Eagles hold off Wildcats to be Region 8 champion
By Jerry W. Kram
The New Town Eagles grabbed the lead in the middle quarters of the Region 8 Boys Basketball Tournament held at the 4 Bears Event Center in New Town and held off a late charge by the North Shore-Plaza Wildcats to win the Region 8 Boys Basketball Championship.
The Eagles would have faced the second seed and Region 6 champions Rugby Panthers in the opening game of the North Dakota Class B Boys State Tournament, but all athletic, artistic and other sanctioned extracurricular activities have been postponed or canceled by the North Dakota High School Activities Association due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Wildcats drew first blood and led 4-0 but Dylan Jones sank two treys to make the score 6-4 in favor of the Eagles. The Wildcats retook the lead at 8-6 but Jones had another three to put the Eagles up once more. Hayden Andes and Ty Edwards closed out the quarter for the Wildcats to lead 12-9 after the first quarter.
The Eagles took control in the second quarter outscoring the Wildcats 19-7. Khael Decouteau had 11 in the second quarter points to go with Jone’s nine from the first quarter to help the Eagles build a 28-19 lead at halftime. The Eagles’ defense held the Wildcats to just eight of 27 shooting and one three pointer in the first half.
