Junior high boys play with intensity

It was a very short, long week to kick off JH basketball! With only four short practices, new coaches and new kids — we kicked of our game schedule with a long trip to Jordan for our first games. We were pleased with how well the boys adjusted and played hard. Against Jordan both teams adjusted well to their screen and cut offense and played such great help defense they thought we were playing zone (by the way we don’t know zone defense)!

Keeping the intensity up but thinking before we react, we improved our control against Terry. The Ekalaka B team made a come back and won again Terry B, 27-23. Ekalaka B team has five first-time players, and they all pick up the game and rules well! The Ekalaka A team was neck and neck with Terry but we were short two A players and lost a little steam in the end, falling 57-65. The game was certainly something to be proud of despite the loss.

Cortland O’Connor stepped up to replace a starter that was gone and helped out in every aspect of the game; he also had 9 points. Kinch Rost had an astonishing 21 points, including four three-pointers. Bentley Jardee came off the bench and played excellent defense to give our starters a breather. Tiernan O’Connor was a great leader and scored 20 points. Jaxen Walker stepped up to volunteer and shot 2 technical free throws and made them both. Ben Enos was the best support for the A team, ready to step in if needed. Landry Shepherd was fouled while going in for a layup and sank both free throws. Colt Jesperson was outstanding on the rebounds and had 4 points. We are excited for the season and focusing on improvements, and getting the 8th graders ready for Bulldog High School Basketball!