The Eagle Grove varsity basketball teams made the trip to Buffalo Center, just over an hour north, almost to the Minnesota border to take on the North Iowa Bison on their home court last Friday, for an evening game.
The Eagles got right to it in the first period, putting up 18 points right out of the gate. The Bison couldn't keep up, putting up 11.
But the second period was more of a tug-of-war. North Iowa managed to just beat Eagle Grove, with 23 points to 21. Sending the two teams into halftime with North Iowa barely leading Eagle Grove, 39 to 34.
After halftime the play was more subdued in the third. The Eagles started the second half of the game by putting up another dozen points. But the Bison managed 4 more, for 16 in their third. Putting the game at a near tie of 51 to 50, with North Iowa holding a single point lead.
And so both teams went into a make or break final period. The teams went toe to toe in a competitive battle that went back and forth, both teams fighting hard for victory. The Eagles came in with 17 more points, bringing their final score to 68. But the Bison just beat them out, in the period and in the game, scoring 20 for a 3 point lead in the period, and a 2 point lead in the game, finishing with 70 points total. Final score, 68 to 70, for the Bison.
The stats paint a picture of two very evenly matched teams, both putting up great numbers in metric after metric. It really was a tug-of-war! Two areas stand out, however, which led to the Bison victory. In Free Throws, the Bison went for it almost three times as often as the Eagles, and it paid off. The Eagles had 5 attempted Free Throws, and made all but one. But the Bison went for it 13 times, and made 9. Those extra points made all the difference. The Eagles also fouled a lot more than the Bison did, 18 times compared to the Bison's 5.
Leading Eagles were sophomore Jaxon Morris, who led overall with a stellar performance, junior Drake Canavan, senior Tate Richardson, senior Cody Gearhart, and senior Jordan Morris. Jaxon Morris led in points with 29, while Canavan scored 19, and Gearhart scored 9. In Field Goals Jaxon Morris led with 12 out of 24 attempts, while Canavan made 7 out of 9 tries, and Gearhart made 3 out of 9 tries. In three pointers Jaxon Morris led again, with 5 out of 11 shots, while Canavan followed up with 4 out of 5 shots (notably, an excellent ratio), and Gearhart made 3 out of nine shots. Canavan also made a free throw in one attempt. In rebounds and steals, Jaxon Morris led again, with 7 (3 offensive) rebounds and 3 steals. Richardson and Canavan made 4 rebounds (1 offensive) and 1 steal each. Canavan also made a block. In assists, Jaxon Morris was once again the leader with 7, while Richardson had 3, and Jordan Morris had 2.
