March 28, 2024

East Union comes back, falls one point short

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AFTON – Close was not enough for East Union (3-10) Thursday night as the Eagles fell to Southwest Valley (5-9) 69-68.

A 3-pointer well outside the 3-point arc by Cale Eklund put the Eagles one point shy of tying the game up to send it to overtime. Prior to the shot falling, Blake Venteicher connected on one of his two free throws, proving just enough for the Timberwolves to hold off the Eagles.

“In the spirit of the game, they made the last 3-pointer to make it close. Even though we had chances to pull away, they were not going to go away,” said Southwest Valley head coach Kyle Bashor. “They made everything difficult on us.”

The Eagles trailed by just over 10 points with about a minute left in play and cut the difference down on success at the free-throw line and quick, efficient scoring in transition. Scores from Scott Driskill and Cale Eklund closed the gap. They finished with nine and 18 points, respectively.

Eklund’s total was a team-high. Leading for the Timberwolves was Tucker TePoel with 21 points.

In the fourth quarter the Eagles exploded for 27 points, attacking the rim and converting at the line with success. East Union head coach Jared Carter said it was a strong finish, battling to the end on what was his team’s Senior Night.

“That’s pretty solid, especially for us,” said Carter. “... The kids battled. We told them to put it all on the line. It’s senior night. They did that, battled all night and just came up short. Credit to Southwest Valley.”

Growth for the Eagles was on display, particularly as the game neared the final minutes. An Eagles team that has struggled at times when it comes to shooting the ball did exactly what it needed to do, close the gap and make the Timberwolves start to sweat.

“That’s one thing we’ve been lacking over the years. We’d get behind and we’d kind of settle, but this group has a lot of heart,” said Carter. “They battle in practice every day, battle out here (every day). They gave it their all and we came up just short.”

Outgoing seniors for the Eagles are Storm Hoadley, Gus McNeil, Alex Carrigan, Kael Seales and Scott Driskill. The group, who has been under Carter’s coaching four years, is a group that has not only pushed Carter to be a better coach but has also pushed underclassmen to be better.

“What a great group of seniors we have. ... The improvement is unreal that I’ve seen out of them,” said Carter. “Great leaders. All of them are great leaders. All five of them are leaders and get (the team) going in practice, take players aside and teach them what they’re doing wrong, what they need to fix. If they’re slacking they tell them to get in gear.”

Before the comeback

Early on, the Timberwolves controlled the game, jumping out to a 12-5 lead due to scoring from TePoel. His scoring, paired with 3-point shots from Blake Venteicher, helped keep the margin around 10 for much of the first half.

The Eagles surmounted a rally in the final minutes of the first half, getting to the line in five straight possessions. The Eagles continued to knock down shots while Southwest Valley did what it needed to do to keep the Eagles at a cushion. Entering halftime, it was 37-30 Timberwolves.

The deficit for the Eagles grew to as much as 13 in the contest, but for the most part hung around 10. SWV’s ability to get ahead and stay ahead came from patience on the offensive end.

“We were kind of just patient offensively and passed it around,” said Bashor. “We were able to find good shots. Every once in a while we rushed a shot, but when we were patient we were able to hit some shots.”

Carter mentioned being “a little slow” in getting out into transition in the first half, as well as the third quarter. Early on in the game the Eagles had much of their work under the basket contested, with Southwest Valley playing hard inside, forcing the Eagles to grind out every basket.

After halftime, the goal for Carter and the Eagles was to work inside and get to the free-throw line due to Southwest Valley’s foul trouble.

“It’s one thing we really haven’t done a good job this year of, getting the ball into the paint,” said Carter. “... I thought, especially in the second half, guys like Alex Carrigan and Gus McNeil had big games. That’s probably the best games they’ve had all year. We did miss some chip shots, especially in the first half, but I’m very impressed with the boys and how they handled it.”

As the Eagles worked the ball inside, the fouls increased for Southwest Valley. Two Timberwolves fouled out in the second half in TePoel and Blake Thomas.

“With Tucker, you don’t replace him completely,” said Bashor on personnel changes. “He really is an elite rebounder. ... Offensively, he had a big night. ... With Blake, he brings a lot of energy around the basket. It’s tough to replace them.”

Foul trouble also plagued the Eagles, particularly in one specific player, who plays an integral role on the starting five.

“We were trying to put a lot of pressure on them and get a lot of defections and run outs for transition points,” said Carter. “For the most part, we did that. We kind of got in foul trouble. Scott (Driskill) got four fouls in the first half, and it was our only four fouls in the first half. That really limited us defensively.”