Cruisers Fall Short Against River Ridge

Riding high from their 59-35 drubbing of Rochester in their last game, the Eatonville Cruiser boys’ basketball team braved the high winds and rain and traveled to Lacey to take on the River Ridge Hawks at River Ridge High School on Wednesday night looking to start themselves a winning streak.

These two teams met in the Cruisers first game of the season this year and the Hawks came out on top in a huge win, 92-48. The Cruisers hoped this meeting would be different.

The Hawks jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead with 3:15 left in the quarter before the Cruiser offense could get on the board. River Ridge would lead 15-6 at the end of the quarter.

The Cruiser offense got a little spark in the 2nd when Reilly McIlraith and Cameron Hatler both scored 5 points apiece in the quarter, but the Hawks offense would extend their lead to 12 at 32-20 as the half ended.

The 3rd quarter brought a little excitement. With 1:37 left on the clock, the power went out due to the severe windstorms that blew through the area. After about a 7-minute power outage delay the lights would come back on and play would resume. Eatonville would play the Hawks very close in the quarter, but the Hawks would still hold a 13-point lead heading into the final quarter at 47-34.

The Cruisers would start the 4th quarter by going on a 11-0 run to pull within in 2 points at 47-45. This offensive surge was due mainly to freshman Kyle Cox’s 10 points in the quarter. He had 8 crucial points in the paint and then hit two big free throws. When the Cruisers would pull close, the Hawks would pull away again. The Cruisers would trail by 3 with about 30 seconds left in the game when a Jeremy Knoblauch 3-point attempt was off mark and the Hawks would rebound the ball and race up court for an uncontested lay in to stretch the lead to 5.

The Cruisers would put up another 3-point attempt that would be off the mark, Cox would get the rebound and get fouled. He would go to the line and hit both free throws to bring the Cruisers within 3 at 58-55.

With 5.5 seconds on the clock, the Hawks would inbound the ball and the Cruisers would be forced to foul to stop the clock, hoping the River Ridge shooter would miss the two fouls shots. He missed the first attempt but made the second and the Hawks went up 59-55.

The Cruisers would inbound the ball and race up the court before a Kaden Foster 3-point attempt missed is mark and the Cruisers would fall 59-55.

Kyle Cox would have a huge game for the Cruisers with 13 points and 14 rebounds to record his 1st career double-double. Reilly McIlraith would chip in with 12 and Cameron Hatler with 11.