Tag: Heritage Hawks

Heritage basketball place 2nd at Districts

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Opening round: Hawks tame Cedar Park Lions, 52-32.

The Heritage Hawks boys basketball team steamrolled through the regular season and finished with an impressive (17-2) record. A high-octane offense averaged 74 points per game while a stingy defense only allowed 42 points to opponents, for a whopping average margin of victory of 30+ points. Prior to the season, these boys had one mission: win a State title. Nineteen regular season games later the mission remained unchanged.

District playoffs kicked off on Thursday, January 31. Heritage’s regular season performance earned them a #2 seed and with it came the rights to host an opening round playoff game at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium. Their opponent was the Lions of Cedar Park Christian. In their two previous meetings, Tulalip won both easily by 20+ points.

In front of an energetic home crowd, Heritage sputtered on offense to start. Midway through the 1st quarter Tulalip had yet to score and trailed 0-5. Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg called a timeout to light the fuse of urgency for his explosive team of young gunners. Did they respond? Most certainly. 

The Hawks locked in, took complete control of the playoff game, and went on decisive 26-2 scoring run spanning late in the 2nd quarter. From trailing 0-5 to leading 26-7, the home team gave their crowd much to cheer for. Junior guard Leno Vela led the charge with his combination of dead-eye perimeter shooting and ball pressure yielding steal after steal. Tulalip took a 28-12 lead into halftime.

In the 2nd half, the rout continued. Heritage held the Lions to only 6 points in the 3rd quarter while both Joshes, Iukes and Miranda, added to Tulalip’s scoring barrage from 3-point land.  Entering the 4th quarter, the boys had their largest lead of the game up 23 points, 41-18.

With the outcome only a formality Coach Bubba inserted his bench players to finish the game. The Hawks starters cheered from the bench as everyone celebrated the 52-32 victory.

Leno led all scorers with 13 points and 6 steals. Josh Miranda added 12 points, while Rodney Barber collected a game-high 10 rebounds.

Championship round: Lummi Nation keeps Hawks grounded, 64-77.

Following their opening round win, the Tulalip Hawks had two days to prepare for the much anticipated District Championship game versus Lummi Nation. These two teams were clearly the best of the Northwest 1B league and had split their two regular season matchups. Tulalip won by 9 points back on December 8, but Lummi won by 3 points just two weeks ago on January 15. Both teams entered the game riding winning streaks, four straight Ws for Tulalip and an eye-popping nineteen consecutive wins for Lummi.

Being the Championship round, the game was held at the much larger venue of Marysville-Getchell High School on Saturday, January 2. Fans of both teams flooded the gymnasium and packed the bleachers for a lively atmosphere befitting a battle of two highly touted tribal teams.

In the 1st quarter, both teams traded early baskets notching the score at 5-5. Then Lummi clamped down on defense, leaving Tulalip reeling. Lummi came up with two big blocks and several steals that they turned into easy transition buckets. Meanwhile the Hawks offense couldn’t muster any rhythm, which led to an 8-21 deficit after the opening period.

The Hawks trailed by double digits for most of the game. Early in the 3rd quarter, senior guard Paul Shay, Jr. kept the Hawks offense afloat by continually attacking the basket and drawing contact to get to the free-throw line. In fact, Jr. took eleven free-throws and connected on eight of them. When Isaac Comenote finally found a rhythm and hit back-to-back 3 pointers, Tulalip cut their deficit to just 9 points, 34-43 midway through the 3rd.

To their credit, every time it looked like Tulalip was getting momentum, Lummi responded with a bigger scoring run of their own. Whether it was inside with their post players or hot outside shooting, they always had an answer and pushed their lead back to double digits. Heritage trailed 36-52 at the end of the 3rd quarter en route to a 64-77 loss. Lummi’s 77 points was the most Tulalip had given up all season.

Paul Shay, Jr. led the Hawks with 19 points, while Alonzo Jones added 11 points and 9 rebounds.  It was a disappointing loss in front of a packed gym, but even so Tulalip still placed 2nd in the tournament and earned the right to host an upcoming Tri-District Tournament game. The time and opponent is to be determined. However, we do know the game will be played on Saturday, February 9 at Heritage High School. 

