Cruiser men drop opening week games

The Eatonville Cruiser men’s basketball team hosted the River Ridge Hawks as they opened the 2020 season.

The Cruisers kept things close in the first quarter behind the 4 points from Kaden Foster and Cameron Hatler and would trail by 2 at the end of the first, 12-10.

That would be as close as the game would be for the rest of the night as the Hawks shooters begin to light it up from beyond the 3-point line. At the half, the Hawks extended their lead to 14 points to take a 36-22 lead into the locker room.

Zach Smith heated up for the Cruisers in the third quarter with 7 points followed by Foster’s 4, but the Hawks’ shooters just weren’t missing. The Cruisers would trail 66-35 as the final quarter of play would begin.

River Ridge outscore dthe Cruisers in the final period 27-13 to take the win by a score of 92-48.

Leading the Cruisers in scoring was Cameron Hatler, who recorded his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kaden Foster had 12 points and 6 rebounds. Finishing out the scoring for the Cruisers was Zach Smith with 9, Jakob Lucht with 6, Kyle Cox with 4 points and 9 rebounds and Reilly McIlraith with 2.

The Cruisers looked to get things back on track when they travelled to Rainier High School on Saturday to take on the Mountaineers.

The Cruisers led the game until the fourth quarter, where the Mountaineers outscored them 15-5 to give the Cruisers their second loss of the season, 42-41.

Reilly McIlraith led the Cruiser scores with 10 points. Kaden Foster chipped in 9, while Zach Smith had 8, freshman Kyle Cox dropped 5 points, Branden Storm with 3, Cameron Hatler with 2, and Alex Brymer rounded out the scoring with 1.

Next up for Eatonville will be a couple of home games against Steilacoom and Orting. The Cruisers will host Steilacoom Dec. 10 and then will host Orting on Friday, Dec. 13.