of 2021, when games were played in the late spring, the Bulldogs have won 28 of their last 31 GOL games.

Baker now returns to the road, with two games over the weekend, starting on Friday, Jan. 17, when the Bulldogs renew their rivalry with Cascade. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Cougars put the only blemish on Baker’s 28-1 record last season, a 59-51 win at Cascade on Feb. 10, 2024. Baker avenged that loss by routing the Cougars 74-54 in a semifinal game at the state tournament on March 8.

Baker then travels to Vancouver, Washington, on Saturday, Jan. 18, to play Mountain View, Washington, at 2 p.m.

PENDLETON (38)

Lehnert 1 0-0 2, P. Hoffert 2 1-2 5, Krigbaum 1 0-0 2, Reinhart 0 3-4 3, Gary 4 0-0 10, Strong 3 2-4 8, H. Hoffert 1 0-0 3, Coiner 0 1-2 1, Elrod 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 7-12 38.

BAKER (72)

Churchfield 2 1-2 3, Clark 0 0-0 0, R. Jones 5 3-3 13, Heriza 0 1-4 1, Wellman 2 3-3 8, I. Jones 6 2-5 15, Long 6 0-0 14, Logsdon 3 0-0 7, Holden 5 0-0 10, Joseph 0 1-2 1. Totals 28 13-19 72.

Pendleton 9   7   9  13 — 38

Baker     24 21  15  12 — 72