Hawks earn Tri-District spot with 77-68 win over Kings

Hawks-Muckleshoot

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

After taking 3rd place in the District 1-1B boys basketball tournament the Heritage Hawks hosted the Muckleshoot Kings at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium on Thursday, February 11. On the line was a spot in the Tri-District tournament. Winner plays on, loser goes home wondering what could have been.

From the early going, observers could tell it was going to be a fast-paced, high scoring game. The Hawks took an early 14-2 lead only minutes into the opening quarter, but the Kings went on a 15-4 run to cut the Hawks lead to 2 points, 19-17. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Hawks led 26-21.

In the 2nd quarter, both teams played much better defense and slowed down the scoring. Seniors Willy Enick and Robert Miles were determined to not have this game be the final of their high school career. At half-time they combined to score 30 points as the Hawks maintained a slim 37-35 lead.

In the 3rd quarter, Willy and Robert continued to play their two-man game, with Willy finding Rob in the post with a clear matchup advantage on multiple occasions. The Hawks were playing their game, their tempo, while all the while being aware of favorable matchups on the offensive end. At the end of the quarter the Hawks scored 19 points to the Kings 9 points, and led 56-44 with only one quarter to play.

The Hawks got multiple Kings players into foul trouble during the first three quarters and earned the free throw bonus early in the 4th quarter. As a team the Hawks picked this critical game to have their best free throw shooting game on the season. In fact, the Hawks shot a very impressive 25-30 from the charity stripe as a team. Add in the total domination of their two senior captains, Rob with 32 points and Willy with 28 points, and it’s no surprise the Hawks put up a season high 77 points in their 77-68 victory. With the win, the Hawks season continues as they earned their spot in the Tri-District tournament.

Willy’s 34 points lead Hawks to blowout victory, 76-55

Tulalip Heritage Hawks take on Shoreline Christian Chargers in the 2016 District 1B boys basketball tournament. Photo/Micheal Rios
Tulalip Heritage Hawks take on Shoreline Christian Chargers in the 2016 District 1B boys basketball tournament.
Photo/Micheal Rios

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Hawks basketball team finished the regular season with a 12-8 overall record, 11-4 within the league. That was good enough for the Hawks to qualify as a #2 seed in the 2016 District 1B boys basketball tournament. Their opening round opponent was the Shoreline Christian Chargers. The game was played on Friday, February 5, at Shoreline High School.

In the 1st quarter, both teams went bucket-for-bucket almost the entire quarter before the Hawks closed out on a small run that gave them a 21-17 lead.

The 2nd quarter saw seniors Willy Enick and Robert Miles play a very effect two-man game, leading to high percentage shots for the Hawks. The Hawks played a near flawless 1st half, only committing four turnovers, and took advantage of their quality shots to take a 40-30 halftime lead.

At halftime the Hawks coaching staff commended the boys on their overall effort and commitment to playing smart basketball. The only bit of constructive criticism was the team wasn’t boxing out and that if they focused on that the Hawks would take the game easily.

Starting the 3rd quarter, the Hawks focused in on their team rebounding and boxing out. It made a huge difference as they were able to limit the amount of Charger possessions and push the tempo, the way the Hawks like it. Willy continued his impressive shooting, as he caught fire to the tune of making five shots in a row before finally missing on a long 3-point attempt. In the end, Willy led all scorers with 34 points and a season high 10 assists, while Robert had 17 points and 12 rebounds to secure a first round victory, 76-55.

 

 

Contact Micheal Rios: mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

 

Heritage Hawks, from 1-5 to 10-7, eyeing District playoffs

Hawks vs. Lobos game held Saturday, January 23. Photo/Micheal Rios
Hawks vs. Lobos.
Photo/Micheal Rios

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Back on Monday, December 27, the Heritage Hawks were coming off an 18 point loss to the hands of Neah Bay. The loss dropped them to 1-5 on the season and near the bottom of the Northwest 1B league standings, only one win better than winless Grace Academy. The outlook was bleak, as the Hawks had graduated four of their senior starters from last season, and this present team resembled nothing near the squad that went to the Tri-District tournament last February.

Fast forward a month and nearly everything has changed. The wins came in waves; first a was a four-game win streak with victories over Lummi, Rainer Christian, Lopez Island, and Lummi a second time. The momentum was stopped cold on Monday, January 11, with a lopsided home defeat to the then undefeated Orcas Christian. In that loss, the Hawks scored a meager 33 points, which the lowest a Tulalip team has scored in over five years. However, the Hawks didn’t allow the sting of that loss to linger as they quickly got back to their winning ways.

