February 14, 2013

Triangle Lake Thwarts McKenzie Title Repeat

McKenzie Head Coach Galen Scrivner’s team held a slim advantage last Thursday, Feb. 7, in a showdown with the Lakers of Triangle Lake. The winner would lay claim to the Mt. West League regular season Championship and enter the League Tournament as the number 1 seed. The Eagles had defeated the Lakers earlier on the road, but had lost to Crow the game prior to Thursday’s tip-off, dropping McKenzie into a tie with Triangle Lake. But the Eagles had the Lakers on their own home court, a favorable crowd, senior night, and the return of Senior Victor Vidal to the starting lineup. One might have thought the defending 2012 League Champions had the deck stacked in their favor and would send the visiting Lakers home disappointed. Trouble was nobody informed Triangle Lake the above script and lead by an outstanding shooting night by the Lakers Chad Steinhauer, 26 pts., and a relative cold shooting night for the Eagles as a team, it was Triangle Lake who claimed the Title, winning 54-40. McKenzie must now evaluate how and why it has lost three games in a row and prepare for a Mt. West League Tournament first round rematch with upstart Crow, who defeated the Eagles recently at Finn Rock, 48-56. The Cougars and the Eagles ended the regular season tied with identical records, but McKenzie holds the tiebreaker by virtue of defeating Crow by a larger margin (55-44) earlier in the season. That first round game will tip off Tues., Feb. 12 at 7:00 pm. Should the Eagles defeat Crow, they would once again face the Lakers the following Saturday for the Mt. West League Tournament Championship and the #1 seed to the OSAA State Championships. Against the Lakers, Senior Jon Mahody lead his team with 11 pts. while Junior Bailey Adams added 10 pts. No other stats were available.

Lady Lakers Lamblast Lackluster Eagles, Earn Championship

Triangle Lake’s dynamic duo, Kianna Brown, 30 pts. and Abi Wynn, 20 pts. together outscored a cold shooting McKenzie team last Thursday, Feb. 7 at Finn Rock, and the Lakers laid claim to the 2013 Mt. West League Regular Season Title. The Eagles fell 66-34 in a game that was never close from the tip-off. While Brown and Wynn were trading baskets and capitalizing on Eagle turnovers, McKenzie couldn’t find an opportunity to reverse the momentum. The Lakers had defeated the Eagles earlier in the season 63-35, and the only hope the Eagles had to win back to back League titles was to defeat Triangle Lake by more points than the previous margin. Brown/Wynn and Co. made sure that did not happen. McKenzie will now host 3rd place Lowell in a Mt. West League Tournament First Round game on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 pm. Should the Eagles beat the Red Devils, they would advance to the League Tournament Championship game, once again against the 5th ranked Lakers on Saturday, Feb. 16, and play for the 1st seed to the OSAA State Championships. McKenzie is the 2012 Defending State 1A Champs. Against the Lakers on Thurs., Eagle Senior Post Samantha Winningham led her team with 8 pts. Fellow Senior Sydney King chipped in 5 pts as well. No other stats were available.

Seniors Saluted

McKenzie High honored it’s Senior Basketball Athletes and their parent/guardians at the last regular season game last Thursday, Feb. 7. The Eagle Girls Team was represented by Guards Macie Ryerse, Sarah Rux,and Sydney King, Wing Corinna Price, Forward Peace Shepherd, Post Samantha Winningham, and Manager Tess Langan. King, Price, Shepherd, Winningham and Langan played on last season’s State Championship Team. The McKenzie Senior Boys honored were Forwards Caleb Scrivner, Victor Vidal, Blake Anderson, and Seth Burson, Guards Jon Mahody and Josh Ness, and Manager Jesse Eaton. Vidal, Anderson, and Mahody played on last season’s State 2nd place team that set a new school win/loss record of 29-1.