HS Boys Basketball: North Thurston Comes Back Twice, Defeats River Ridge

1/31/25

North Thurston 68, River Ridge 64

(Lacey, WA) With the end of the regular season taking place on Friday night, both the River Ridge Hawks and North Thurston Rams already knew that they would be continuing their seasons in the Puget Sound League tournament beginning next week. However, both teams entered the crosstown rivalry matchup with identical 8-7 league records. The winner of Friday night’s game would earn the #3 seed for the Nisqually Division while the loser would drop down to the #4 seed. More importantly, both teams looked to take home the always important rivalry win and take some momentum into the league tournament.

North Thurston honored their seniors for Senior Night before the game. Sebastian Galvan, Micah Anderson, Liam Sheeran, Kurt Cavalier, and Rudy Larson made up the senior class for the Rams basketball team. Those five would get the start but it was the Hawks rolling out of the gates. River Ridge had four players that were as tall or taller than North Thurston’s tallest player, giving the Hawks a serious height advantage. River Ridge used that advantage to deny the Rams any points in the paint while also giving River Ridge multiple offensive rebounds. Dominique Harper, Ryzen Nunez, Ani Hicks, and Alex Jones were just too big for North Thurston early. A dominant start for River Ridge saw their lead grow to 20-7 after a quarter of play.

A quick three to begin the quarter by Jacob Wendell extended the Hawks lead to 23-7. With electric scorer Kurt Cavalier on the bench in foul trouble, other guys would have to step up for the Rams before things got out of hand. Liam Sheeran and Micah Anderson were those guys. The Rams made adjustments on defense to slow down the domination in the paint by River Ridge as Sheeran and Anderson got the team going on the offensive end, a 20-4 run and a three by Kole French completely erased the deficit and tied the game at 27-27. North Thurston actually took a 29-27 lead, but Ryzen Nunez re-entered the game and gave the Hawks back some momentum. River Ridge ended the half on a 9-2 run to take a 36-31 lead into halftime.

Defense continued to steal the show for North Thurston into the 3rd quarter. River Ridge couldn’t find the open looks under the basket and steals started piling up for the Rams. Micah Anderson was in constant attack mode, getting to the free throw line very often and also cashed in on those opportunities. Jumpers still weren’t dropping for the Rams which allowed River Ridge to maintain the lead for most of the 3rd. Anderson’s free throws eventually added up, giving North Thurston a 47-46 lead heading into the 4th.

Finally, the Rams got hot from the field in the final quarter. Kurt Cavalier started raining buckets while Anderson also started adding points via field goals. Dominique Harper and Ryzen Nunez continued to score for River Ridge to keep the Hawks close enough for the intensity to pick up late. Free throw shooting was the difference maker as the Rams shot 18-21 from the stripe to make the most of their opportunities. River Ridge cut the deficit to five late, but a missed bucket after a steal seemed to be the last gasp for the Hawks. A few free throws later and North Thurston successfully completed the comeback with a 68-64 win.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Micah Anderson for North Thurston. The senior guard showed no fear of the River Ridge height advantage and continuously attacked the basket, either resulting in field goals or trips to the free throw line. Anderson went 11-13 from the free throw line, only missing his first and last free throw attempts. Adding in strong defense, causing chaos with his long wingspan, Anderson was vital in the Rams comeback efforts to end their senior night on a high note.

The win moves North Thurston to 11-10 overall and 9-7 in Puget Sound League play while also giving the Rams the #3 seed out of the Nisqually Division in the PSL league tournament. River Ridge drops to 13-8 overall and 8-8 in league play and makes the Hawks the #4 seed in the Nisqually Division. A tiebreaker between Bellarmine and Lincoln will take place at Mount Tahoma High School tonight at 6pm and River Ridge will visit the winner when the PSL league tournament begins on Tuesday while North Thurston will visit the loser of that game.

Scoring

River Ridge: Ryzen Nunez 19, Dominique Harper 19, Jacob Wendell 9, Ani Hicks 4, Corwin Parmele 4, Joaquin Garcia 3, Ethan Thomas 2, Alex Jones 2, John Buchanan 2

North Thurston: Micah Anderson 23, Liam Sheeran 13, Kurt Cavalier 12, Kole French 10, Jorden Walker 6, Sebastian Galvan 2, Caleb TenKley 2

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show