When senior Noah Reishus-O’Brien is shooting well, his Thunder Mountain High School teammates know to find him. Find him they did Saturday in the second of a two-game series against the visiting Mount Edgecumbe Braves.
Reishus-O’Brien’s 33 points tied a single-game school scoring record in the Falcons 67-59 win over the Braves, their second of the weekend. The senior two guard hit seven straight shots in the second quarter.
Reishus-O’Brien doesn’t need to say much when he shoots this well. Point guard Chase Saviers knows to find him.
“I don’t really need to say too much. He (Saviers) does a really good job of finding me and getting me the ball when I’m hot,” Reishus-O’Brien said.
The game marked the fourth win in a row for the Falcons. Assistant coach Rob Ridgeway, manning the helm for his first home game of his career, said that though Reishus-O’Brien’s hot hand made the difference, their team defense provided the spark. (Head coach John Blasco couldn’t make the first half, but showed up in the second to root the team on.)
“Noah was huge for us in the first half, he made the difference in the game,” Ridgeway said. “What I’ve noticed with this team, is that our defense fuels our offense. When we’re playing tough defense, it gets us fired up and then offensively we start moving the ball a lot crisper and making better cuts.”
Reishus O’Brien’s 33 came off nine field goals, four 3-pointers and three foul shots.
Mount Edgecumbe was led in defeat by Paul Bioff with 26. Shawn Williams added 13.
Contrasting with Friday’s hot start, the Falcons opened a bit cold on Saturday, allowing Edgecumbe to streak to an 11-2 lead in the first three minutes. Consecutive 3-pointers from Thunder Mountain pulled the game back to 13-18 at the close of the first period.
Reishus-O’Brien’s soft touch helped the Falcons to a 21-10 run in the second, closing first half scoring with the Falcons up 34-28. The 6-foot-2 senior had 16 points in the quarter.
The Falcons head into a tough matchup next week at Juneau-Douglas High School.
FALCONS 67, BRAVES 59
Thunder Mountain 13 21 21 12 —59
Mount Edgecumbe 18 10 16 15 —67
Thunder Mountain (67) — Reishus-O’Brien 33, McAndrews 9, Saviers 8, Tupou 8, Carandang 3, Storie 3, Morris 2, Toutaiolepo 1
Mount Edgecumbe (59) — Bioff 26, Williams 13, Dunaway 7, Melorida 3, Kasayalib 3, Brown 3, Hubbard 2, Samuelson 2
Free throws — Thunder Mountain 5-13, Mount Edgecumbe 12-13
3-point goals — Thunder Mountain 11, Mount Edgecumbe 9
Team fouls — Thunder Mountain 12, Mount Edgecumbe 15
