TDHS Boys Basketball Soars in Their First Win of The Season

The high-flying Riverhawks took to the air on Friday to beat La Salle 69-55.

By Xavier Orion Olaez

The Dalles Riverhawks boys basketball team played their second game of the season on Friday, Dec 10th, at home against the La Salle Prep Falcons, and there was some exciting basketball played.

The Hawks went on to win 69-55.

“Our team did great defensively,” said Riverhawk senior David Tapia. “I think that’s what helped us. We know if our defense can perform, well, we can win most games.”

The first quarter was dominated by the Hawks. They started off fast, scoring 6 straight points and playing some suffocating defense that forced a lot of turnovers. The defense held the Falcons to only 6 points in the first quarter. The Hawks were making some great passes and communicated well.

The second quarter was the same story. The Hawks’ defense was phenomenal and their offense was fast-paced as they were able to score in any way possible. The Hawks hit a flurry of three-point shots in the second to maintain their large lead. The Falcons were thwarted in their attempts to make a comeback.

The Hawks ended the first half leading 37-15.

Henry Begay driving in on La Salle. Begay led the Hawks in scoring with 16.

The second half was was all Riverhawks on offense. There were great threes, great passes, great defense and even a dunk by junior Styles Deleon that made the crowd go crazy. Towards the end of the third quarter, coach Greg Cummings put in his backups for the rest of the game. They were able to hold the lead as the Hawks had run up the score to 60-26.

The fourth quarter was a tough one for the Hawks on defense and offense. The players played hard but La Salle was hitting every shot and playing some tough defense causing a lot of turnovers. They had a great comeback but the Hawks had built such a big lead in the first three quarters, it was impossible for the Falcons to recover.

In the fourth, the Hawks scored 9 points winning 69-55.

Henry Begay led the Hawks in scoring with 16 and Style Deleon had 15.

The Hawks are now 1-1 on the season and hope to keep the winning going on the road against Centennial on Tueday, Dec 14th.