Eatonville Shows Fight but Drops Two as Losing Streak Reaches Six

A week that opened with promise and ended with more hard lessons left the Eatonville Cruisers still searching for answers as they continue league play.

Eatonville senior Colton Herbrand goes for a lay up in a game against the Clover Park Timberwolves last week. Herbrand would score a team-high 14 points in a losing effort. Photo: Heather Quirie

The Cruisers dropped a pair of games, falling 63-44 on the road to the Fife Trojans on Tuesday, Jan. 13, before returning home and suffering a 65-41 loss to Clover Park on Friday, Jan. 17.

Despite the results, Eatonville showed flashes of competitiveness and growth, particularly early against Fife, before turnovers, rebounding struggles, and late-game runs by their opponents proved too much to overcome.

At McCrossin Court, Eatonville went toe to toe with one of the league’s top teams for much of the night.

Fife struck first, but Eatonville quickly settled in. After falling behind 5-2 in the opening quarter, the Cruisers rattled off a 9-0 run to take an 11-5 lead. Fife closed the gap late, trimming the deficit to two by the end of the quarter. Eatonville led 11-9 after one despite committing six turnovers, compared to just two by the Trojans. The Cruisers held a 10-6 edge on the glass, with Jeremy Osborn pacing Eatonville with five points.

The second quarter remained tight throughout. Fife tied the game on the opening possession, but Amari Samuel answered with a three to put Eatonville back in front. The lead changed hands again before Adam Ames knocked down a three with 3:43 left to tie the game at 17. Eatonville carried a slim 25-23 lead into halftime after forcing a late Trojan turnover and watching a Samuel buzzer-beater rim out. Samuel scored six points in the quarter as the Cruisers limited their turnovers to four.

Fife took control early in the third, opening the half on a 5-0 run to reclaim the lead. After trading baskets, the Trojans closed the quarter with a 9-1 surge to push the margin to double digits. Eatonville responded with a late 5-0 run, pulling within 39-35 entering the fourth. Samuel added five more points in the period.

Any momentum Eatonville had evaporated early in the final quarter. Fife opened with a 7-0 run and later stretched it to 12 unanswered points to put the game away, sending the Cruisers home with a 63-44 loss.

Samuel led Eatonville with 21 points, while Osborn finished with 11.

“We put together an awesome three quarters,” head coach Josh Bennett said. “It was a great display of effort and togetherness. Being up at half and only down a couple going into the last period was great for our kids. We showed we could hang with another top team in our league. The fourth quarter just felt like it slipped away from us.”

The struggles continued Friday night at Rainier Connect Arena as Eatonville dropped its sixth straight game in a 65-41 loss to Clover Park. The game followed a familiar script for the Cruisers, who have faced challenges since moving back up to the 2A classification.

Clover Park’s press defense caused problems all night, forcing 29 Eatonville turnovers. The Timberwolves also dominated the boards, outrebounding the Cruisers 40-28 and cashing in on numerous second-chance opportunities.

Eatonville fell behind quickly in the first quarter. Six turnovers and a 12-2 Clover Park run late in the period left the Cruisers trailing 15-4 after one.

The Timberwolves opened the second quarter with a decisive 14-2 run, stretching their lead to 23 and taking a 34-10 advantage into halftime.

Eatonville showed more life offensively in the third quarter. Three-pointers from Osborn, Colton Herbrand, and Sam Twedt, along with a pair of buckets from Ryder Herbrand, helped the Cruisers score 13 points. Clover Park continued to score at a steady pace, however, extending its lead to 51-23 heading into the fourth.

The Cruisers finished strong in the final period, outscoring the Timberwolves 16-14. Colton Herbrand hit a three and added two more baskets for seven points in the quarter, while Ryder Herbrand knocked down a three and converted a pair of free throws. The deficit was too much to overcome, and Eatonville fell 65-41.

Colton Herbrand led Eatonville with a season-high 14 points and six rebounds. Ryder Herbrand added nine points, five rebounds, and a blocked shot. Twedt scored a career-high eight points, and Osborn finished with seven.

Bennett pointed to the defensive effort as a bright spot.

“First and foremost, we held the kid who is most likely to get MVP of our league to only 19 points, and he did not make a single three pointer,” Bennett said. “I applauded the guys for being very coachable and buying into our game plan against him. I thought that was absolutely spectacular.”

Bennett also noted progress on the offensive end late.

“We battled hard all game and we showed some spurts in the second half that were very promising,” he said. “There was a moment in the third where we ran our offense and worked the shot clock and got some amazing looks. We will continue to build off of that.”

Now riding a six-game losing streak, the Cruisers will look to get back on track when they host rival Orting at Rainier Connect Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. Eatonville then closes the week at home against Foss on Friday, Jan. 23, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. following the girls game at 5:15 p.m.