Hood River Valley overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit before the Eagles fell victim to visiting Centennial’s late-game, long-range shooting in a 64-62 overtime boys basketball loss Feb. 2.
Hood River (7-9 overall, 2-7 Northwest Oregon Conference) led 54-49 with 50 seconds left in regulation at Vannet Court and the Eagles appeared poised to snap a three-game losing skid. But Centennial sophomore Josiah Askari’s two 3-pointers from the right wing — sandwiched around a Grady Williams free throw for HRV — left the game tied 55-55 after regulation.
Hood River had two shots in the final seconds but neither fell. Matthew Fauth’s lean-in, 12-foot jumper from the right side bounced off the rim. Eagle senior Ethan Rivera pulled down the rebound on the left side, but his put-back attempt was partially blocked as time expired in regulation.
There were five lead changes in the four-minute overtime. Williams’ free throw gave HRV a 56-55 lead; teammate Aidan Smith made two more foul shots with 2:35 remaining for a 58-57 Hood River advantage. Askari hit a 3-pointer from the right corner at 2:08 to put Centennial (12-7, 5-5) back on top, 60-58.
Sawyer Clemett responded for HRV with two dribble drive baskets, and it was 62-60, HRV, with 1:14 to play. Following a Centennial timeout, freshman Darius Andrews gave the visitors the lead for good with his deep 3-pointer from the right wing with 53 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock.
HRV had one more chance. Andrews made one of two free throws with 20 seconds remaining and Fauth grabbed his miss of the second attempt. Centennial’s tight man-to-man defense limited HRV to one last attempt — a missed, contested 3-pointer by Smith from the top of the key — before time expired.
Hood River trailed most of regulation, as Clemett’s dribble-drive basket with 5:28 left in regulation gave HRV its first lead, 48-47. The Eagles had gained possession after Rivera took a charge at the other end of the court. The senior inserted his will over a four-minute span, grabbing four rebounds, scoring twice, and taking another charge as HRV built a 54-49 lead.
Centennial was hampered with 6:02 remaining when leading scorer Ahshua Neal fouled out after scoring 13 points.
Clemett and Fauth led HRV’s balanced scoring attack with 16 points apiece, while Smith added 15. Rivera’s stat line included nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and three forced turnovers.
Hood River had lost two other road league games earlier last week: 63-50 at Parkrose; and 67-45 at Canby.
Parkrose used an 8-0 scoring run — accompanied by three HRV turnovers — to build a first-half cushion, 22-10, early in the second period. Senior guard Julius Blair’s 3-pointer, his second of the half, capped the run. The Broncos scored the first five points in the second half to take a 37-19 lead. HRV battled back, using a 6-0 scoring run to pull within 37-25, and then a 5-0 spurt to finish the third period trailing, 44-34.
An 11-0 scoring advantage to start the final quarter, however, built the Broncos’ lead to 21 points. Senior forward Ben Livingston led the Parkrose spurt with six points. The closest HRV got after that was 61-50 with 42 seconds remaining.
Fauth led HRV in scoring with 15 points and Clemett added 12.
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