Raiders improve to 2-2 with wins at Jerry Richardson Memorial

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Whitehorse High School boys basketball team improved to 2-2 on the season with wins over Shiprock Northwest and local rival Monument Valley at the Jerry Richardson Memorial Invitational in Shiprock December 4-6.
The Raiders opened the annual tournament with a tough 61-43 loss to Wingate (NM) on Thursday, December 4 before rallying for a 65-30 win over Northwest on Friday.
In the final game of the weekend Whitehorse faced a very familiar foe in what turned out to be an unexpected first Battle of the Drum matchup in the winter sports season.
The Raiders and Cougars duked it out in a back-and-forth, hard-fought game that was ultimately decided by just one point.
Whitehorse got out of the gate quicker than Monument Valley, opening a 13-8 lead in the first quarter. But the Cougars won the second quarter 18-10 to establish their own 26-23 lead at halftime.
Both teams were quiet offensively coming out of the break, scoring just nine combined points in the third quarter. Monument Valley held a slim 30-28 lead as the game moved into the final frame.
Whitehorse dominated the fourth quarter, turning the tables to outscore the Cougars 18-10 and build a 46-41 lead with 1:30 left in the game.
But from that point the Raiders had to hold off a Monument Valley surge as the Cougars scored four unanswered points.
It was an impressive rally, but in the end Whitehorse got the stop they needed to shut Monument Valley down for a 46-45 win.
Just prior to the Raiders’ trip to Shiprock for the Richardson Invite they suffered a 52-43 season-opening loss to Dolores, CO in Montezuma Creek.
Through the first four games of the season junior Adam Joe is pacing Whitehorse with 60 points, an average of 15 points per game.
Senior Tristan Black is next in line with 32 points, an average of eight per game. Sophomore Tyrell Black has 23 points for an average of 5.8 a game.
Fourth in scoring for the Raiders is Elam Etsitty who has 22 points for a 5.5 average. And Lyric Phillips has scored 14 points so far, but because he’s played in only two games he has a points-per-game average of 7.0.
Black leads with five three point baskets this season while Phillips has four and Etsitty, Thompson, and Joe have one apiece.
Whitehorse will play three games this week beginning with a trip to Teec Nos Pos to take on Red Mesa, AZ on Wednesday, December 10.
They’ll return home for a weekend doubleheader with Piute on Friday, December 12 and Bryce Valley on Saturday, December 13.