By Mark Blentlinger
A matchup between 14-1 Centreville and 12-4 Schoolcraft has not occurred since the St. Joseph Valley Conference disbanded. In an early-February game, both teams showcased their 1,000-point scorer: Schoolcraft’s Tucker Walther and Centreville’s Swamlick.
It was a back-and-forth battle in the 1st period, with neither team getting a significant lead. At the end of the period, the visiting Bulldogs had a 1-point lead at 14-13
The 2nd period was not very different, with the score staying close. But at the half, Centreville had a 3-point lead: 32-29. During the 3rd period, the game started to become a defensive battle for both teams, and still, neither team began to break out with a significant lead. But a 3-pointer by Tucker Walther gave Schoolcraft a small advantage, leading the Bulldogs by 7 at the buzzer.
At the 5:00 point in the 4th quarter, Schoolcraft was still maintaining a lead at 48-43. With 1:45 left the lead had gone up to 8 with the home team still holding the lead at 54-46. The visiting Bulldogs needed to get something done quickly if they planned on leaving with another win. The Eagles were not backing down and continued to push, extending their lead 59-46. But Centreville was not going to just roll over and give up, making two 3-pointers in 2 possessions. At the 40 second mark, the Bulldogs started fouling an Eagle ball handler every time Schoolcraft got the ball. While the strategy initially showed some promise, at the 17-0second mark, they fouled Tucker Walther, and he made his points, giving the home team a 62-54 win, putting the Eagles at 13-4 and the Bulldogs 14-2.
The visiting Constantine Falcons arrived on Feb 21st with a 0-19 record, while the Eagles had a 15-6 record. In their last meeting at Constantine, the Eagles won 62-7. After all the introductions were made, Tucker Walther won the tipoff, and the Eagles put a quick 3 on the board from sophomore Ty Goddard. At the 4-minute mark of the first period the Eagles were up with a score of 10-2. At the end of the first, the Eagles had a 24-7, and the Falcons continued to struggle while the Eagles scored 24 points, ending the half at 48-9.
The Eagles still stayed with their game plan on shooting from the outside and capitalized on turnovers and rebounds. At the end of the 3rd period, the Eagles led 63-16. Seniors Luke Rykse, Tucker Walther, Ryley Bruner, and Jaden Reiber played their last home game that night and were taken out of the game one by one by Coach Small. The Eagles topped the Falcons 73-16, and prepared to enter district play.
