THE DALLES — Oliver Stevens scored 22 points and Calder Morrison added 20 as The Dalles High won, 70-67, in a key Tri-Valley Conference boys basketball game Feb. 12 at Madras.
Morrison made two free throws in the closing seconds to give The Dalles its final, three-point margin and hand Madras its first conference loss.
The win lifted The Dalles to 10-11 overall, 2-3 in the Tri-Valley with four games remaining. The Riverhawks’ stretch run begins Feb. 20 in the first of three home games for Coach Brian Stevens’ team — the first contest a league test against Gladstone. The Dalles hosts Baker on Feb. 21 in a nonleague game, has Estacada coming to Kurtz Gym on Feb. 24, before finishing the regular season Feb. 27 at Molalla.
The Dalles is in fourth place in the five-team Class 4A Tri-Valley. A 3-0 sweep may be enough to earn the Riverhawks one of the Tri-Valley’s two automatic Class 4A state playoff berths. If that doesn’t happen, The Dalles’ tough schedule may enable it to nab an at-large berth which go to the top four ranked 4A teams who have not automatically qualified for the playoffs.
The Dalles is ranked 15th heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. Molalla is No. 3 in 4A and Estacada in No. 9.
The Riverhawks played like a playoff team at Madras, sinking 22 of 24 free throws on the night. The Dalles also limited the touches for Madras’ talented post player Matthew Suppah-Scott by clogging the middle of the floor. Suppah-Scott still finished with 23 points.
The Dalles battled back from a seven-point deficit early in the second half. A key play after that stretch came with the score tied, 52-52, as Morrison nailed a 3-pointer, was fouled and converted the four-point play. It gave the winners the lead, which they would not relinquish.
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