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The Eagles traveled to Walker on Thursday night to open the season against the Wolves. After a disappointing loss the previous year, the Eagles felt this was their chance to finally break through against the strong program to the west. They were not disappointed, pulling out a 65-59 victory.

The Eagles jumped out to a big lead early behind stifling defense and four early three pointers from Alec Wake and they never looked back. The Wolves were able to pull close in the second half as the Eagles struggled from the free throw line and missed some easy baskets, but Aiden Carlson closed out the game going 4-4 from the line down the stretch.

Alec Wake led the Eagles in scoring with 15 along with four assists. Nolan Carlson added 13 followed by Carson Johnson with 11. Liam Wake, Aiden Carlson, and Nolan Carlson all had six rebounds to lead the way on the boards.

On Saturday, the Eagles made the journey north to Cook to take on the third rated team in state, Northwoods. Going in, the Eagles were hoping to keep the game competitive with the Grizzlies that were on their way to a fourth consecutive Section 7A championship prior to the season being shut down last spring due to Covid. The Eagles did more than that, coming away with a convincing 81-65 victory that saw them build a 13-point lead at halftime and maintain control of the game throughout the second half.

"Our defense against their perimeter players was really the key to the win" said coach Chris Carlson. Carson Johnson, Alec Wake and Nolan Carlson along with Aiden Carlson and Liam Wake off the bench matched up with the three Chiboti boys and held them to a combined 33 points. Offensively, Alec Wake almost matched that total himself with 30 of his own. Nathan Johnson followed that up with 13 points and Harris Carlson scored 12 including two big baskets when Northwoods got the game to within 10 in the second half. Nolan Carlson led the way with 10 rebounds.

Coach Carlson said that, "Anytime you can beat a program of the is caliber, you know your program is making progress. Three years ago we won three games, so getting a win like this is a testament to how hard these boys have worked".

The Eagles match up with Sebeka on Tuesday and Deer River on Friday.[[In-content Ad]]

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