Basketball Recap: River Ridge Comes Up Short

River Ridge was the 62-55 winner over North Thurston when they last played one another back in January, but their luck changed this time around. The River Ridge Hawks fell to the North Thurston Rams 68-64. While the Hawks didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Rams 20-7 in the first quarter.

Despite the loss, River Ridge saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Ryzen Nunez went 10 of 14 on his way to 21 points along with eight boards and four steals. The matchup was Nunez's fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominique Harper, who went 5 for 11 en route to 17 points.

Micah Anderson was his usual excellent self, going 6 of 14 on his way to 23 points and four steals for North Thurston. Anderson is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 16 or more in the last six games he's played. Another player making a difference was Kurt Cavalier, who went 5 for 10 en route to 12 points.

River Ridge's defeat dropped their record down to 13-8. As for North Thurston, they now have a winning record of 11-10.

River Ridge and North Thurston could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps Washington Rankings. River Ridge will challenge Lincoln at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday down 99 places (125 vs. 26). Similarly, North Thurston (ranked 134th) will meet Bellarmine Prep (ranked 35th) at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.