Eagle Valley captures tournament title
by Coach Mark Lundin
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| Dillon Lundin deflects a Pillager players shot away from the bucket during the tournament. -submitted photo by Bill Johnson |
The Eagle Valley boy's basketball team traveled to Pillager to take part in their Christmas Tournament over the Christmas break. The tournament is in the first year of existence and the Rebels wanted to make a statement early. Opening round matchups paired Pine-River/Backus with Cromwell, (a new addition to Section 5A) and host Pillager (also a new addition to Section 5A) facing the Rebels.
In the opening game, Cromwell took care of Pine-River 55-48 to secure their place in the title game. Pillager and Eagle Valley did battle in the nightcap in a very fast paced ragged styled game. Seventeen fouls were whistled in the first half, with the Rebels going to the free throw line 13 times. The Huskies lack of size proved to be a problem all night as the Rebels continued to get the ball inside. The up and down style left both teams looking to find a rhythm that never materialized in the half. The Rebels went to the break with a 29-28 lead. In the second half the Huskies continued to push the ball, substituting liberally and trying to run the Rebels out of the gym. At one point the Huskies built a nine-point lead converting a couple of turnovers into points. But their up and down style proved to be their own worst enemy as the Rebels were able to find some rhythm and get back into the game. Unlike the first half when the Rebels were led by the inside play of Dillon Lundin, the second half was built around the play of Devon Egeness, who scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime. "Devon provided the energy we were looking for in the second half," noted Coach Wold. Late in the second half with the Huskies clinging to a one-point lead, Josh Wagner found Lundin inside who drew a foul and headed to the line for two free throws with only 11 seconds remaining. After a Pillager time out, Lundin converted on both free throws to give the Rebels a one-point lead. The Huskies inbounded the ball at half court with 9.9 seconds remaining. After two planned fouls by Eagle Valley the Huskies were left with only 5 seconds to get a shot. Good defense by Trevor Ahrendt and Wagner left the Huskies with a last gasp from the free throw line, which bounced off, giving Eagle Valley a 68-67 victory and a first ever match up with the Cromwell Cardinals in the title game. Dillon Lundin who scored 23 points and had 13 rebounds led the Rebels. Along with 20 points from Egeness, Tyler Notch played a strong game scoring 12 points and providing some solid senior leadership down the stretch. Eagle Valley was 17 of 25 from the free throw line, while allowing the Huskies only 4 free throw attempts.
On Friday night the Rebels faced the Cromwell Cardinals, who have a strong program posting three 20-win seasons in the last three years. Early on Eagle Valley showed the effects of the night before playing sluggish and unable to match Cromwell's intensity. The Cardinals jumped out to an 11-4 lead on the shoulders of Jordan Smith who nailed three quick three pointers. Again the Rebels had a height advantage inside and it was obvious early that the ball was going inside. With some good ball movement and interior passing the Rebels got things going inside to Dillon Lundin who scored 14 first half points. Inspired play by Trevor Ahrendt and some key offensive rebounds with put backs by Tyler Notch gave the Rebels a 28-24 halftime advantage. The Cardinals came out and scored the first five points of the half taking a one point lead 29-28. But the Rebels were not to be denied and they found their offensive rhythm and pushed the ball up the floor taking advantage of their athletic ability and size. They built a comfortable nine point lead midway through the second half. Like the night before, the second half belonged to Devon Egeness who erupted for 16-second half points, converting on 8 of 9 free throws and causing match up problems for the Cardinals inside. The Rebels never trailed again and cruised to a 63-57 win. "Once we got going, I thought we played pretty well tonight, it's fun to play teams you never get a chance to play during the year," added Coach Wold. Egeness and Lundin each finished with 20 points and were named to the All-Tournament team. Tyler Notch added 10, Josh Wagner and Trevor Ahrendt each added 5 and Mitch Ahrendt, who played one of his better games of the season chipped in 3. Eagle Valley improved its overall record to 4-3 on the season.