DEFIANCE 12/27/2013—The annual Buffalo Wild Wings Tournament held at Defiance College pitted the North Central Eagles against the Holgate Tigers in the opening game. Unfortunately for the Eagle faithful, it would be the Tigers who would come away with the 66-41 semi-finals victory.
It would not take long for the Tigers to jump out to a big lead, as the Eagles would come out shooting very cold in the first quarter. North Central would only see a single shot fall in the opening quarter, while Holgate would nail three shots from behind the three point line to help lead them to a 15-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles would only make one more field goal in the second quarter, but would be aided by hitting 12 free throw shots. These free throws would not be enough to overcome the high scoring Tiger offense, as the Eagles were outscored 20-14. As the two teams went in to the locker rooms for halftime, Holgate lead 35-16.
In past years, with a lead that sizeable, one could expect Holgate to sit on the ball and slow the game down to a halt, but with a new head coach and a new system in place, the Tigers offense continued to put points on the board against the Eagles. The Eagle offense would get a boost of its own, as after they were only able to sink two field goals in the entire first half, North Central nailed six field goals in the third quarter alone. However, this would not be enough to shrink the Tiger lead. After three quarters of action, Holgate lead North Central 53-30.
The Eagle’s could do nothing but continue to give 100 percent effort in the final period, but it would not be enough to overcome the big lead that the Tigers had built up, and North Central would fall to the Tigers by a final score of 66-41.
Josh Sawyer had 12 points on the night, leading the way for the Eagles. Clayton Ferguson and Branden Turner both followed with ten, Dylan Hutchison put eight on the board, Ethan Douglas finished with two, and Chase Legacy and Brady Zuver rounded out the scoring for the Eagles with one a piece.
-Mitchell Peebles