The Dalles boys’ basketball team gave the No. 11 Hermiston Bulldogs a scare Tuesday night in a nip-and-tuck Columbia River Conference contest played at Kurtz Gym.
“It was fun to see how our guys just kept fighting and clawing their way until the end,” said TD coach Greg Cummings. “Our guys played hard for 32 minutes.”
Behind by nine points at the start of the fourth period, the Riverhawks fought back to tie the score on two occasions, the last time with 50 seconds left, but the Bulldog defense locked down to hold on for a 61-57 triumph.
Both teams wound up deadlocked at 14-all through one quarter, but TD used a 17-15 spurt to take a 31-29 halftime lead.
Hermiston, however, came out firing in the second half, with a 19-13 run giving them a 48-44 lead entering the fourth.
The Bulldogs (14-6 overall, 4-2 league) hit 12 of 26 shots in the second half, 23 of 53 for the game, as Chance Flores paced his team with 22 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Xavier Rambo added 16 points, Hunter Walls notched nine points, and Jordan Ramirez hit for six points and five rebounds.
“Hermiston is a top team in the state for a reason,” Cummings added. “They’re super-athletic, can get to the rim and they can play great defense when they want to.”
Dakota Murr shot 8 of 16 from the floor, 1 of 5 on 3-pointers, for 19 points.
The junior pulled down 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.
Johnny Miller followed up with 11 points and five rebounds, Oscar Fernandez and Eric Flores chipped in seven points apiece, and Dawson Hoffman had six points.
TD (4-14, 1-6) was 19 of 36 on two-point attempts, but mustered a 4 for 17 split from long range, 1 of 8 in the second half.
The Hawks out-rebounded the Hermiston Bulldogs by a 33-31 margin, doubled in assists, 10-5, but turned the ball over 21 times to Hermiston’s 16.
The Riverhawks next play host to No. 9-ranked Pendleton (11-4, 6-0) at 7 p.m. Friday.
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