HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley (HRV) boys basketball (12-12 overall, 7-9 Northwest Oregon Conference) team enjoyed their season finale on Monday, March 3 at Milwaukie High in Oregon City. The Eagles were unable to qualify for the Oregon School Activities Association’s (OSAA) Class 5A state playoffs, but quality wins against highly-ranked, playoff teams gave head coach Chris Dirks’ team a reason to be optimistic.
On Monday, the Eagles won handily 67-54 over the Mustangs on their senior night. Senior post Mathew Fauth led Hood River with 19 points, six rebounds and a game-high four blocks in 28 minutes.
HRV won every quarter and went into halftime ahead 32-23. Their largest lead would be 15 points but not before the Mustangs cut the deficit to 43-39 late in the third quarter. HRV would end the quarter on an 8-0 run.
The fourth quarter was all Hood River who scored 16 points in the final frame and secured their 12th win of the season.
Senior Zak Poole and his sophomore brother, JJ, combined for 29 points. Zak (18 points) played 30 minutes and recorded four assists and went 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Senior Davis Parr scored five points and grabbed eight rebounds, while fellow senior Davis Kerr scored four points and was a +8 in 27 minutes. Monday’s game marked the final high school basketball game for seniors Fauth, Parr, Kerr and Zak.
It was an up and down season for the Eagles who opened the season taking down reigning 5A state champion, Summit Storm. They entered NWOC play with five wins an set their sights on a top four spot in the conference, but a two week stretch in late January made it difficult. HRV lost their NWOC opener to Wilsonville, but enacted their revenge on the No. 1 ranked Wildcats on Feb. 4 with a 62-57 win. The Eagles lost four straight to Canby (finished 3rd in NWOC), Centennial (4th), Rex Putnam (5th) and Parkrose (7th).
HRV ended the regular season winning three of their final four games and set themselves up for success next season. The Eagles will look to juniors Talon Britt, Maverick Hockett, Deacon Ybarra and Cooper Wells to lead them next season.
Coach Dirks will continue his hunt for 100 career coaching wins, as he needs just four more wins to be the first coach in HRV history to reach that mark.
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