Nighthawks fall to Knights at home

OAKESDALE – Sunnyside Christian came to Oakesdale on Jan. 7 and beat the Nighthawks 71-56 to extend its undefeated record in 1B Southeast league competition.

Neither team could find much separation from each other in the opening quarter. Logan Brown started the scoring for Oakesdale – hitting one of two free throw shots – and SSC quickly responded.

After a technical foul was called on Sunnyside Christian head coach Dean Wagenaar, Jackson Perry hit one of his two free throws to cut the Knights' lead to 11-10 with 4:24 left in the first quarter.

Whistles were going off from the referees throughout the game, and both teams found themselves in double-bonus situations late in the contest. The Nighthawks struggled from the charity stripe against the Knights – leading to some points being left on the table for the home team.

"A lot of it comes down to practice," Oakesdale head coach Carl Crider said. "You got to practice your free throws, practice free throws under pressure situations so you get more comfortable making them at those times, and same with the physical play and the intensity of the game. You have to practice that way if you want to play that way."

Sunnyside Christian held a narrow 20-17 lead over Oakesdale at the end of the first quarter, and continued to build the lead in the second. Before the Knights expanded upon their lead, the Nighthawks almost took its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Will Lanius hit a 3-pointer with 4:39 to go in the first half to get the score to 26-25.

Sunnyside Christian from that point forward went on a 14-4 run to take a nine-point lead, and Oakesdale responded with a 6-3 run to get back within six to head into the third quarter.

With 1:14 left in the third quarter, Sunnyside Christian's lead remained at six with a 53-47 score. The Knights put up another bucket to go into the final eight minutes of regulation up 55-47.

Dash Bosma hit both free throws in a trip to the free throw line to give the Knights a double-digit lead. After a 13-point lead was cut down to a 68-58 deficit by Oakesdale, Sunnyside Christian went on an 8-3 run to head back home to Sunnyside with a 15-point win.

Jackson Perry paced the Nighthawks with 24 points, nine of them coming from beyond the arc. Will Lanius added 14 and Logan Brown had 13.