THE DALLES — The Dalles High Riverhawks had a rough start to the new year in OSAA Class 4A boys basketball, losing their first two nonleague games of 2026 last week.
Playing back-to-back road games last weekend, the No. 12-ranked Riverhawks (6-6) lost both by two-point margins. The Riverhawks fell 49-47 to the Seaside High Seagulls (3-7) Jan. 9 at Seaside High School. Senior Calder Morrison led the Riverhawks in scoring with 21 points. The 47 points scored by the Riverhawks marked their season-low point total for a game this season.
The Riverhawks then lost another close game, 87-85 to the Tillamook High Cheesemakers (4-6) Jan. 10 at Tillamook High School. That marked their third consecutive defeat, with all three losses by five points or less. The 87 points by Tillamook marked a season-high point total for a Riverhawks opponent. The Riverhawks played without starters Issac Pitt and Derek Goulart.
Junior guard Oliver Stevens led the Riverhawks in scoring with 34 points, and he added six assists and five rebounds. Morrison (22 points), Hudson Case (12 points) and Reese Kinslow (11 points) also scored in double digits for the Riverhawks.
“We fought hard in the last three games, and we had an opportunity to win each of them, too,” said Stevens, son of head coach Brian Stevens. “We recently had Bryson Cates return back to our lineup, and so with people getting healthy now, we should be in pretty good shape. We’re hoping to back on track and win some games this week.”
The Riverhawks play three non-league games in three days, including a Jan. 13 home game against the North Marion High Huskies (5-6). The Riverhawks then travel to Eastern Oregon to play a road game Jan. 14 at No. 8-ranked La Grande (7-6). The Riverhawks then play a non-league road contest Jan. 17 at 2:30 p.m. against the No. 11-ranked Pendleton High Buckaroos (5-9).
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