BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL: 15-0 run propels Baker past Pendleton

Jan. 25—When the Baker boys basketball team is on the court you don't want to risk a visit to the concession stand.

In the few moments it takes to procure a bag of popcorn, the Bulldogs might pull off one of their patented scoring runs, the points piling up as rapidly as hot kernels popping.

And don't even bother going for the Skittles and a soda besides.

Baker showed off its ability to keep the scoreboard operator's fingers flying on Tuesday night, Jan. 24 against Pendleton in the BHS gym.

After the Buckaroos' Carter Cary drained a 3-pointer early in the third quarter to cut Baker's lead to 37-36, the Bulldogs played perhaps their most dominating two and a half minutes of the season.

Baker scored 15 straight points — including a trio of 3-pointers, two by Paul Hobson — to turn a game that seemed destined for last-minute drama into a rout.

When Pendleton's Jaydon Hoffert made a 3-pointer with 2:55 left in the third quarter to end Baker's spurt, the Bulldogs still led by 13, at 52-39.

Baker then scored seven of the next nine points to complete a 22-5 run and take a commanding 59-41 lead entering the final period.

The Buckaroos never got closer than 20 points in the last eight minutes.

Baker outscored Pendleton 45-20 in the second half. The performance was reminiscent of the Bulldogs' 76-40 win over La Grande on Jan. 10, when Baker also broke open a close game, outscoring the Tigers 52-11 in the second half.

"We played much better defense in the second half," Baker coach Jebron Jones said after the win over Pendleton. "They were beating us off the dribble too much in the first half and getting good looks."

Baker had a couple of scoring runs in the first half, but the Buckaroos answered each one.

After the Bulldogs scored 10 straight points, including 3-pointers by Hobson and Isaiah Jones, to go ahead 12-5 after three minutes of play, Pendleton rallied to get within 16-13 on Cary's basket in the key.

Baker led 21-15 after the first quarter, and the Bulldogs extended the lead to 24-17 on Jaxon Logsdon's 3-pointer early in the second quarter.

After Pendleton cut the lead to 24-22, Baker scored six points in 43 seconds, taking a 33-24 lead and prompting Pendleton coach Ron Murphy to call timeout with 3:07 left in the first half.

Rasean Jones had two baskets during the run, and Nate Jensen drove the lane for a floater.

The Buckaroos responded with a 7-0 run, capped by Hoffert's 3-pointer with 1:03 left that trimmed Baker's lead to 33-31.

Hobson hit a 10-foot jumper with seven seconds left, off a designed inbounds play, to boost Baker's lead to 35-31 at halftime.

The game-changing 15-0 run started when Jaron Long outdueled a pair of Buckaroos for a rebound and passed to Hobson, who found Isaiah Jones open deep in the left corner.

After a Pendleton miss, Long grabbed another rebound and threw a perfect outlet pass to Isaiah Jones for a lay-in and a 45-36 Baker lead.

Pendleton missed again, and Hobson nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing, his second in less than a minute. Baker had scored 11 points in 73 seconds to lead 48-36, and Murphy called timeout.

But the break didn't interrupt Baker's momentum.

Pendleton missed another shot, and Hobson raced downcourt and took yet another crisp outlet pass from Long for an easy lay-in with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Isaiah Jones completed the 15-0 run by stealing the ball and passing to Hobson, who immediately passed back to Jones for an easy basket.

Fans had barely had time to settle into their seats for the second half, and Baker had transformed a 37-36 lead into a 52-36 advantage, and the game was basically over.

Jebron Jones said the 15-0 run epitomizes the style of basketball he wants the Bulldogs to play.

"Defense, rebound and run," he said.

That last ingredient, he said, is key.

Jones said he's confident playing any combination of the 10 Bulldogs in any situation, and that allows him to distribute minutes.

"Everybody had a chance to contribute meaningful minutes tonight," he said. "I'm never scared to use anybody at any time. I'll put my 10 guys up against any 10 guys."

The frequent substitutions allow Baker to play at a fast pace throughout the game, while the opposing team, which typically substitutes less often, is prone to tiring in the second half.

"We like to wear teams down if we can, and tonight was a great example," Jones said. "I knew (Pendleton) would get tired. I could see it."

It was no coincidence, he said, that three of Baker's baskets during the decisive 15-0 run were breakaway lay-ins.

"They couldn't get back on defense," Jones said. "Those baskets are demoralizing, deflating."

During a brief break late in the game, Baker's Grant Gambleton even let a couple Buckaroos take a swig of water from one of the Bulldogs' bottles.

Despite the lopsided final score, Jones said he was impressed with Pendleton, particularly the Bucks' offensive execution during the first half. They weren't greatly disrupted by Baker's full-court press, which has befuddled several teams this season, and in the half court the Bucks passed well to find open shooters.

"They have some great basketball players," Jones said. "I knew they would be a tough league opponent."

Jones was surprised the Bulldogs scored 80 points — their third-highest total in 18 games this season — despite taking (and making) just four free throws.

"We need to do better with that, get to the line more," he said.

Pendleton shot just two free throws, missing both. Baker committed just nine fouls, and Pendleton eight.

Baker offset the scarcity of free throws by making 10 3-pointers. Hobson had half of those and led all scorers with 23 points.

The Jones brothers were also in double figures, Isaiah with 14 and Rasean with 10.

Cary led Pendleton with 20 points.

Jones said he was pleased with the ball movement that led to many open shots, including most of the 3-pointers.

"We didn't force it," he said. "We made the extra pass to get great shots."

Baker, ranked fourth in the state, improved to 14-4 overall and 3-0 in the Greater Oregon League.

The Bulldogs play Nyssa in a nonleague game Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in the Baker gym, then travel to La Grande on Friday, Jan. 27 for a key GOL contest against the Tigers at 7:30 p.m.

Baker beat Pendleton in the JV game, 73-60.

PENDLETON (51)

Jennings 1 0-0 2, Rueber 1 0-0 0, Gomez 0 0-0 0, Cary 8 0-0 20, Chapman 3 0-0 7, Coiner 4 0-2 8, Hoffer 2 0-0 6, Lehnert 1 0-0 2, Heinrich 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 0-2 51.

BAKER (80)

Gambleton 0 0-0 0, Logsdon 4 0-0 9, R. Jones 5 0-0 10, Rigueiro 2 2-2 6, Spike 1 0-0 3, I. Jones 5 2-2 14, Long 3 0-0 6, Hobson 9 0-0 23, Jensen 4 0-0 9, Gentry 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 4-4 80.

Pendleton 15 16 10 10 — 51

Baker 21 14 24 21 — 80