First up was an away game vs. Grace Academy on Wednesday, January 13. The Hawks made quick work of Grace, who remains winless on the season, by running away with the game early. The final score was 58-22.

Next up was another away game, as the Hawks traveled to Redmond to take on Providence Classical Christian. The Hawks took a large lead early, but had a defensive letdown in the 2nd quarter, allowing Providence to cut into their lead. At half time the Hawks led by only 4 points, 26-22. After reengaging defensibly, the Hawks were able to force turnover after turnover and convert easy transition buckets. Josh Iukes scored 14 points, Willy Enick had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Robert Miles had his first triple-double of the season with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Hawks won 61-40.

The third game of their road trip was against Lopez Island on Tuesday, January 19. After trailing 11-12 going in the 2nd quarter, the Hawks were struggling to find their offensive rhythm. That is until Josh Iukes took the reins and had his best game of the season by far. Josh finished the game scoring a game high and season high 27 points, but most importantly led his team to a 50-37 victory.

 

Hawks play against Providence Classical Christian.Photo/Micheal Rios
Hawks play against Providence Classical Christian.
Photo/Micheal Rios

 

After going 3-0 on their road trip, the Hawks came back home on Thursday, January 21, to host Providence Classical Christian. There would be no defensive letdowns this time around vs. Providence, as the Hawks took a 16-6 1st quarter lead that turned into a 35-17 lead at halftime. The Hawks would go onto to win 64-38, stretching their winning streak to four games. Robert Miles led all scorers with 20 points, while Willy Enick and Josh Iukes both chipped in 15 points.

For the second time this season the Hawks were riding a four-game winning streak into a big time matchup. This time around it was against Lummi Nation, played at home on Friday, January 22. After winning their first two games vs. Lummi the Hawks were confident they could win again, but were a little on edge as Lummi had just beaten the previously undefeated Orcas Christian only days earlier.

The game started out competitive. The Hawks trailed 7-11 after the 1st quarter, and with only two minutes to go to halftime it was a three-point game, 14-17. To this point the Hawks had pretty much matched Lummi in terms of effort and hustle. Both teams defensive was making it difficult to find easy shots. Then Lummi went on a run. They closed the half on a 2-7 run, leaving the Hawks trailing 16-24 at halftime. It would only get worse from there. The Hawks weren’t able to keep up their defense and weren’t able to run their offensive sets in the 3rd quarter. Tulalip got outscored 13-33 in the quarter and trailed 29-55 going into the final eight minutes. Unable to mount any kind of comeback the Hawks lost 54-78, ending their four-game win streak.

Fortunately, the Hawks had a game the very next day vs. Lopez Island, so they didn’t have to dwell too long on their loss to Lummi. The Hawks hosted the Lobos on Saturday, January 23, and made short work of the visitors in a 46-30 victory.

So after a very disappointing 1-5 start to the season, the Hawks have bounced back to go 9-2 over their last eleven games. Currently sitting at 10-7 (9-3 within their league), the Hawks are in 2nd place in the standings with only three regular season games to go before the District playoffs. The Hawks have proven that they are clearly one of the best teams in the league, along with Orcas Christian and Lummi. The question is, are they able to contend against either when they face off at Districts? We’ll find out soon enough, as the District tournament starts on Friday, February 5.

Hawks lose to Lummi Nation in last regular season game, 45-58

By Tulalip News staff

LUMMI – Tulalip Heritage Hawks ended their regular season with a game against rival Lummi Nation Blackhawks on Thursday, January 29.  The Hawks, who made the trek to Lummi for the game, were banking on a win before entering district games.

Going into the second quarter the Hawks tied the game at 17-17 but quickly lost the lead going into halftime. Unable to secure a lead over Lummi the Hawks took a loss with a final score of 45-58, leaving them as the second place Northwest 1B league leader.

Both teams will enter the 1B league  2015 District 1 Boys Basketball Tournament on February 7, played at Mount Vernon Christian High School.

