The Phoenix boys' basketball team is a little over one-third of the way through the 2019-2020 campaign. Through those first nine of 25 regular-season contests, the Pirates continues to show they are ready to compete for a spot among the leaders when Skyline Conference play begins in mid-January.

PHS owns a 5-4 record and sits at 18th in the OSAA's computer rankings. Impressive wins and tough losses dot the Phoenix landscape to date.

Among the hallmark victories was a 62-57 rally past Westside Christian in the first round of the Dutch Bros. Classic at Cascade Christian High School Dec. 26-28. Phoenix trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before putting together a furious rally to claim the victory. 

Less than day later, the Pirates appeared on the verge of earning a spot in the tournament championship game, leading perennial Class 3A power Santiam Christian throughout a semifinal contest. Santiam put together its own late-game rally, forcing overtime on the way to a 54-49 win over Phoenix. The Pirates closed the tournament with a 43-36 loss to Dayton in the third-place game. Braeden Watts and Ethan Hutsell are leading the team in scoring while classmates AJ Stanfield, Ty Clayton, Neco Ortega and Logan Jenkins are all making significant contributions.

The Pirates finished 2-1 in the annual Evergreen Bank Tournament at Hidden Valley a week earlier. A showdown with rival Ashland at Southern Oregon University on January 4 and the Skyline-SkyEm Crossover Tournament at Marshfield in Coos Bay on January 10-11 highlight the remainder of the non-league schedule before Skyline Conference play opens on January 17.

The PHS JV team is also 5-4 on the season and won four of its past five contests to close the calendar year.