THE DALLES — The No. 3-ranked The Dalles High Riverhawks (5-3) extended their OSAA Class 4A boys basketball win streak to five straight after getting two nonleague road wins last week.
Madras ended the streak with a 72-61 win Dec. 20 on the third day of the Seaside Holiday Classic (Dec. 18-20 at Seaside High School).
The Riverhawks won their first game in the tourney, 71-58, over the WIAA Class 1A Elma High Eagles (3-5). They followed with a 55-37 win over Class 5A and No. 6-ranked Crescent Valley High Raiders (5-1) Dec. 19. The Riverhawks recorded a season-best defensive performance with the fewest points allowed by an opponent this season. In a matchup featuring top-five Class 4A squads, the Riverhawks then had their win streak snapped by the White Buffaloes (8-0) from Madras.
“Our starting center [Issac Pitt] was unable to play in the Seaside championship game versus Madras,” third-year Coach Brian Stevens said. “It was a close game until Madras took a six-point lead in the fourth quarter. We fell down the stretch, and [the White Buffaloes] made their free throws.”
The Dalles seniors Derek Goulart, Calder Morrison and junior Oliver Stevens had outstanding performances in the three-game Seaside tourney. Goulart averaged 15 points per game and 12 rebounds per game. Morrison averaged 18 points and six rebounds in the tournament.
Stevens averaged 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals for the three games, and he was named the tournament Most Valuable Player by a vote of the coaches. Morrison was selected to the first team, all-tournament.
The Riverhawks were scheduled to play their first nonleague home game of the season Dec. 23 against the Class 3A McLoughlin High Pioneers (3-4). The Riverhawks will play their next nonleague contest Dec. 27 at noon versus the No. 7-ranked St. Helens High Lions (5-2) in Portland. The matchup will be at the Moda Center in Portland — on the same basketball court as the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers. The Riverhawks lost 68-59 in a nonleague road contest versus St. Helens last season. Following a six-day New Year holiday break, the Riverhawks will play Jan. 2 at Tillamook (0-2).
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