 

Hawks-vs-Lummi_1-29-15

Hawks take loss against rival Lummi Nation Blackhawks, 49-62

Heritage Hawk Ayrik Miranda takes the ball down the court, Friday, Jan. 9 , 2015, in game against Lummi Nation Blackhawks. (Tulalip News/ Michael Rios)
Heritage Hawk Ayrik Miranda takes the ball down the court, Friday, Jan. 9 , 2015, in game against Lummi Nation Blackhawks. (Tulalip News/ Michael Rios)
By Michael Rios, Tulalip News
TULALIP – The 8-2 Tulalip Heritage Hawks lost again to rivals 9-0 Lummi Nation Blackhawks Friday night in a game that the Hawks led 17-8 after the first quarter.
The Blackhawks used a full court trapping defense throughout the second and third quarter that forced the Hawks into making errant passes, resulting in easy transition buckets for the still unbeaten Lummi Blackhawks. With the win Lummi all but secures the number one seed in the district playoffs.
(Tulalip News/ Michael Rios)
(Tulalip News/ Michael Rios)

Robert Miles fills the stat sheet in Hawks 62-47 win over Lopez Island

by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

Photo/Micheal Rios
Photo/Micheal Rios

 

The Tulalip Heritage Hawks (6-2) hosted the Lopez Island Lobos (0-6) on Tuesday January 6, 2015. These two teams last played December 17, 2014 at Lopez Island, where the Hawks won 63-35 in a convincing fashion. The Hawks were on a 4 game winning streak until losing 53-57 at Three Rivers Christian on Saturday January 3, and wanted to get back to their winning ways in a hurry.

The Hawks came out looking to make an early statement by playing a full-court defense and making sure every Lobos shot was contested. Their defense forced the Lobos into committing six turnovers on their first nine possessions. The Hawks turned those Lobos turnovers into transition buckets, going on an 11-2 run to open the game. The 3-ball was falling early as center Robert Miles, point guard Jesse Louie and guard Ayrik Miranda each made a 3-pointer during the run. The Lobos were able to successfully break the Hawks’ press a couple times in their next two possessions that led to them scoring easily at the rim. The Hawks responded by moving the ball on the offensive end and finding the open shooters. When the Lobos called timeout with 1:52 remaining in the first the Hawks led 18-8. The Hawks ended the quarter missing their last five shot attempts, but led by their stellar defense, including 4 steals by Robert Miles, the Hawks led 18-10 after the 1st quarter.

Guard Ayrik Miranda hit his second 3-pointer to open the 2nd quarter. The Lobos answered with a jumper of their own. Forward Willy Enick collected two offensive rebounds on the next possession and scored a bucket of his own. The Lobos again answered with a bucket. When the Lobos called their 2nd timeout at the 5:00 mark of the quarter, the Hawks were leading 23-14. The rest of the 2nd quarter continued to be a back and forth affair with both teams seemingly trading buckets until the quarter ended. Going into halftime the Hawks led 31-22.

“Offensively we are lackadaisical. You guys need to move the ball, pass more. Defensively quit reaching, slide your feet and get into position. You guys have to will yourself to work harder. You have to work hard. Stop the ball. Every time we pressure the ball something good happens,” coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg stated as he urged his team to not play down to the level of their opponent.

In the 3rd quarter both teams continued to trade baskets. The score was 40-28, following Ayrik’s third 3-pointer, when the Hawks called a timeout to give their starters a quick rest. On the very next play following their timeout Robert stole a Lobos inbounds pass and found Jesse wide open in the corner who hit his second 3-pointer of the game. The Hawks had their largest lead of the game 43-28 with 3:45 to go in the quarter. Moments later Ayrik displayed the defensive hustle his coach had asked for at halftime when he sacrificed his body and took a charge. For the next several offensive possessions the Hawks got 3-point happy and went 0-5 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Lobos capitalized on their free throw opportunities by sinking four from the charity stripe. Robert finally ended the Hawks drought by scoring on a putback layup to put the Hawks up 45-32 with one more quarter to play.

The 4th quarter saw Robert Miles attack the hoop and come away with four quick points and Trevor Fryberg hit his first 3-pointer of the game. Following a pair of Lobos free throws the Hawks had pushed their lead to 16 points, 52-36 with 5:33 to play. The teams again took turns trading baskets with both Robert and Ayrik countering Lobos baskets with 3-pointers. In the closing moments Robert collected his 8th steal of the game to go along with his game high 22 points and 14 rebounds for a near triple-double. The final score was 62-47 in favor of the now 7-2 Hawks.

