Cruiser Boys Basketball Stays Hot, Improve to 4-1

On Monday, Dec. 20th, the Cruisers boys’ team headed to Randle, WA looking to extend their winning streak to 3 games when they took on the Morton-White Pass Timberwolves in a non-league matchup.

The Timberwolves would lead by one at the end of the first quarter of play 17-16, but the Cruisers went on a 19-9 run in the second quarter, helped by six first-half 3-pointers, to take the lead for good.

Morton-White Pass would cut into the Cruiser lead and cut the deficit to three with two minutes to go but Eatonville sank a couple of free throws to push the lead back out and hold on for the 64-58 win.

Eatonville's Reilly McIlraith tosses up a floater to score 2 of his game-high 20 points in the Cruisers 64-58 victory over Morton-White Pass. Photo: Trevor Smith

Reilly McIlraith led the Cruisers with 20 points and Shay Brannon would record a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Jake Wood came within a rebound shy of another double-double when he pulled down 9 rebounds to go with his 11 points.

The following evening, the Cruisers hosted Rainier High School in their home opener and the Mountaineers spoiled the party by sinking the Cruisers 58-51 in front of a raucous home crowd at Rainier Connect Arena.

The teams swapped leads all evening long and neither team would lead by more than three or four points in the first three-quarters of play. As the third quarter came to a close, the Cruisers would hold on to a 37-35 lead.

The Mountaineers 13-0 run to start the 4th was the ultimate decider in the win. That, and guard Ian Sprouffske's game-high 25 points.

Eatonville would pull within three points with a little over 30 seconds to play but needed to foul the Mountaineers to stop the clock to have a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately, Rainier is a very good free-throw shooting team and extended their lead to seven as the clock expired.

Eatonville's Jake Wood drives the baseline to score 2 of his team-leading 15 points in the Cruisers 58-51 loss to Rainer. Photo: Alyssa Wood-Shotswell

Jake Wood would lead the Cruisers in scoring with 15 points. He would pull down 6 rebounds as well. Kyle Cox would record his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Shay Brannon would chip in 13 points as well in the losing effort.

Finishing off the week before pausing for the Christmas holiday, the Cruisers would host their rivals, the Orting Cardinals in a non-league affair.

Eatonville would go on an 8-0 run to start the game and the Cardinals never recovered as the Cruisers coasted to a 66-34 victory.

The Cruisers would go on a 10-0 run to open up the second quarter and then an 11-0 run to start the third and Orting never really answered back.

The Cruisers' Shay Brannon drives to the basket to lay in 2 of his game-high 22 points in the Cruisers 66-32 lopsided victory over Orting. Photo: Alyssa Wood-Shotswell

Shay Brannon led the Cruisers in scoring with a game-high 22 points. Jake Wood added 14, and Walker Bruun had a season-high 8 points.

The Cruisers now sit at 4-1 overall and enjoyed a nice break for the holiday and will start back December 29th when they host the Toledo Riverhawks in another non-league matchup. The tip-off is at 5:15 pm.

The Riverhawks (9-1), out of the 2B Central league, come into the game riding an eight-game winning streak led by junior point guard Jake Cournyer. Cournyer is averaging 17.8 points per game, so the Cruiser defense will need to keep an eye on him in this game.