Eagles sit at 3-2 in midst of nonleague schedule

HRV went 2-1 against Class 6A schools last week, splitting games at Centennial High this past weekend after winning at home against Sandy, 64-63, on Dec. 7. The Eagles sit at 3-2 with telling games Tuesday and Wednesday against teams that a couple of their Intermountain Conference brethren have already played.

Milwaukie is scheduled to play at HRV on Tuesday. The Mustangs have played just one game thus far, a high scoring, 78-77, come-from-behind home win over Pendleton (0-5). HRV will have to mark 6-foot-1 junior guard Kaden Harris, who made five 3-pointers in one quarter against Pendleton.

A day later, HRV will travel to Parkrose (1-2), whose lone  win was by one point over The Dalles. Like Hood River, Parkrose will be playing a back-to-back, as the Broncos are scheduled to travel to Prineville to play Crook County on Tuesday. Parkrose’s losses were to 6A Nelson and Class 3A power De La Salle North of Portland.

Hood River defeated host Centennial on Dec. 11, 66-57, a day after losing to unbeaten Lincoln High of Portland, 78-42. The Eagles had no answer for the imposing Cardinal roster, which includes four players 6-foot-8 or taller, as well as 6-6 guard Moroni Seely-Roberts.

“This game was a good test for us,” Coach Christopher Dirks said of the Lincoln game. “We knew they had a lot of size and were in the top 10 preseason coaches’ poll for 6A. Size is going to be hard for us to defend this season, but I think all things considered, our guys did a great job and continued to make adjustments as the game went on.”

Tommy Ziegler led HRV with 11 points; Emanuel Romero added 10 and Ryles Buckley eight.

“We really struggled to make our 3-point attempts, but we  were getting shots that we wanted,” Dirks said. “With the size disadvantage, most of our possessions were one shot and done because we struggled on the boards.”

Hood River responded to the loss with a better shooting game a day later against Centennial — especially Romero who scored a season-high 28 points.

Dirks said, “Really great to see the team respond the way we did. After a really tough night of shooting against a very good opponent, we showed up on Saturday ready to go and determined to win. We shot a lot better and responded to what the game threw at us.”

The Eagles also improved their game management. Against Sandy earlier in the week, HRV let the Pioneers slip back into the contest after seemingly having things under control most of the way.

“We didn’t overreact to officials or big momentum swings, we kept our heads and executed what we wanted to,” Dirks said. “The late game struggles came back but we are starting to clean it up sooner.”

Those struggles were apparent against Sandy. HRV built a double-digit lead in the second half, but couldn’t maintain the margin. Sandy had the ball and time on the clock with a chance to tie or take the lead but missed and the Eagles held on for the one-point win.

“Moving forward we need to clean up the end of the game,” Dirks said.

Buckley finished with 10 points and nine rebounds; Clayton Cook had six points and six rebounds; Ziegler had 17 points; Geoffrey Shoaf had 12 points; and Romero had 10 points and seven assists.

IMC watch: As of Saturday, two boys teams in the Intermountain Conference still hadn’t won a game yet this season: Pendleton (0-5), and this past spring’s league champion, Crook County (0-3). In Crook County’s defense, the Cowboys’ schedule is mostly 6A opponents. Redmond, like Hood River, is 3-2. The Panthers’ losses were to Crescent Valley of Corvallis and 6A Summit of Bend. Ridgeview improved to 5-1 but two of its wins were over 4A Madras and also against one-win Polk County teams, Central and Dallas.