Last week the men’s basketball team competed in the CW Stessman Invitational at LibertyHigh School. The team ended with a second place title after a few games that really challenged the team.

Their first game on Tuesday, January 17 was against the Blue Jays of Raytown.
“They were really athletic and a tough opponent, but it was a fun game to play,” sophomore Ian Sanderford said.

The Eagles finished with a 59-48 victory, making the team 14-2 on the season.

The Eagles then advanced to the semifinals against number 6 ranked Leavenworth, played Thursday, January 19. The Eagles were pushed to the very end in an intense and hard fought game. Garrett Loew led the team to victory with an impressive 18 points. Zach Starr and Jake Hanson also were important contributors with 12 points a piece.

“We didn’t play very good defense in the first half, but our execution on offense kept us in the game. In the second half, we came out with more intensity and took a nice lead and never looked back,” junior Zach Starr said.

In the end the Eagles came out successful with a 63-57 win over Leavenworth, advancing them to the championship game against the Pioneers of Olathe East on Friday, January 20.

The Pioneers proved to be an extremely tough competitor, defeating the Eagles 60-46. Brinkley Jolly was the leading scorer with 14 points.

“We played really hard but I don’t think we played our best. We always want to finish first, but we are going to take this game and use it as motivation later on in the season,” sophomore Brinkley Jolly said.

Garrett Loew was rewarded for his exceptional performance in the tournament being named on the All Tournament Team.

The Eagles have now played in the championship game of all three tournaments they have participated in this year.