New Town sharpshooters down Braves
Eagles will face Kenmare for state berth
By Jerry W. Kram
The New Town Eagles struggled early in the year as Head Coach Robert White tried to mold a group of young players into a team. Despite having a record that was barely over .500 going into the tournament season, the Eagles are one game away from a trip to the North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Tournament, scoring back to back wins over two teams that dominated them in the regular season.
"Our sophomores played like seniors," White said. "We did a lot of traveling and work to get them ready over the past two years. It’s paying off."
The Eagles came out and made a statement, playing the Stanley Blue Jays who were the second seeded team from District 16. The Blue Jays crushed the Eagles in the regular season 92-62, but Monday afternoon the Eagles flipped the script and returned the favor 95-71. In the semifinals, the the Eagles avenged a 14 point regular season loss and a three point loss in the District 15 tournament to the Parshall Braves in a heartstopping 78-75 shootout on Tuesday.
Against the Braves, neither team was able to make a lead stick. At one point, the Braves had a six point lead at the end of the first quarter. Midway through the second quarter, the Eagles were on top by eight. That would be both team’s biggest lead of the game. Over all there were 10 lead changes and six ties in the game. Six of the lead changes happened in the second half.
