CORVALLIS – The La Grande boys basketball team finished up

its four-day stay at the state tournament with a fifth-place finish.

Running of fumes La Grande fell 44-39 Saturday.

“Friday’s game was really tough physically and mentally,” Tigers

head coach Aaron Mills said. “The boys used a lot of energy in that

game. We didn’t get done until 10:30 p.m. too, and then had too bounce

back for an early game. It all took a toll on the team.”

Hidden Valley took advantage of the slower moving La Grande team in

the opening minutes, jumping out to a 10-2 lead with two minutes left

in the opening quarter.

With tired legs, the Tigers’ shots were short, long and just off. La Grande shot 4 of 18 from the field in the first half. Hidden Valley made 9 of 16 from the field.

The Tigers spent the halftime break looking for fuel to finish out the game.

“We just decided we had two quarters left this season,” Mills said. “We wanted to finish strong. I think the team relaxed a little bit and just let things happen.”

Trailing by nine at the half, 23-14, La Grande evened the score late in the third quarter with a 3-point basket by Josh Yundt.

Brad Towsend evened the game with the opening shot in the fourth quarter. Zach Nice gave the Tigers their final lead 35-34 with 4:52 in the game.

The Mustangs took control the rest of the way, finishing the game on a 6-2 run to close out the game.

Ryan Tooke’s lay-up with six seconds left capped the scoring for the game.

“We just ran out of gas,” Mills said. “The boys had to use so much energy catching up, that they just didn’t have enough to get over the hump.

“It was a great season. No one really expected much from us at state. But we impressed a lot of people. We’re all excited to take a little time off, and get back at it this summer.”

Tooke was the lone La Grande player in double figures.

Brian Mahuna and Cameron Kynard led Hidden Valley with 13 points apiece.

Yundt scored seven points in his final high school basketball game.

La Grande’s only other senior Kevin Boyd, was held scoreless.

“It’s tough to be losing those two guys,” Mills said. “Kevin gave us a lot of energy on defense. Josh did a little bit of everything.”

HIDDEN VALLEY (21-3)

Mahuna, Brian 5-7 3-4 13; Kynard, Cameron 4-7 3-5 13; Maynard, Kaylan 3-8 4-7 10; Armanino, Dylan 2-2 0-0 5; Frey, Kameron 0-0 3-4 3; Krauss, Cody 0-0 0-0 0; Suthann, Mike 0-2 0-1 0; Longo, Jake 0-2 0-0 0; Bars, Taylor 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 14-29 13-23 44.

LA GRANDE (14-8)

Tooke, Ryan 3-10 4-6 10; Townsend, Brad 3-5 0-0 8; Attila, Kevin 3-12 1-1 7; Yundt, Josh 2-6 1-2 7; Chandler, Terrance 1-2 3-4 5; Nice, Zach 1-3 0-0 2; Tishmack, Dylan 0-0 0-0 0; Boyd, Kevin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 9-13 39.

Hidden Valley 10 13 7 14 andndash; 44

La Grande 3 11 14 11 andndash; 39

3-point goals–Hidden Valley 3-8 (Kynard, Cameron 2-4; Armanino, Dylan 1-1; Suthann, Mike 0-1; Longo, Jake 0-2), La Grande 4-12 (Yundt, Josh 2-2; Townsend, Brad 2-3; Nice, Zach 0-1; Attila, Kevin 0-6). Fouled out–Hidden Valley-None, La Grande-Yundt, Josh. Rebounds–Hidden Valley 24 (Suthann, Mike 5; Maynard, Kaylan 5; Kynard, Cameron 5), La Grande 23 (Tooke, Ryan 7). Assists–Hidden Valley 14 (Bars, Taylor 5), La Grande 8 (Attila, Kevin 4). Total fouls–Hidden Valley 12, La Grande 22. Technical fouls–Hidden Valley-None, La Grande-None. 2009 Qwest Player of the Game: Cameron Kynard, Hidden Valley. Qwest Player of the Game: Josh Yundt, La Grande