DRIVING THE LANE: La Grande's Kelly Moore drives into the key as teammate Ben Pettit (44) readies for a rebound. Moore led the Tigers with 24 as Pettit scored 16. (The Observer/RAENELLE KWOCK).

By Raenelle Kwock

Observer Staff Writer

The Pendleton Buckaroos have had their way with the La Grande Tigers for the past several years. Turnabout was fair play Friday.

The young Tigers fought off a furious Buckaroo rally in the second half to pull off a 63-58 victory.

"It feels pretty good," La Grande’s Kevin Bomberger said. Bomberger said the Tigers have always wanted to beat Pendleton.

"I think the win brings us together pretty close," he said.

"It’s awesome," Ben Pettit said. "We put a lot of work into it." Pettit said the team played the best it has in years.

The last time the Tigers defeated the Buckaroos was Jan. 30, 1997 when both schools were in the 4A Intermountain Conference.

Friday’s win is a "big confidence booster for us," La Grande’s Rick Anderson said.

The Tigers lost to Pendleton in their first game last season. They started the season 0-6, but rallied to make the state tournament.

Anderson said he knew the Tigers could play like they did Friday.

"It’s great," Anderson said. "We’re a young team."

The Buckaroos erased a 13-point halftime deficit to tie the game at 41-41 late in the third quarter.

Anderson said the third quarter showed the Tigers’ youth, but he said they were a better team than how they played and knew they were going to pull through.

"Pendleton did a nice job coming back," La Grande coach Aaron Mills said. "They pressed full court. They got turnovers and got in lucky bounces."

The Tigers were clinging to a 43-41 lead entering the fourth quarter. The game see-sawed back and forth down the stretch.

Pendleton’s Josh Cochran drained a baseline 3-pointer to give the Buckaroos a 48-44 cushion early in the fourth.

La Grande inched ahead 49-48 after Tyler Tucker’s putback.

Pendleton’s Jerad Short dropped in a bucket to give the lead back to the Buckaroos at 50-49.

Matt Gundlach’s steal and layup put the Buckaroos ahead 52-49. The Tigers tied it off Pettit’s 3-point play with 3:50 remaining.

Anderson’s 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 57-54 lead with 2:20 remaining.

Then Gundlach stole the ball and converted a layup to cut the Tiger lead to 57-56, but Pettit hit two free throws to put the Tigers ahead 59-56.

Gundlach stole the ball again and passed it behind his back to Ryan Reid, who scored inside. The Buckaroos trailed 59-58.

Pettit sunk two free throws with 1:13 remaining to put the Tigers ahead 61-58.

The Buckaroos missed five shots in the final minute as La Grande held on.

Kelly Moore led the Tigers with 24 points followed by Pettit with 16. Gundlach had 15 for the Buckaroos.

The Tigers (1-0 overall) host The Dalles at 6 p.m. Thursday.

La Grande 63, Pendleton 58

Pendleton boys 10 12 19 17 58

La Grande 20 15 8 20 63

Pendleton Matt Gundlach 6 2-3 15, Ryan Reid 3 1-1 7, Jerad Short 5 2-4 12, Josh Cochran 2 0-0 5, Cameron Federline 4 2-2 10, Nick Blanc 3 1-2 8, Austin Greenfield 0 1-2 1, Jason Post 0 0-0 0, Jim Richter 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 9-14 58.

La Grande Tyler Tucker 3 1-2 9, Rick Anderson 2 1-2 6, Kevin Bomberger 1 3-4 5, Kelly Moore 9 4-7 24, Cory Steele 0 3-10 3, Ben Pettit 5 6-10 16, Christian Siltanen 0 0-0 0, Shaun Cederholm 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 18-35 63.

Three-pointers Pendleton 3 (Gundlach, Cochran, Blanc); La Grande 5 (Tucker 2, Anderson, Moore 2). Fouled out Tucker, Reid, Federline. Total fouls Pendleton 26, La Grande 17. Technical fouls None.