For a team that has seen its fair share of heartbreaking losses, Tuesday night’s 72-70 defeat at hands of the Riverhawks was arguably the most painful, but the most inspiring of the season for HRV.
After falling behind thanks to The Dalles’ hot shooting in the first quarter that put the Eagles down by 24 at one point in the first half, the Eagles pulled off a spectacular rally in the second half, clawing their way back into contention and even gaining a one-point lead midway through the fourth quarter on the Riverhawks’ home court. However, HRV (2-13, 1-2 Columbia River Conference) wasn’t quite able to hang onto its small lead, giving The Dalles (4-13, 1-2 CRC) its first league victory of the season.
The loss was the fourth this season for HRV that was decided by three points or fewer and losing to The Dalles makes it less palatable than usual, but Head Coach Steve Noteboom couldn’t fault his athletes when it came to how much heart they showed on The Dalles’ court Tuesday night.
“I was very proud of the fact that they fought back and just kept playing,” he said. “There wasn’t any point of the game where we got totally frustrated and couldn’t do anything.”
The Riverhawks put the Eagles on the ropes early, outscoring HRV 25-7 thanks to impeccable shooting and their ability to easily break HRV’s press. In the first half alone, The Dalles went 14-for-21 from two-point range (67 percent) and was 4-for-10 from behind the arc (40 percent). Meanwhile, the Eagles struggled with poor three-point shooting, going 1-for-12 (8 percent) in the first half. HRV was able to close the gap in the second quarter, outscoring The Dalles 21-18, but still trailed 43-28 at the half.
Noteboom told his squad during halftime that the team needed to stop shooting the three so much and to be more aggressive on closing out defense, putting hands in the faces of The Dalles’ shooters. Despite the significant adjustments that needed to be made, Noteboom also told his team that they were more than capable of making the game competitive once again.
“I just emphasized to them that they weren’t going to shoot that well the whole game and that we could fight our way into it… it was all about, ‘Let’s keep playing our game and get back into it,’” he said.
And they did. Noteboom said The Dalles’ shooting “cooled down quite a bit,” while HRV’s improved. By the end of the third quarter, HRV had cut the Riverhawks’ lead to single digits and was now trailing 53-44.
That trend continued in the fourth quarter, as HRV continued to chip away at the lead until it gained a one-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter. The two teams traded baskets in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter until, tied up at 70 with just a few seconds remaining, a foul gave The Dalles free throws. The Riverhawks capitalized on the opportunity, making their shots to escape with a win.
Noteboom said his athletes were upset at how the game ended. But the loss showed both Noteboom and the team its ability to respond when face with adversity.
“They were really frustrated at the end where we had the lead and couldn’t hold it,” he said, “but the fact that they were able to come back from being down 24 and didn’t give up — that says a lot about them as a team.”
Parker Kennedy was the lead scorer for HRV, dropping in 20 points and scooping up six rebounds. Noah Noteboom and Dallas Buckley also had good nights, tallying 16 points, three assists, three steals, and 15 points, eight rebounds, respectively. Tyrone Stintzi also hit double digits, scoring 12 points and grabbing two boards. As a team, HRV went 24-for-36 from two-point range (67 percent), 5-for-24 on three-pointers (21 percent), and shot 15-for-20 from the foul line (75 percent).
HRV’s 6-foot-5-inch sophomore, Dakota Kurahara, was not able to play in Tuesday’s game after suffering from a partially collapsed lung. Noteboom said Wednesday afternoon that the injury did not occur during a game or practice and that Kurahara had been admitted to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland. Noteboom said he did not know when Kurahara would be able to return to action for HRV. To replace Kurahara, Noteboom called up 5-foot-10-inch junior Zack Moore from the junior varsity squad.
With the first round of league play in the books, the Eagles looked to get their first win against the formidable Pendleton Buckaroos (10-6, 3-0) Friday at 7 p.m. in Pendleton (results not available at press time). On Tuesday, HRV will look to get another win against Hermiston (8-10, 1-2), this time on the road in a game that starts at 7 p.m.
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