The second 6:30p hit in the fieldhouse, the horn blew and the varsity girls had started with the tip-off. The girls came off aggressive and worked together to score 28 points in the first half against Staley. They were down 32-28 at the start of the third quarter. The girls did not let this four-point-deficit ruin their courage as they came out and played the second half quick, and as a team. Staley didn’t seem to have a chance but came out on top, 65-57.

“We had one of our best offensive games of the season. I don’t think we could’ve had a better shooting percentage. Granted we lost, it was one of our better games. The main thing was that they got a lot of three-pointers up. Shutting them down defensively would’ve been the key for us,” senior Kailee Knudsen said.

Next up was they boys. Tipping off at 8:00p against Fort Osage, the guys started strong under the leadership of Coach McCabe. The men struck first and rode that ship all the way through the first half. The biggest play of the night happened right at the end of the second quarter, as the clock counted down to zero, Michael Hughes rebounded with about 1.5 seconds to spare and threw it up from full-court and swooshed it right as the buzzer went off. Everyone went insane and the Eagles walked into the locker room with lots of hype. The second half was shaky at times but the guys came out on top, 74-62.

“Whatever we achieve is a family aspect. We don’t want to let each other down or let the coaches down either. Having the experience of a big crowd really helps in close-game situations,” senior Quentan Sanderford said.

During halftime of the women’s game, the Courtwarming King candidates were escorted to the middle of the fieldhouse by their mothers. Ryan Sprugel was awarded Courtwarming King for 2016.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling to be recognized like that by your peers. I was overwhelmed when they called my name and all I could really think to do was hug my mother,” Sprugel said.

The same thing happened during the men’s game. During halftime, the Courtwarming Queen candidates were escorted by their fathers to the middle of the court, where McKenzie Harlan was awarder Courtwarming Queen.

“I was really excited. I thought it was a really cool experience and I was really honored that the basketball team chose me,” Harlan said.