Cruiser men stung by Hornets and Cardinals

The Cruiser men (3-1) traveled to Buckley on Tuesday, Dec. 11, to take on the White River Hornets (3-1). Riding high from an absolute thrashing of rival Orting the week before, the Cruisers were looking to string together a win streak.

The Hornets had other plans. The Cruisers, playing without starting guard Kekoa Visperas who was out of town after the passing of a family member, was no match for the Hornets. White River dominated this game from start to finish taking the win 64-36.

Tristan Schoepf carried the Cruisers with a double-double, scoring 23 points and bringing down 12 rebounds.

Eatonville looked to rebound from that loss when they hosted No. 3 ranked in state, Franklin Pierce High School, on Friday, Dec. 14. The Cruisers played a great first quarter and lead 14-12 as they headed into the second quarter of the game. The Cardinal defense flexed its muscle in that quarter and only allowed 8 Cruiser points while they took a 37-22 lead into the half.

The second half the Cruisers tried to put something together to cut in to the Franklin Pierce lead, but the Cardinals had none of that. They continued their tough defense and finish out the game, handing the Cruisers their third loss of the season by a score of 75-47.

Zach Smith led all Cruisers with 14 points.

The Cruisers end the week with a 3-3 overall record and 1-3 in league play. Next up for the Cruisers is a road trip to take on the Bulldogs of Montesano at 7 p.m. on Dec. 18. They will close out the week by hosting the Washington Patriots at 5:15 pm. on Dec. 20.