Hood River Valley’s varsity boys basketball team fell short against Redmond High School 49-39 Friday, Jan. 31. This marks Redmond’s fourth consecutive win.
The Panthers’ dangerous offense was the main focus in the first quarter.
Redmond seniors Cooper Browning and Dylan Moss netted a total of three three-pointers. With help from senior Henry Chambers and sophomore Garrett Osborne, the Panthers lead the first quarter with 17 points. The Eagles only dropped nine points.
As the quarter ended, HRV junior Ian Searcy was fouled after making a bucket. Searcy nailed the free throw, closed out the quarter with assurance and an enthusiastic home crowd.
In the second quarter, Redmond kept their offensive momentum going with hard and fast passes but HRV’s defense lowered their scoring to nine points. Eagle offense did manage to drive into the paint multiple times, but couldn’t execute.
Christopher Dirks, head coach for the Eagles, said both junior Jack Siekkinen and senior Cruise Hawk were going to be aggressive in the key, which they were.
Entering the second half, the Eagle squad came out with energy and outscored the Panthers 12-9. In the fourth quarter, HRV outscored Redmond again 13-12, but was not enough for the win.
The Eagles’ was also in a lot of foul trouble: 10 fouls plagued the team in the second half and eight in the first.
“We knew they were going to come out with fire in the second half,” Reagan Gilbertson, head coach for Redmond, said. “They hit some tough shots in the second half, and they played well.”
One player that proved to be tough for the Eagle offense was Moss. At 6 feet five inches, Moss easily rebounded and muscled his way out of trouble.
“He’s our everything. He’s averaging 20-10 this year,” Gilbertson said. “It’s a nice luxury to have when a shot goes up most likely he’s going to get it. So, we don’t have to work on rebounding as much as we did in the past.”
HRV hits the court again Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. as they visit The Dalles.
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