The Sacred Heart Eagles Boy’s Basketball team defeated the Goodridge-Grygla Chargers on Saturday afternoon 84-60 to advance to the Section 8A semifinals. Kobe Tomkinson put together a career day scoring 39 points for Sacred Heart, and the Eagles led comfortably for most of the game on their way to victory.
FIRST HALF –
The opening half was highlighted by a couple of runs from each team, and one big one from Sacred Heart. The teams traded a few baskets for an early 6-5 Sacred Heart lead with 15:00 remaining in the first half. After that, Sacred Heart would score the next three points at the free-throw line, before a Chargers three-pointer made it 9-8 Eagles with 13:33 left to play. Sacred Heart would open the game up from there, and go on a 17-3 run, forcing two Goodridge-Grygla timeouts in the process, while taking a 26-11 lead with 8:30 remaining in the half. Kobe Tomkinson was a big factor in this run, as he was for most of the game, scoring 10 points for the Eagles to help extend their lead. Out of the Chargers timeout, they would fight back with a 10-4 run of their own, pulling within nine points and giving Sacred Heart a 30-21 lead with 4:30 left in the opening half. After a timeout, Sacred Heart would then end the half on a 7-2 run highlighted with another Tomkinson three, a free throw from Landen Denney, and a three from Isaac Zavoral, as the Eagles would take a 37-23 lead into halftime. Sacred Heart was led in the first half by Kobe Tomkinson with 15 points, while Goodridge-Grygla got 12 points from Jordan Coan.
SECOND HALF –
Sacred Heart was the top seed in the West-Sub Section coming into the tournament, and they continued to show why in the second half. Specifically, Kobe Tomkinson and Sam Gapp were too much for the Chargers to handle. Tomkinson got the scoring started in the second half with another three-pointer, and after the teams traded a few baskets, Sam Gapp scored 6 straight points to put the Eagles in front 50-31. The Chargers would put together an 8-2 scoring run to cut the deficit down to 52-39, and after each team continued to stay hot offensively, it was 57-45 Eagles with 9:35 remaining in the game. Kobe Tomkinson took things into his own hands at that point, and went on a 9-0 run by himself, knocking down two more three-pointers, and an and-one to give Sacred Heart a 66-45 lead, their largest of the game. Tomkinson would score 7 more points over the next few minutes, and by the time he took a seat on the bench, he had put together a 39 point performance. Each team got a few of their backups in for the remaining 4:00, and after a couple of baskets late from each team, Sacred Heart would walk away with an 84-60 win. Outside of Tomkinson’s 39 points, Sam Gapp also chipped in 18 for the Eagles. The Chargers were led by Jordan Coan’s 25 points in the losing effort.
Sacred Heart improves to 26-3 and will play in the Section 8A Semifinals (West Sub-Section Championship) on Tuesday night back inside of Ralph Engelstad Arena. Goodridge-Grygla ends their season with a final record of 17-11.
FOR the postgame interview with Coach Destry Sterkel click below-
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Sacred Heart | 37 | 47 | 84 |
| Goodridge-Grygla | 23 | 37 | 60 |
| For Sacred Heart | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Kobe Tomkinson | 39 | 6 | 5 assists/2 steals |
| Sam Gapp | 18 | 4 | 3 steals/2 assists |
| Ethan Arnston | 6 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Landon Denney | 5 | 10 | |
| Josiah Sundby | 3 | 4 assists/2 steals | |
| Isaac Zavoral | 3 | ||
| Mike Gapp | 3 | ||
| Kaden Schauer | 3 | ||
| Parker Erickson | 2 | ||
| Zach Martin | 2 |
| For Goodridge-Grygla | Points |
| Jordan Coan | 25 |
| Nick Groven | 9 |
| Lewis Jones | 7 |
| Blake Rychlock | 6 |
| Matt Busse | 5 |
| Justin Thompson | 3 |
| Elliot Phillip | 2 |