 

Hawks_Lopez_boxscore

Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Miranda scores 33 to lead Hawks to 76-63 win over Orcas Christian Saints

Guard Ayrik Miranda pushing the tempo after a Saint’s turnover. Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil
Guard Ayrik Miranda pushing the tempo after a Saint’s turnover.
Photo/Brandi N. Montreuil

 

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The 2-1 Heritage Hawks hosted the 1-2 Orcas Christian Saints on December 16, 2014. The Hawks were looking to rebound from their first loss of the season, falling to Lummi Nation 55-79. Senior guard Ayrik Miranda was making his home debut vs the Saints and inserted into the starting lineup.

The 1st quarter got off to a rocky start as the Hawks failed to connect on their first four shots, while the Saints started off 3-3 from the field to take an early 7-0 lead. Two minutes into the opening quarter Center Robert Miles was fouled while shooting and subsequently made a free throw to put the Hawks on the board, 1-7. The Saints responded by converting two free throws of their own to take a 9-1 lead. That would be the largest lead of the game by the Saints as the Hawks got their offense going. The Hawks spread the floor offensively and focused on moving the ball from player to player. Over the next 3:00 of game play the Hawks stellar ball movement resulted in an 8-0 run to tie the game at 9-9. The Saints responded with a 7-0 run of their own, taking advantage of offensive rebounds on four straight possessions, to take a 16-9 lead. In the Hawks closed the quarter on a 4-0, scoring two straight transition buckets. At the end of 1 the Hawks trailed 13-16.

The Hawks carried their momentum into the 2nd quarter by scoring two quick buckets to take their first lead of the game, 17-16. Making his home debut in fashion, Ayrik was in the midst of scoring 10 straight Hawk points. Both teams traded baskets until the Hawks called a timeout with 5:16 remaining in the half, with the Hawks trailing 24-25. Ayrik and Trevor Fryberg hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Willy Enick hit an elbow jumper to put the Hawks up 31-29, leading to a Saints’ timeout. Following the timeout Aryik hit another 3-pointer to give the Hawks their largest lead of the game, 34-29. To this point Ayrik was on fire having scored 14 points in the quarter and 18 of the last 25 points scored by the Hawks. The initial defense of Hawks was forcing the Saints to take contested jumpers, but because the Hawks weren’t boxing out the Saints’ bigs were getting easy putback baskets. The offense continued to flow regardless, and Jesse Louie found his range hitting a 3-pointer and Willy Enick hit an elbow jumper to extend the Hawks lead to 44-36 at halftime.

Coach Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg used the halftime intermission to motivate his Hawk players to improve their defense play. “Defensively we are being outhustled. They have gotten way too many rebounds and they are scrapping to go get the ball. Why? Because we are playing lazy. We have to play harder, box out more, and hustle after the ball,” Fryberg told his players.

With the defensive intensity turned up, the Hawks came up with two steals during a 7-0 run to open the 2nd half to push their lead to 51-36. Both teams would alternate scoring baskets over the next several minutes, all the while the Hawks maintaining a double digit lead. That is until they committed four turnovers in the final 1:30 of the 3rd quarter. The turnovers proved costly as the Saints converted them into buckets, closing the quarter on a 6-2 run. Going into the final quarter the Hawks lead was down to 8 points, 59-51.

The Hawks began the 4th quarter with the same defensive mindset their coach instilled in them at halftime. They forced six straight Saints turnovers to hold the Saints scoreless three minutes into the final quarter. Capitalizing on their defense and getting timely offensive rebounds and putback layups by Enick the Hawks were on a 6-0 that pushed their lead to 65-51 with 5:06 left to play. Seeing enough of his team committing turnovers the Saints coach called a timeout to have his team regroup. Following the timeout the Saints put their offense in the hands of their point guard Michael Harris. He drove to the basket aggressively on the next six Saints possessions, scoring two buckets and coming away with four made free throws. On the other end, the Hawks continued to move the ball well and were scoring at the rim. With 3:00 to go the Hawks led 70-59. Saints’ Michael Harris again drove to the rim scoring another bucket; he had scored the last 10 Saints’ points. The Hawks continued to score off their offense sets and adjusted defensively by packing the paint to stop the Saints’ point guard from driving to the hoop. When the game was over the Hawks were now 4-1 on the season as they beat the Saints 76-63.

HAwks_boxscore

 

Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov