HRV boys basketball team opens with split of two games

HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley (HRV)boys basketball team split its opening two games against McDaniel on Dec. 5 and Summit on Dec. 6.

The Eagles beat the Lions (0-2), 61-52, and fell to the Storm (2-0), 70-52. Both games were part of the first annual Battle of the Bridge tournament, hosted by Columbia High School and Hood River Valley.

HRV got the upper hand first against McDaniel and never let up. The Eagles built a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and rode that momentum to a 27-14 halftime lead. HRV kept the pressure through the third quarter en route to a 48-32 lead.

Game two against Summit was a different story, as the Storm led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter, and never gave the lead back to the Eagles. Summit led 34-24 at halftime, while HRV battled back early in the third to pull within seven points. Senior Cooper Wells’ transition layup pulled HRV within 39-32. Summit responded with back-to-back baskets by Foster Kettering — one of them a 3-pointer — to push the margin to a dozen.

A couple of timely 3-pointers from HRV enabled the Eagles to hang around. Talon Britt’s trey with 3:50 remaining pulled the home team within 57-46. Summit countered with Matthew Thompkins scoring twice near the two-minute mark to give the Storm a cushion.