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On Monday January 21, the boys hosted the McGregor Mercs, and a 13 day layoff was very evident at the start of the game. Early fouls and turnovers along with poor shot selection by the Eagles kept them behind until forging ahead 21-19 midway through the first half. Coach Joe Watkins said "We came out pretty flat and didn't move the ball around well to start the game."

The first half was close the whole way with the Eagles holding a 46-35 lead at intermission. The second half started much the same way the first half was played and saw the Mercs close the gap to 51-45 a few minutes in, but that is when the Eagles rust may have finally worn off as the boys started to use their slight size advantage in the paint to get some close in buckets and cause foul trouble for the Mercs. Combine that with a pressure defense that turned errant passes into easy layups for the Eagles as the game turned into a route late with final score 94-62. Forwards Patrick Kemper and Gary Gross led the way with each recording double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Gary Gross led the offense with 29 points, Kemper added 25, Smith with 13 and Woods with 11.

After their convincing victory Monday the Eagles played host to the Raiders of Greenway High School on Friday Jan. 25. A quick 7-0 start catapulted the Eagles to a lead they would never relinquish during the contest, with smallest lead being at 17-12 midway through first half and largest lead of the evening growing to 58-34 with about seven minutes remaining in the game, before the second unit finished out the game with the Eagles posting a 69-50 victory. The win evened their season record to 6-6.

Junior Center Jordan Perkins sparked the team with a double-double and played one of his most physical games of the year around the rim. Gary Gross led the team in steals with four as the Eagles defense never let the Raiders put a run together to get them close after halftime. Strong guard play with movement of the ball, cutting down on turnovers and hitting the open shot when available was key to a more balanced attack on the offensive end.

For the Eagles, Kemper knocked down 22; Perkins finished with 14; Gross added 12 and Justin Wicks ended the night with eight.

With a hectic stretch of 5 games in 8 days starting on Monday Jan 28, the Eagles will need to continue to play tough defense and keep working together as a team and we will continue to see the improved play and the wins.

Next home Games for Boys- Friday Feb 1 vs Deer River, Monday Feb 4 vs Littlefork.

Have a night out and take in a game- the kids would love to hear YOU!

Eagles - 32 37 69

Raiders- 22 28 50

Eagles- Smith-5, Likens-2, Nornberg-5, Kemper-22, G Gross-12, Wicks-8, Perkins-14

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