A10 Weekend of February 29 - March 1, 2020
The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
TD ends season with road loss at Hood River
Coach
Cummings has
plans in place
for productive
offseason
Rodriguez
■ Ray
The Dalles Chronicle
The Dalles’ first-year coach
Greg Cummings said that
his first year as varsity head
coach of a 5A program was
definitely a learning year for
him.
Just like an athlete, though,
he plans to put in the extra
work to grow and develop,
so he can be even better for
the 2020-2021 season and
beyond.
“It takes so much effort,
time, dedication, love,
compassion, and empathy,”
Cummings said of his initial
campaign. “And also learning
about your players. How
to get them to buy in to the
process of improving, both
on the court and off. Winning
is hard, like really hard. Even
when you have a more talent-
ed team.”
The Riverhawks finished
the season at 8-17 overall and
2-8 in league, which was one
win shy of 2018-2019 and
tied for the same amount of
league victories.
Last year, TD scored 1,174
points and allowed 1,328 in
21 contests, and the group,
which had three seniors in
Jacob Hernandez, Dalles
Seufalemua and Aidan Telles,
totaled 1,359 points and gave
up 1,571 in 25 tilts.
Cummings said that peo-
ple ask him if he thinks this
season was successful – he
has a hard time answering
that question because the
competitive spirit inside of
him, that cares about wins
and losses, thinks the team
could have and should have
done better.
There is a side that looks at
the big picture, however.
“Did the guys learn, did
they grow, did they become
better people off the floor, did
I do everything I knew how
in order to win?” Cummings
said. “I think the answer is
yes; we did have a successful
season. I think to measure
success based simply on wins
and losses is very short-sight-
ed and shallow. Yes, I want
to win more than anyone,
but there’s also lessons to be
learned in losing.”
Added to his top trio of
seniors, Cummings fielded a
younger, inexperienced core
of two freshmen, three soph-
omores and three juniors.
For most of them, this was
their first taste of extended
varsity minutes in the 5A
classification.
Cummings also sur-
rounded himself with astute
basketball minds in assistants
Jim Taylor, Dan Telles and
Jordan Rowland.
“I was blessed with really
good kids this year, and as
a coach, that makes things
so much easier,” Cummings
said. “I was also blessed with
a great coaching staff. All
three of those guys are more
than qualified to be a head
coach, and I learned a ton
from each of them.”
Looking ahead, there
are reinforcements coming
through the ranks, with an
eighth-grade group that has
opened eyes in traveling cir-
cles, and the freshman team
posted a 20-4 record and
went 10-0 in league action.
It was the most success-
ful freshman program The
Dalles has ever had in the last
10 years.
“Coach Rowland did an
outstanding job with our
freshman team. They were
dynamic and fun to watch
TD HOOPS
Codding (10 points),
Belanger (eight), Miller
(five), Hoylman (four) and
Team is focused
both Guzman and I’aulualo
on the postseason tacked on two points apiece
to lead the second-half
Continued from page A9 surge.
All told, TD drained 21
advantage, and then flipped field goals, four 3-pointers,
the switch in the second half and made good on 10 of 22
with runs of 20-6 and 15-6 to from the free throw line.
Codding and Hoylman
notch their 56-25 win.
Greg Cummings, middle, goes over strategy during a timeout this season. In his first year as head coach at The Dalles, Cummings finished
8-17 overall, capped by Tuesday’s 64-55 loss at Hood River.
Ray Rodriguez photo
and very talented. They
brought the energy every
game,” Cummings said. “Our
incoming eighth grade class
is the same way. They are a
fun group to watch as well.
They have high energy, and
they want and desire to be
the best.”
The season ended Tuesday
in Hood River with a 64-55
loss, as the Eagles erased a
43-41 deficit entering the
final quarter with a 10-0 spurt
in less than a minute and
rode that surge to a nine-
point win.
The Dalles made 15 field
goals, seven 3-pointers, and
hit 16 of 22 free throws.
Spencer Taylor totaled
16 points, Styles DeLeon
tacked on 13, Hernandez
ended the night with 10 in his
last high school game, and
Seufalemua had five points.
Noah Webster led all scor-
ers with 24 points, Emanuel
Romero tallied 12 and Ian
Searey dropped 10 points for
Hood River, which rattled off
22 field goals, four 3-pointers,
and made good on 16 of 28
from the line.
Cummings has already
been making moves to en-
sure that basketball stays in
the minds of his players.
His goal is to compete
in 30-plus summer league
games and have basketball
workouts going all spring
and summer, and there will
be a fall basketball team put
together.
In the summer, Cummings
hopes to take the varsity
players to a team camp
at Gonzaga University in
Spokane.
“The key to a successful
season is preparation,”
Cummings said. “The average
fan doesn’t know that in
order to see success during
the basketball season, you
must commit to a very robust
offseason schedule. Last
year, with me being hired in
October, we didn’t have time
to put together an offseason
program. This year will be
different.”
If anyone would like to
donate to the Riverhawks’
summer basketball fund,
email gcummings11@gmail.
com.
each posted a team-high 12
points, Belanger finished
with 11, Miller added nine,
I’aulualo and Guzman scored
two points each.
Sophomore guard Gus
Decker dropped five points
on her two field goals.
Grace Meyers notched
nine points and Kaitlyn
McNerney chipped in eight
points to lead the Eagles,
who ended up hitting 10 field
goals, two from long range,
and made 3 of 11 free throws.
By Sunday, Stevens and
his players will know where
their next game is going to be
played.
With his veteran group
and their determination to
get back to winning playoff
games, there is more of a
sense of urgency to keep
the train moving as far as it
can; hopefully, it ends on
the campus of Oregon State
University.
“That’s the goal right now,
is getting this next game and
getting to Corvallis. If we can
get this next game and get
to Corvallis, then anything
is possible,” Stevens said.
“They are really hoping for
a Silverton matchup and
however we can get that, will
be fine. La Salle Prep is going
to be tough for anyone to
beat, 5A or 6A, and they are
the favorites to win the cham-
pionship and they should be.
Silverton is ranked No. 1 right
now, so we have played them
once and we some famil-
iarity with them and we feel
confident if we get that draw
again.”
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