Pendleton’s Ben Hopkins (23) attempts a 3-pointer Dec. 15, 2023, playing against Bend at Pendleton High School.

PENDLETON — Pendleton had one foot in the grave after the first quarter, but the Bucks battled back in the second half to hand Bend a 56-54 loss Friday, Dec. 15, at Warberg Court.

“It was a good win for the kids,” Pendleton coach Rob Murphy said. “We played hard and we battled, even when we were down 19 at one point. We kept to our game plan and we were able to be successful.”

The Lava Bears got out to a 25-11 lead in the first quarter and led 36-21 at the half.

The Bucks, who ended a five-game losing streak, turned the tables in the third, going on a 20-2 run powered by 16 points by Ben Jennings.

“In the third, our press worked really well,” Murphy said. “We got turnovers and hit some shots. That helped.”

The Lava Bears outscored the Bucks 16-15 in the fourth, but they came up short.

Jennings led the Bucks (2-6) with 23 points, while Degan Patton added nine points, and Jaydon Hoffert eight.

“Ben played well,” Murphy said. “He attacked, hit a couple of 3s and got to the line. That’s what we have expected of him, and tonight he did that.”

Caleb Unruh had 17 points for Bend (0-5), while Cash Hattenhauer added 14.

WALLA WALLA 68, HERMISTON 60 — Grant Olsen poured in 31 points, but his efforts weren’t enough as the Bulldogs dropped a Mid-Columbia Conference road game to the Blue Devils.

Hermiston has lost all four of its MCC games to start the season by a combined 18 points.

The Bulldogs got behind 26-15 after the first quarter, but cut the deficit to 38-32 at the half as Olsen scored 10 points in the second quarter.

Drake Devin added 12 points for Hermiston, while Isaac Corey had 11. No other player had more than two points. Olsen, Corey and Bradley Hottman each had six rebounds.

Ken Higgins led the Blue Devils with 29 points — including seven 3-pointers — while Carter Shivell added 12.

MANNAHOUSE ACADEMY 72, STANFIELD 42 — The Lions took an early lead and never let up in handing the Tigers a loss at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

“We are struggling with our identity as a team,” Stanfield coach Rylie Smith said. “We know how strong we are capable of being, so it’s been frustrating for the boys not to see the immediate results. Playing through these tough moments and games is going to create something special at the end of the season.”

Mannahouse led 28-18 at the half, and its lead grew to 27 points in the third quarter.

Landon Bailey led the Tigers (0-4) with 10 points and seven steals, while Connor Logan added nine points and 11 rebounds, and Michael Odell and James Patterson each had eight points.

ECHO 70, WESTON-MCEWEN 68 — Dom Curiel scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Cougars to a victory over the TigerScots at Heppner High School.

W-M seemed to have the game in hand from the start, taking a 25-14 lead after the first quarter, and 43-33 at the half. The TigerScots increased their lead to 60-45 after three quarters.

Then Curiel went to work, scoring 16 of his team’s 25 points to secure the win.

Kohlvin Wyse added 14 points for the Cougars (4-2), who have won three games in a row.

Caleb Sprenger led the TigerScots (3-4) with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Bryson Choin added 17 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Freshman Lokaa Tso had nine rebounds and two steals.

NIXYAAWII 84, WALLOWA 27 — Symon Picard scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter, and Baron Moses had 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the Golden Eagle cruised to a win over the Cougars at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

Nixyaawii (3-2) got off to a 25-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back.

Sun Schimmel added 12 points and five rebounds for the Golden Eagles, while Weptas Brockie added 10. Moses had 11 rebounds, while Picard had six steals and four assists. Marcellus Scott chipped in five steals and four rebounds.

Isaac Barnum led the Cougars (1-7) with 13 points.

HEPPNER 50, CENTRAL LINN 41 — Caden George scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Mustangs to a home win over the Cobras.

Central Linn led 13-10 after the first quarter, but Heppner came back to take a 24-22 lead at the half.

The Mustangs (5-2), who have won three in a row, put together a 15-8 run in the fourth quarter to pull away for good.

Landon Mitchell added 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks for Heppner, while Mason Orem had seven points. George also had six rebounds.

Cody Dickerson led the Cobras (2-2) with 15 points and four rebounds, while Aren Schneiter chipped in nine points.

MCLOUGHLIN 52, RIVERDALE 39 — Alejandro Sandoval scored 23 points, and the Pioneers ran their win streak to three games with a road win over the Mavericks at the Riverdale Invite.

Mac-Hi (4-1) trailed 15-10 after the first quarter, then went on a 42-24 run over the next three quarters to seal the win.

Almikar Garcia added nine points for the Pioneers, while Giovanny Sandoval added seven.

Dylan Cagann led the Mavericks (0-6) with 10 points.

FAITH BIBLE 41, PILOT ROCK 20 — The Falcons flew out to an early lead and the Rockets couldn’t catch up as Faith Bible picked up the win at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

The Falcons led 28-10 at the half, and used balanced scoring throughout the game.

The Rockets were led by James Lunzmann’s six points.

Will Klein led Faith Bible (4-1) with 11 points, while Eamon Anderson chipped in nine points.

KLICKITAT/GLENWOOD 63, GRISWOLD 51 — Talon Cabral scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Vandals to a road win over the Grizzlies at the Helix Tournament.

The Vandals led 32-23 at the half, and kept the Grizzlies at arm’s length the rest of the way.

Ethan Reeder led the Grizzlies (1-5) with 16 points, with Ethan Harlow adding 12 and Robby Garrett 10.

