The 2020-21 Eagle basketball team may have finished 0-22, but that record doesn’t indicate how close this team came to pulling off a few wins and doesn’t show the improvement they made by late in the season. Lake Mills won the Top of Iowa West with a 16-0 record, followed by Garner-Hayfield/Ventura at 12-4 and Bishop Garrigan at 11-5. The Eagles were ninth in the division. For his efforts this year, Chase Mason earned a Third Team spot in balloting of league coaches.
The team scored 758 total points on 286 of 892 shots from the field for 32.1 percent. They hit 111 of 188 free throws for 59.0 percent and bombed in 75 of 303 three-pointers for 36.3 percent. Mason scored 191 points on 67 of 176 shots from the field for an average of 10.0 ppg. Drake Canavan scored 152 points on 59 of 158 shots for an average of 6.9 ppg. Austin Purcell scored 106 points on 34 of 114 shots for an average of 4.8 ppg. Jake Darland scored 96 points on 39 of 152 shots for an average of 5.0 ppg. Orlando Hernandez scored 65 points on 29 of 98 shots for an average of 2.9 ppg.
Jordan Morris scored 64 points on 26 of 75 shots for an average of 2.9 ppg. Tyler Hansen scored 22 points on eight of 36 shots for an average of 1.2 ppg. Desmond Weber scored 21 points on eight of 25 shots for an average of 2.6 ppg. Adam Herrington and Jonathan Olson scored 11 points each, Tate Richardson eight points and both John Pamperin and Kenneth Flores three points each to round it out.
Ranked by field goal percentage, regardless of minutes played or points scored, the order would be: Olson 41.7 percent; Mason 38.1 percent; Canavan 37.3 percent; Morris 34.7 percent; Weber 32.0 percent; Purcell 29.8 percent; Hernandez 29.6 percent; Herrington 26.7 percent; Darland 25.7 percent; Gearhart 25.0 percent; Richardson 25.0 percent; Flores 25.0 percent; Hansen 22.2 percent and Pamperin 14.3 percent.
In three-pointers, Purcell made 27 of 87 with Mason at 16 of 55 and Canavan at 10 of 44. Those were the only players in double digits, with nine others putting up at least one shot or more from beyond the arc. Ranked by percentage, the order would be: Gearhart 33.3 percent; Purcell 31.0 percent; Mason 29.1 percent; Pamperin 25.0 percent; Morris 23.5 percent; Darland 23.1 percent; Canavan 22.7 percent; Herrington 22.2 percent; Weber 20.0 percent and Hernandez 4.2 percent.
From the charity stripe, Mason made 41 of 61 followed by Canavan at 24 of 32. Darland made 15 of 36 and Purcell 11 of 15 as the only others in double figures. Eight others stepped to the line at least once if not more. Ranked by percentage, the order would be: Gearhart 100 percent; Herrington 100 percent; Canavan 75.0 percent; Purcell 73.3 percent; Mason 67.2 percent; Morris 57.1 percent; Flores 50.0 percent; Hernandez 46.2 percent; Weber 44.4 percent; Darland 41.7 percent; Hansen 25.0 percent.
The team made 527 total rebounds, of which 363 were on defense and 164 on the offensive side. Ranked by total rebounds, the order would be: Canavan 137; Darland 86; Mason 75; Purcell 49; Hernandez 47; Morris 38; Hansen 21; Richardson 13; Weber 10; Gearhart eight; Pamperin seven; Herrington five; Flores two and Olson one.
Ranked by defensive rebounds only, the order would be: Canavan 108; Mason 51; Darland 50; Hernandez 39; Purcell 37; Hansen 18; Morris 17; Weber eight; Gearhart seven; Richardson six; Pamperin four; Herrington and Flores two each and Olson one. Ranked by offensive rebounds only, the order would be: Darland 36; Canavan 29; Mason 24; Morris 21; Purcell 12; Hernandez eight; Richardson seven; Herrington, Hansen and Pamperin three each; Weber two and Gearhart one.
Canavan led in assists with 33, followed by Morris and Purcell at 28 each, Darland at 23, Mason at 21, Hernandez at 14, Hansen at 12, Pamperin at six, Weber at four, Richardson at three, Herrington and Flores at two each and Olson at one.
Hernandez led on steals at 20, followed by Canavan at 19, Purcell at 14, Darland at 13, Mason at 10, Hansen at nine, Morris at seven, Richardson at tree, Gearhart, Herrington and Weber at two each and Pamperin at one.
Darland led in blocked shots at 11, followed by Canavan and Mason at seven each, Hernandez at four, Hansen at three and Morris, Purcell, Weber, Pamperin and Richardson all at one each.
In conference games only, Mason was 36th in scoring at 142 points and Canavan 19th in total rebounds at 99.
“This season did not go the way any of us thought it would,” stated head coach Ryan Pedersen. “Before the season started, I saw multiple win opportunities on our schedule. We certainly had a number of games that were there for the taking but we let slip away. We had three games in early January that we could have won. We lost those three by a total of 14 points. A few more defensive rebounds and fewer turnovers and we would have won all three. We lose four seniors, three of which have been starting varsity players since their sophomore year. They will leave a big hole to fill in the upcoming years. This class accounted for 60 percent of the scoring for the Eagles in the last three years. They will be hard to replace and will be missed. As for next season, we have a talented sophomore and freshman class that will be called on to carry a huge load. They are an athletic group, but will need to put in the work this summer in order to be successful next season.”
