RIDDLE – The Riddle Irish boys have recently taken on the moniker of the comeback kids as they rallied from halftime deficits in both games of the Cow Creek Classic to ultimately claim the title.
On Saturday, December 13, in the championship game against St. Paul Riddle trailed at the half by five 33-26 after having played to a 12-12 standstill in the first quarter.
In the third quarter the Irish were able to only shave one point off the Buckaroos lead as they took the quarter 10-9 but trailed by four, 42-38, going into the final eight minutes.
In the final frame the two teams battled and it took the Irish up until the last 30 seconds of the game to take the lead. That lead came on a three point shot by Rafael Lopez and it proved to be the deciding factor in the win for the Irish.
The victory game them their first Cow Creek Classic championship in four years and kept their undefeated record, (6-0), in tact.
Three Irish were in double figures with Cole Canty leading the way with 12 points while Nick McKinney posted a double-double scoring 11 while pulling down 12 boards. He also has four assists and three steals. Layton Lewis rounded out the trio with 10 points.
Both Lewis and Canty made the all-tournament team along with St. Paul’s Sullivan Grott, Camas Valley’s Tatum Sexton and Glendale’s Kaden France
The Irish might not have been in the title game if not for a defensive blitzkrieg of Glendale in the second half of their first round game on Friday.
The Pirates jumped out to a 12-7 lead after the first quarter and by halftime they had built a 10 point advantage 29-19.
In the third quarter the Irish came out and played a ¾ Court Trap defense for most of the quarter which resulted in a myriad of turnover by the Glendale offense.
The press-trap equated into easy buckets for the Irish and by the end of the quarter they had outscored the Pirates 21-8 to take a 40-37 lead into the fourth.
In the final stanza it went back and forth with each team having short runs but ultimately the Irish held off the Pirates by hitting free throws and takig the quarter 13-9 and the game 53-46.
Lewis led the offensive charge with 20 points while Canty dropped in 16, which included five triples. McKinney contributed to the cause grabbing eight boards to go with five steals and three assists.
Kaden France led Glendale with 17 points and Huntyr Rocha added 11. Jackson Pisan chipped in with 10 points.
The Irish ran their record to 7-0 on Monday evening as they defeated Alsea 62-47. No statistics were available at press time.
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