Tuesday’s meeting between Irrigon and Horizon Christian was the teams’ second meeting of the season and proved to be as equally challenging as the first as both the Hawks’ boys and girls teams were ultimately overwhelmed by the 2A Knights in Hood River. The boys lost 67-35 and the girls dropped their game too, losing 60-20.
Boys
After hanging with Irrigon for the opening minutes of the first quarter, Horizon saw the Knights quite literally run away with the game as the Hawks were unable to keep up with Irrigon’s fast breaks and up-tempo style of play. By halftime, Horizon was trailing 39-10.
“They are quick; very quick. They’re coached very well and have an uncanny level of discipline,” Horizon Head Coach Samuel Trevino said of the Knights. “They’re able to anticipate passes and player movements and quick enough to cover their mistakes when they’re wrong.”
It was more of the same in the third quarter as Irrigon pushed its lead out to 53-19. Horizon was able to outscore the Knights 16-14 in the fourth quarter, but the game was far out of reach by then.
In addition to being fast on their feet, the Knights proved to be deadly shooters both inside and outside the arc. Irrigon shot nearly 59 percent from the field (24-for-41) and went 50 percent from three-point land (6-for-12). They also had numerous opportunities at the foul line, sinking 13 free throws on 22 shots (59 percent).
Irrigon’s discipline was evident in how few free-throw opportunities the Knights provided the Hawks, who hit five of eight free throws (63 percent). Horizon went 14-for-38 from the field (37 percent).
Leading the scoring for Horizon was Cody Lingel, who went 4-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line to score 10 points as well as tying Ethan Evans for a team-high three steals. Evans was second in scoring for Horizon, with nine points. Ian Walker led in rebounding with seven boards and Kameron Brown led in assists, with three.
Beyond the stat sheet, Trevino said he was pleased with his athletes’ abilities to limit the scoring opportunities for Irrigon guard Xavier Rambo, who made things difficult on Horizon when the two teams faced each other in the Columbia River Clash tournament Dec. 12.
“I was impressed with Luke Holste, Kameron Brown and Ethan Evans. Holste was able to face guard Xavier Rambo fairly successfully and not allow him to be their top scorer again,” Trevino said. “Unfortunately, Irrigon has a few weapons that can stand out when the time calls. Kameron and Ethan played hard and did well in setting up our offense; we just couldn’t keep up to Irrigon’s pace. We’re working on that.”
Trevino added that he’ll be looking forward to playing teams within the Hawks’ own 1A classification from here on out, as the team has finished its 2A matchups this season, which have proved difficult for Horizon. Meanwhile, the Horizon boys have mostly found success against 1A teams, going 3-1, with their sole loss to Big Sky opponent Sherman last week.
“This was a tough schedule going into the season, and next year I’ll likely request a few games here and there that we can work on playing with a lead. Not that playing tough teams isn’t great for you, it is, but so is getting a victory here and there to start the season,” Trevino explained. “I think our boys feed on momentum and we’ll have the opportunity to get some momentum going if we can shut (Big Sky opponents) Dufur and Arlington down, as they are quality teams within our league. Next week doesn’t lighten up with Damascus in the Moda Center and South Wasco at home, but we’ll put our best effort on the table regardless.”
Girls
Having had a particularly difficult game the last time they played Irrigon, the Horizon girls focused more on improving their game than they did trying to beat Irrigon as, like the boys, they saw Tuesday’s game quickly slip from their grasp. By halftime, the score was 33-10, Irrigon, which was then pushed out 45-14 at the end of the third as the Knights’ fast style of play proved effective against the Hawks.
Horizon Head Coach Brian Stevens said that despite the score, “we played really well defensively on varsity.” In the fourth quarter, Stevens gave JV players the opportunity to play in the game and work on full-court presses.
“…I asked the opposing coach to keep pressing so our younger girls could practice a press break,” he explained.
Paulina Finn had a double-double in Tuesday’s game, collecting 10 boards and leading the Hawks in scoring with 10 points. Jodee Hicks also had a good night, tallying up a team-high 12 rebounds.
Horizon was scheduled to face Dufur Friday night in Hood River (girls at 6 p.m., boys at 7, results not available as of press time) and then are at Arlington Saturday (girls at 4, boys at 5:30). Next week, the team has another back-to-back, playing Damascus Christian at the Moda Center in Portland (girls at 5 p.m., boys at 6:30) and then South Wasco County Tuesday in Hood River (girls at 6, boys at 7:30).
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