Blackhawks blitz Reardan in season opener

In their first two forays onto the hardwood this season, the Cheney High boys’ basketball squad didn’t fail to produce in the hard work department.

What the Blackhawks now need to do is bring the intensity head coach Gregg Smith said they possessed in their season opener to each and every game.

Cheney’s intensity was something that hosts Reardan High School simply couldn’t match last Thursday, Dec. 3. The Blackhawks dominated every aspect of the game from start to finish in blitzing the 2B Indians 73-32 in the opener.

But while the hard work got on the bus Friday night for Freeman, the intensity might have still be back in Lincoln County. From the tip the Blackhawks didn’t possess the same level of focus as the host Scotties, falling behind in the first quarter and never rebounding in a 67-48 loss to the Northeast A League team.

“Effort isn’t good enough,” Smith said. “You have to have intensity.”

That is what the Blackhawks had at Reardan, posting an early 18-8 lead after the first eight minutes that they stretched to 40-16 by half. Cheney continued to pull away in the second half, getting balanced overall scoring, solid effort on the boards and stifling defense.

Jamiel Worthem led Cheney with 12 points, with Drake Johnson adding 11 and Cam Hardt chipping in 10. No stats were available, but Smith said his team was at least a plus-20 in the rebounding category, and that Gaige Felix notched at least seven steals.

“I hope they (Blackhawks) gained confidence, not from the blowout but from the way we played, with intensity,” Smith said. “It left us feeling good, good because of the effort we gave.”

Friday it was Freeman providing that extra level of effort and focus, jumping to an 18-11 first quarter lead and never getting seriously challenged from there. Hardt had 14 points, with Justace Reiter adding 12 and Riley Jones 11.

Smith said his team is going to have several weekends this year, especially during Great Northern League play, when they are going to be playing Friday/Saturday and Thursday/Saturday games, and it’s important for them to learn how to turn on the intensity under a short preparation window.

“It’s a tough skill set to acquire,” he added.

Cheney (1-1) gets another shot at it this week with three games, including a non-league tilt Dec. 11 at home against Timberlake High School from Spirit Lake, Idaho, and the GNL opener Dec. 12 against West Valley. The Blackhawks also were to have faced NEA member Deer Park Tuesday, Dec. 8.

The Stags will likely play zone defense a lot against Cheney, Smith said, so it will be important to be patient to draw them out by moving the ball well. Timberlake should also present challenges, as they were 67-59 victors over Deer Park on Dec. 3.

West Valley (2-1) will come in with a different look this season, one that’s a little slower than previous teams while also being physically stronger. The Eagles own a pair of good wins over NEA Lakeside (66-58) and Idaho 5A Lake City (67-46) before falling 71-52 to 5A Post Falls last Saturday.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].