Riverhawk boys win two, lose two

THE DALLES — The Dalles High School’s boys basketball team faced a jam-packed week with four games in six days, splitting the non-league contests.

The Riverhawks took care of Bend’s Mountain View (4-9), 67-61, at Kurtz Gym in The Dalles on Jan. 12; beat North Marion (7-7), 55-40, at home on Jan. 13; lost, 67-61, at La Grande (9-6) on Jan. 14; and finished off the week with a loss at Pendleton (6-10), 62-56, on Jan. 17.

The Riverhawks, led by head Coach Brian Stevens, were missing some players during the four-game stretch, only suiting up six varsity players for the four games.

“This is two games in a row that we’ve been undermanned,” Stevens said after the win against North Marion on Jan. 13. “We’re missing three varsity players, two starters, and our JV guys came in big off the bench.

“They [North Marion] ran a 2-3 zone. They used the top two guys to defend Oliver [Stevens]. So, people study film. He’s leading the state in 4A in scoring right now, and everyone knows that, and they’re all coming to stop him. Calder Morrison really stepped up big tonight and hit some wide-open. I think he finished tonight with 20. He worked his way off of Oliver’s double team and spotted up as his teammates set screens to get him open.”

As of Jan. 15, the Riverhawks have the top two scorers in the state for 4A on their roster. Oliver Stevens leads with 24.2 average, and Calder Morrison is second at 20.1 points per game.

Bryson Cates finally got on the floor for The Dalles during the stretch; he was out due to an arm injury he suffered during football season.

The Riverhawks have six days off before they take on Madras (11-3) at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 at Kurtz Gym in The Dalles. It’s the Tri-Valley Conference opener for both teams.

Scoring leaders this past week included: Stevens, 28 points, Morrison, 20, against Mountain View; Morrison, 20 points, Isaac Pitt, 13, versus North Marion; at La Grande, Stevens, 21 points; Morrison, 14; Stevens, 19 points, versus Pendleton.