Girls basketball

PENDLETON 54, BEND 33 — A 22-9 run in the third quarter helped the Bucks (4-4) hand the host Lava Bears their sixth consecutive loss.

“We played good defense and had great energy from start to finish,” Pendleton coach Tim Foster said. “We didn’t shoot great in the first half, but Hailey (Schmidt) got hot in the third and it opened things up for us. Maddy (Schumacher) and Ali (Spratling) brought great intensity again, and were able to get to the rim and the foul line too. It was a great team effort tonight.”

Schmidt finished the game with 25 points, 11 of which came in the third quarter. Schumacher and Spratling each added seven points.

Peyton Smith led Bend (1-6) with seven points, while Sydney Mucha added six.

WALLA WALLA 68, HERMISTON 49 — The Blue Devils used a 24-12 run in the third quarter to put some distance between them and the visiting Bulldogs for a Mid-Columbia Conference win.

Izzy Simmons led Hermiston with 17 points and five rebounds, while Lucy Teegarden added 11, and Aspyn Inners seven points and eight rebounds.

Jailyn Davenport led the Blue Devils with 19 points, while Madi Reibel added 17 points and eight rebounds

WESTON-MCEWEN 40, ECHO 38 — In what was a close game throughout, the TigerScots rallied in the second half for a win over the Cougars at Heppner High School.

“High paced up and down action,” W-M coach Jeremy Wolf said of the game. “Proud of our girls staying in it through the end and coming out on top of a great battle. That was fun.”

Echo (2-4) took an 11-10 lead after the first quarter, and led 19-15 at the half behind seven points from Nevaeh Thew.

W-M (6-1) turned things around in the third quarter with an 11-6 run for a 26-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Brooklyn Parker scored five of her seven points in the final quarter as the TigerScots eked out the win.

Kelsey Graham led W-M with 11 points, while Charlotte Hansell added nine.

Thew and sophomore Cameron Estes led the Cougars with 13 points each.

RIVERDALE 52, MCLOUGHLIN 38 — The Mavericks bolted out to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter and the Pioneers couldn’t keep pace at the Riverdale Invite.

Isa Milla scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first quarter for Riverdale (3-1), which led 28-13 at the half.

Mac-Hi (1-5) outscored the Mavericks 25-24 in the second half, but the deficit was too great to overcome.

Madi Perkins led the Pioneers with 12 points, while Lainie Ellis added seven.

HEPPNER 49, CENTRAL LINN 32 — The Mustangs are off to a 7-0 start to the season after handing the Cobras a nonleague loss.

Heppner led just 18-15 at the half, then went on a 31-17 scoring spurt in the second half to pull away for the win.

Hallee Hisler and Delaney Stefani each had 15 points for the Mustangs, while Katie Spivey added eight.

Addie Wolff and Alyssa Green each had 10 points for Central Linn (1-3).

STANFIELD 42, WALLOWA 27 — Mazie Reeser scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Tigers past the Cougars at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

Kahleigha Haney chipped in 11 points for Stanfield, which improved to 3-1 on the season.

Zoe Hermens led the Cougars (5-3) with 12 points.

UMATILLA 50, NIXYAAWII 47 — The Vikings used a 29-22 run in the second half to rally for a win over the Golden Eagles at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

Umatilla (4-3), which has won three games in a row, got 16 points from Linsey Mendoza, including 10 in a pivotal third quarter. Liliana Zuniga added 11 points for the Vikings, while Braelyn Cragun added nine.

Amariana Willingham led the Golden Eagles with a game-high 22 points, while liana Stewart added 12.

IONE/ARLINGTON 35, BICKELTON 11 — The Cardinals opened Big Sky League play with a home win over the Pirates.

I/A opened the game with a 12-0 lead in the first quarter and were never challenged.

Grace Claughton led the way for the Cardinals with 12 points, while Khira Kreitzer and Kaitlyn Hooper each added six.

Addison Whitmore and Madelyn Andrews each had four points for the Pirates.

FAITH BIBLE 29, PILOT ROCK 17 — The Falcons outscored the Rockets 9-2 in the first quarter, and 7-1 in the fourth, to put together a win at the Bouncin’ Cancer Tournament at Nixyaawii High School.

Ali Smith led the Rockets (2-4) with six points, with Paedyn Bennett adding five.

Rachel Eichinger led the Falcons (3-1) with 14 points, while Bella Godinez and Katelyn Kriegelstein each added six.

College women’s basketball

GREEN RIVER 57, BLUE MOUNTAIN 48 — The Gators got off to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter, and were able to keep a small lead throughout in handing the Timberwolves a loss at the NWAC Crossover in Pendleton.

BMCC tied the score at 19-19 in the second quarter, and were within four points early in the fourth quarter, but the Gators held on for the win.

Taylor Bull led BMCC with 10 points and 16 rebounds, while Kyella Picard came off the bench to offer eight points and six rebounds.

Mary Tessa Pan led the Gators with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Aryanna Bull added 11 points, eight rebounds and two steals.

College men’s basketball

PENINSULA 71, BLUE MOUNTAIN 56 — The Pirates jumped out to a 17-point lead at the half, and held on for a win over the Timberwolves at the NWAC Crossover in Port Angeles, Washington.

Jaquone Gatling led BMCC with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Kaden Johnson added 11 points.

Javon Ervin had a game-high 18 points for the Pirates, while Aiden Olmstead added 16 points and 19 rebounds.