By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
GOESSEL – After trailing most of the game, the Elyria Christian boys basketball team used a fourth quarter rally to push past Little River and earn a seven-point, 52-45, victory on Monday in the first round of the Goessel Bluebird Classic.
After the two teams were tied at 11-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Redskins took a two-point, 29-27, lead into the halftime break and held a one-point, 39-38, advantage entering the final quarter of play.
The Eagles then put 14 points on the board while holding the Redskins to just six in the final quarter to earn the final seven-point win.
“I was proud and pleased with our guys tonight,” noted Elyria head coach Zach Goodrich. “They gutted out a win over a talented Little River team. There were times when we were careless with the ball, and we did not rebound well in stretches of both halves. We were playing a lot of guys who have never played or have new roles this season and I think as each game goes our guys will become more comfortable with their roles and with each other.”
Dalton Mantz had a big game for the Redskins in the loss as he led the team with 11 points while nearly gaining a double-double with nine rebounds and still found game enough to dish out six assists and steals a couple of passes on defense. Treyton Olander, Corbin Herbst, and Ryan Loder each chipped in with eight points as well.
For the Eagles, they were led by Caleb Laney who scored 12 while Ben Unruh just missed double digits with nine and Josh Allen and Johnny Unruh contributed eight and seven points, respectively.
Eagle coach Goodrich concluded his post-game reflections by saying, “We had nice contributions from many guys tonight, but Josh Allen, Caleb Laney, Ben Unruh, and Johnny Unruh each made tremendous plays for us down the stretch. Their hustle is what sticks out to me the most. Our freshman gave us key minutes as well and hit some shots when it counted. We need to continue to improve going forward and find that consistency for an entire game like I saw in spurts tonight.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR “AREA TEAM”?
The Little River boys turn around and get back on the hardwood Tuesday with their second game of the Bluebird Classic when they tangle with Goessel.
Elyria will rest until Friday before they battle with Burrton in their second game of the Classic.
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES vs. LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS at the Bluebird Classic
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
EAGELS 11 16 11 14 52
REDSKINS 11 18 10 6 45
TEAM STATS: EAGELS REDKINS
Shooting N/A 16/39 (41%)
3-Pointers N/A 3/15 (20%)
Free Throws 9/15 (60%) 10/16 (63%)
Rebounds (Off/Def) N/A N/A
Assists N/A N/A
Turnovers N/A N/A
Steals N/A N/A
Blocked Shots N/A N/A
Personal Fouls 19 17
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING:
Scoring (52 Total Points): Caleb Laney – 12; Ben Unruh – 9; Josh Allen – 8; Johnny Unruh – 7; Andrew Huxman – 5; Silas Redenbaugh – 4; Ty Romero – 3; Landon Schneider – 2; Keyan Wiggers – 2.
Three-Pointers Made (3): Caleb Laney, Andrew Huxman, Ty Romero – 1.
Rebound Leaders: No Stats Available.
Assist Leader: No Stats Available.
Leader in Steals: No Stats Available.
Leader in Blocked Shots: No Stats Available.
LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:
Scoring (45 Total Points): Dalton Mantz – 11; Treyton Olander – 8; Corbin Herbst – 8; Ryan Loder – 8; Andrew Smith – 5; Logan Renken – 4; Kyle Bruce – 1.
Three-Pointers Made (3): Ryan Loder – 2; Logan Renken – 1.
Rebound Leaders: Dalton Mantz – 9; Kyle Bruce – 6; Treyton Olander – 5.
Assist Leader: Dalton Mantz – 6.
Leader in Steals: Dalton Mantz – 2.
Leader in Blocked Shots: