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After three straight home contests the Eagles took to the road this week for games at McGregor and Greenway High Schools.

On Tuesday the boys took on the Mercs in McGregor. Possibly suffering from their overtime loss in the previous game, the boys appeared to struggle with putting that game behind them. A slow start once again put the Eagles down 17-12 in the first half. A small run just before the half had the Eagles up 21-19 at the break.

A quick start to the second half was needed, but on this night, a good play would be offset by one or two not so good plays. Early in the second half the Eagle press seemed to liven up their energy and midway through the second half they had built a 42-32 lead. Then came a few of the not so good plays over the next few minutes. An 11-0 run by the home squad put them in the lead at 43-42 with around 6:00 left in the game.

Back came the Eagles as they would outscore the Mercs 18-8 over the next five minutes to lead 60-51 with less than a minute to play. A couple baskets by the Mercs in the last 15 seconds made the final tally Eagles 61 - Mercs 55.

Gary Gross led the team in both scoring and rebounding on the night with 23 and nine respectively. Three other Eagles hit double figures in scoring- Austin Likens -10, Justin Wicks- 11 and Jordan Perkins- 13. Easton Wake was the only other Eagle to score as he added 4. Zak Nornberg grabbed eight rebounds, while Likens led the team with four steals

Eagles- 21 40 61

Mercs- 19 36 55

The Eagles intensity was much more evident as they hit the road to face the Greenway Raiders. Applying some pressure early had the boys playing up tempo and gained control early as the held a 19-9 lead with 9:16 left in first half. Soon the fouls started to mount for the Eagles. The Raiders would fight back and closed the gap to 19-17 before the half finally ended with the Eagles up 33-27.

With the Eagles up 37-29 at the 15:02 mark, the first half foul trouble extended into the second half. Much of the half had both Perkins and Gross on the bench with 4 fouls. The smaller Eagles kept battling and never relinquished the lead. Key free throws down the stretch by Senior Zak Nornberg kept the Raiders at bay in the 57-48 victory.

It was a tough game for the Eagles as foul trouble hampered any cohesiveness throughout. At games end, the Eagles had three players lost to fouls and played most of the second half with a "put together " lineup. This is where the experience gained by the teams "reserves" when others have been out due to injury earlier is paying off.

Justin Wicks led the Eagles with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Gross and Likens would chip in 13 and 10 each while Likens would grab another three steals to lead the team.

Eagle Scoring: Likens-10; Wake-5; Nornberg-8; Gross-13; Wicks-15; Perkins-4; Stefan-2.

Eagles- 33 24 - 57

Greenway 27 21- 48

Next up for the boys is Parents Night on Tuesday against Fond du Lac Ojibwe, and a visit to Deer River on Friday night. With only two home games left in the season, come out and support the Eagles.

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