By Mark Blentlinger
Lawton’s boys basketball team came into the Schoolcraft High school gym to take on the Eagles. The Blue Devils were sporting a 4-4 record, while the Eagles had a 9-3 record. The first meeting between these two teams, at Lawton, was won by the visiting Eagles 51-38. Some boys on both of these teams had played against each other on the gridiron, in the fall. The Eagles defeated them twice, once in the regular season at Roy Davis field, 17-3, then again in the District Championship where the Eagles shut out the home team 38-0. This basketball game would be a small redemption for the Blue Devils, by winning at least 1 matchup, or domination by the Eagles handing Lawton 4 straight losses between two sports seasons.
The tipoff was won by Schoolcraft’s 6’ 9” junior, Jimmy Miller. The Eagles took an early lead with two 3-point shots by Kodee Bienz and Tucker Walther. Jimmy Miller drew a foul and hit the line for 2, putting the Eagles out 10-0 at the 4-minute mark of the first period. Bienz hit his second straight 3-point shot. Tucker Walther took a foul, earning him a single free throw attempt. He shot, he scored, bringing him his 1,000th point for his high school basketball career. At the end of the first period, the Eagles led 20-1. Aiden Benazidze, from Lawton, hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the 2nd period. Both teams were keeping each other on defense although the Eagles still held the lead. Tucker Walther got a pass on a breakaway and sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a hanging slam dunk. Ty Goddard followed the dunk by hitting a high arcing 3-point shot on a stolen pass, moving them up to a 13-point lead with 2 minutes left in the 2nd period. At the buzzer, ending the first half of the game, the Eagles hit the locker room with a 19-point lead.
In the second half, the Eagles started up right where they left off. Tucker Walther was fouled on a layup, sending him to the line to shoot for 1. Lawton’s first two shots out of the locker room were back-to-back 3-pointers, the first by Hudson Merriman, the second by Kamden Olsen. At the end of the 3rd period, the Eagles still held a sizable lead at 56-40. With 8 minutes left in the game, the Eagles were not letting up and kept the pressure on the visitors, forcing them to take shots in desperation to get the score closer. The Eagles had a 23-point lead with three mins left in the game.
The final for the night would be 80-45, Eagles on top. Leading scorers for the night: from Lawton, Hudson Merriman with 16 points and for the Eagles, Ty Goddard with 21 points and Tucker Walther with 16.
