Riverhawks, Redsides boys basketball squads to compete at state tourneys

The undefeated Redsides (23-0) will play the No. 9-ranked Rogue Valley Adventist Academy Red Tail Hawks (23-2) in the 6:30 p.m. quarterfinals March 2 at Baker High School.

The Redsides, guided by Coach Jim Hull, are competing in the state tournament for a second straight year. Last year’s tournament at Baker in June wasn’t sanctioned by the OSAA because of COVID-19 restrictions. The Redsides last advanced to an OSAA state tournament in 2009.

“You know you’re playing a good team that’s a league champ (Mountain West League Champions) and they’re a proud team, but so are we,” said Hull. “We did a great job of finding our big guys, Ian Ongers and Brock LaFaver, down the stretch and then Oscar Thomas was doing his thing and he does a great job. We’re here because those three guys show up every night and there’s a reason all three of them are Big Sky League first team all-league players. They came through again and everybody else plugged the holes. We’re just looking forward to our next challenge on Wednesday.”

Thomas, the Big Sky West Division player-of-the-year, had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. LaFaver had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Ongers scored 15 points. The contest marked the final home game of the South Wasco High careers of seniors LaFaver, Thomas, Alex Stebbins and Remington Anderson-Sheer.

Riverhawk boys basketball punch ticket to 5A state playoffs

The Dalles High Riverhawks boys basketball team clinched third place in the six-team Intermountain Conference and advanced to the Class 5A state playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

The Hawks (5-5 IMC, 11-10 overall) also have their first winning record since the 2009-10 season when they finished with a 15-10 mark.

The Hawks, guided by Coach Greg Cummings, are ranked No. 16 in Class 5A and they qualified for a first-round state playoff game March 3 on the road against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. The winner of the March 3 contest advances to the 5A state tournament March 9-12 at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

“This is a very proud time for Riverhawks basketball and I’m very proud of the progress our team and the program has made this year,” said Cummings. “This is the first year that I’ve been associated with Riverhawks basketball that we actually ended the regular season with a winning record, which is a testament to our kids and our families. and it shows how much we’ve improved over the years. It’s super cool that we’re in the playoffs. Now that we’re in the playoffs the job isn’t finished, and we still have work to do. One of our team goals at the beginning of the season was to get to the state tournament and that’s what we’re shooting for.”