In what was undoubtedly the most exciting game of the season and with one of the largest crowds in many years at Kurtz Gym, The Dalles High Riverhawks didn’t disappoint their hometown fans in a 65-62 boys basketball win over Gorge rival Hood River Valley last week.
After losing three straight games, including their first two league match-ups, the No. 16 ranked Hawks needed a win to stay in the Intermountain Conference playoff race. The Hawks snapped their losing streak with a 59-45 home win Feb. 1 over Pendleton setting up the Feb. 3 match-up against Hood River.
Last Thursday’s Gorge rivalry contest had a playoff-type intensity from start to finish, with numerous ties and lead changes. The Hawks, guided by Coach Greg Cummings, came out and grabbed the initial momentum as the high-flying Styles DeLeon took a pass from Henry Begay off the opening tip and converted a two-handed slam dunk.
“It was definitely an electric atmosphere here at Kurtz gym,” said Cummings. “I think all in all from start to finish, this was one of the best high school basketball games that I’ve ever watched. It was fun to watch, it was fun to coach the game and it was fun for all the fans here.
“It was an amazing performance and I’m just happy that we were able to eke out a win. It was the best game we’ve played this year for sure. It just goes to show you that we can compete with any team in the state. Hood River is a very good team; they’re very well-coached and they shoot the ball very well. It was fun to watch, and it was good seeing Braden Schwartz have a career-high scoring game and it was nice seeing Styles have a couple of dunks. I’m just super proud of everyone.”
Begay’s three-point field goal put the Hawks up 5-0 and then the two squads traded baskets with The Dalles leading 10-5. A 7-2 Eagle rally, capped by a three-pointer by senior Clayton Cook knotted the score 12-12. Eagle senior Tommy Ziegler connected on another three-pointer, giving HRV its first lead, 14-13, with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter. The sharp-shooting Eagles made 10 of 11 3s and a 7-4 run lifted them in front 21-17 at the end of the first quarter.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a big crowd like this and it’s great seeing everyone’s family and all the rest of the fans here to see us get a huge win,” said Begay. “It was close the whole way and it was just a back and forth and really a great game overall. The dunk by Styles was just a great way to start the game. All the little things we did helped, everybody on our team made key contributions and then Styles made the clutch free throws, too.”
The Hawks regained an edge with a 10-3 run, including five points by Schwartz (career-high 18) and capped by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Cooper Cummings. The Hawks then stringed together another offensive spurt — a 9-3 run — capped by another DeLeon slam dunk, bringing the crowd to its feet, and giving the home team a 36-27 advantage.
The Eagles, guided by sixth-year Coach Chris Dirks, fought back and trimmed the margin to 39-35 by half.
“It was an amazing start to the game with that dunk and the crowd sure loved it,” said Dirks. “It’s been a few years that we’ve seen an intense game like this and we’re not really used to seeing this many people here and we’re not used to it being that loud. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve had a little more practice time to prepare for the game, but we just have to keep going.
“I feel super proud of our team. We know every time we play (The Dalles) the games are going to be just like this one. We can’t worry about records or rankings, and we just have to show up and do our thing against our rival.”
The Hawks’ momentum continued in the third and after a strong post move in the paint by Schwartz, The Dalles took its largest lead of the game, 46-35, with 6:30 left in the quarter.
“We had a pretty fun game with Hood River,” said Schwartz. “The assists from Henry and Jaxon Pullen really helped me and my shots were falling, so that was good. I was pretty surprised about getting a career high and I was happy about that. Having a big crowd here and getting a big win was just awesome.”
The Eagles responded with a 13-4 run, including an Emanuel Romero three pointer and capped by Cook’s layup, making it 50-48 after three.
“We had a good chance at the end there,” said Romero, who finished with 16 points. “It was a great game, and we’ll get them in the next game at our place and we’ll come out on top. It was a great atmosphere here and I loved it. I’m counting on making big shots like that the next time we play them and I’m confident that we can beat them (Hawks). I practice long shots all the time and I feel confident with my shooting, and I took a good shot at the end.”
After the Hawks went up 52-48 on a Schwartz jumper in the lane, HRV again came back with a 6-0 rally to regain the advantage at 54-52 with 6:38 left in the game. The two evenly matched squads continued trading baskets and after a DeLeon layup in the lane tied it 58-58, the Eagles called a timeout with 4:32 left.
A Ziegler free throw put HRV up for the final time at 61-59 with 2:52 left. Begay sank a 12-foot jumper in the middle of the lane for a 61-61 deadlock with 2:02 left and then grabbed the rebound of an Eagle miss. A Niko layup on a fast break following DeLeon’s steal and assist put The Dalles up 63-61. DeLeon put the icing on the cake by sinking two free throws for 65-62 lead with six seconds left.
“That was a really fun and a wild game,” said HRV senior Hunter Hough. “It’s an honor to play with these guys with their passion and their grit and everything else that we have. Going into any game is fun with my teammates. We’re really looking forward to the next game with them (Hawks) and it will be nice having them at our place and we’ll have a big crowd there, too.”
HRV had a final chance to score. Romero fired up a 32-footer at the buzzer, that bounced off the rim, sending the hometown fans into a frenzy. It was the first The Dalles win over HRV since Jan. 30, 2018.
Niko said, “It was so cool seeing Styles make two dunks in the game. It was nice seeing the big crowd here for our big Gorge rivalry game. It was the most exciting game of the season for sure.”
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