Bombers Roll Riverhawks - By Maddex Aguilar
The Richland Bombers and the Chiawana Riverhawks would meet after both teams came away with blowout wins against the Pasco Bulldogs. Entering the game, the Richland Bombers were looking to push their win streak to 5 for an overall record of 5-2. They were able to do just that, coming away with a dominant 85-63 win over the Riverhawks. The previous matchups for these teams have seen the Richland Bombers come away with four straight wins over the past two years.
Before the game, the parking lot was packed, with many more still showing up. Many fans for both sides remained after the girl's game earlier. The turnout for the game did not disappoint. Almost every seat was taken up, and still more fans piled in 10 minutes before game time. The gymnasium grew in electricity and anticipation as they waited for tip-off, everyone in attendance hoping for an entertaining game but, most importantly, seeing their team walk away with a win.
The Riverhawks would win the tip-off and get the game underway. Chiawana would take an early lead to start the first quarter as the Richland offense was looking to find its groove on the offensive end. The Bombers found that spark midway through the first quarter when guard Josh Woodard would drive to the rim and be fouled going up and still converted, sending the Bombers student section into a frenzy and seemingly the momentum after hitting the free throw to finish the and one. With the spark they needed, the Bombers seemed to click on both ends of the court and take the lead back from the Riverhawks and close out the first quarter up 15-10.
That momentum would carry into the first for the Bombers, and they kept executing the same way they did to close out the first. The Bomber's defense was able to force the Riverhawks into difficult shots, despite that the Riverhawks kept pace with the Bombers. On the other side of the court, the Bomber offense was working down low, led by center Luke Westerfield; they were able to feed him down low and had him clean the glass effectively for the second chance points that built the lead for the Bombers. Shooting outside the arc was not the prettiest for Richland shooting 15% from 3. While outside the arc wasn't pretty, the Bombers could still convert 51% on FG. For the Riverhawks, it was a different story. Shooting outside the arc seemed to be their specialty throughout the first half shooting an impressive 55%; sadly, for Riverhawk fans, they were only shooting 35% on FG attempts. At the end of the second half, the Bombers lead the Riverhawks 38-27.
Entering the third quarter, the bombers would put on a show keeping it going on both sides. The defense would only let up 9 points the entirety of the quarter showing solid effort and forcing runovers. The offense looked as strong as it did in the second half but was converting at a much higher rate from 3, capitalizing on the Riverhawk's cold stretch and building a lead that would put the game out of reach. The 3rd quarter showed the team basketball that the Bombers play each player willing to make the extra pass and get a high-quality shot on most possessions. If the shots aren't falling, the entire team does a fantastic job getting rebounds and second-chance points that win games down the stretch. The Riverhawks fans chanting "Let's play football" is emphasis enough on how the third quarter went. The bombers added to their lead and left the third quarter up 51-36.
The Riverhawks proved they had a pulse in the 4th and came out shooting exceptionally well from deep, hitting several threes that cut the lead down for a moment before the Bombers could answer back several times, never allowing the Riverhawks to make the game look close. As the clock winded down, the teams exchanged threes and seemed to match each other Point for Point, but the deficit was too big. The Riverhawks would outscore the bombers 27-24. The final score would be 85-63, and the Bombers walked out of Chiawana with a dominant win.
The bombers were led in scoring by Josh Woodard, with 23 points and three assists; Luke Westerfield would go and put up a double-double scoring 22 points and nabbing ten rebounds. Getting rebounds is always significant, and the Bombers were able to execute with Westerfield's performance alongside Jase Vopalensky grabbing seven and Jack Forbes grabbing seven rebounds.
