A first-round Intermountain Conference playoff bye and subsequent semifinal home game are among the incentives this week for the Hood River Valley boys basketball team.
The Eagles (7-2 overall, 5-2 IMC) enter the final week of the regular season in third place in the conference behind unbeaten Crook County (12-0 overall) and second place Redmond (8-2). HRV lost to both those teams in the first half of the season and the rematches are this week: Tuesday at Redmond (result came after the print edition deadline) and Thursday at Crook County. The Eagles conclude their regular season Friday at home against Pendleton.
The district playoff format has the top two teams in the regular-season standings earning first-round byes. The No. 1 and 2 seeds advance to the June 23 semifinals and home games against Monday’s winners. The championship game is June 26 at the site of the higher seeded team.
All the playoff spots have yet to be determined, but HRV can earn a first-round bye with a three-game sweep this week. The Eagles enter the week with some momentum, riding a three-game win streak — by an average margin of 24 points against the three teams below it in the standings: Ridgeview, The Dalles and Pendleton.
The Eagles face the two teams at the opposite side of the standings to start the week. Crook County is led by senior guard Kevin Sanchez and 6-foot-6 senior post Cayden Lowenbach. The two combined to score 53 of their team’s 65 points in the first game against HRV. The Eagles will seek more consistency against the unbeaten Cowboys. HRV suffered from first- and third-quarter lulls, which enabled Crook County to build double-digit leads. Each time, to their credit, the Eagles clawed their way back into the game.
“The first time around with both teams we had chances to win the game and missed opportunities,” Head Coach Christopher Dirks said. “They were both great learning experiences and contributed to this great three-game streak we are on. We need to put together two complete games on the road to get the wins we need. Neither team will make it easy as both are talented and athletic. We need to focus on what we can do to make it happen and control what we can control.”
One thing the Eagles can control is defense. “We are a good defensive team, allowing just 47 points per game,” Dirks said. HRV proved that during its three-game win streak heading into the final week of the regular season. Those wins included limiting Ridgeview to 36 points on its home court June 8.
“Ridgeview was a dominant performance on the defensive end for us,” Dirks said. “We were up 35-8 at halftime and held them to 35 percent shooting on the night. It was nice to have a game that we were able to control from the start. We also did much better on the offensive end shooting 52 percent. Leading up to this game, we were 39 percent from the field from the season.”
Emanuel Romero had 13 points and five assists, Jack Siekkinen had 10 points, and Davis Yates had six rebounds to lead the offensive categories for HRV.
Two days later, the Eagles dispatched Gorge rival The Dalles, 74-56, in a contest that started in a friendly manner — with an uncontested dunk.
“It was our senior night,” Dirks explained. “It’s always a fun environment when we get to play The Dalles, and we got to honor all of our seniors. Ian Searcy, who has had to miss our entire season due to injury, got to start the game and score a dunk as The Dalles was gracious enough to give him that opportunity. He then subbed out and resumed his role as an assistant coach. It is too bad he couldn’t play this year, but I am grateful he got to get his name called one more time.”
The Eagles also honored seniors Emilio Castaneda, Siekkinen, Zac Wells, Sebastian Zeman, Michael Goodman, Yates, and Talon Achziger. They then steadily took control of the game, leading by nine at the half en route to the 18-point win.
“The guys did a great job adjusting to what The Dalles was doing on defense with a 2-3 zone,” Dirks said. “Each time the game got close, we would find an opening in the defense and get a few quick buckets to keep a lead.”
Romero led the way with 25 points — including 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range — and six assists; Yates added 13 points and Siekkinen had nine rebounds.
Dirks said the season has just recently settled into a rhythm, with the “spring” sports season extending into the “winter” season. “We had an interesting first few weeks as varsity players were finishing their prior sport season,” he said. “Aden Ziemer, Tommy Ziegler, and Chris Garcia all stepped up from the JV team to help us get wins at the varsity level in our first week of games.
“Because of all of the roster moves we had to make, we are just now figuring out rotations and lineups with a week left in conference play. We are getting to know who we can be and are focused on peaking in the playoffs to make a run at the championship. Taking a step back and thinking about where we were six months ago, I just feel so grateful we were able to play. I missed this all so much and I know my guys did too.”
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