SACRED HEART BOY’S BASKETBALL SEASON COMES TO AN END WITH LOSS TO NEVIS AT STATE TOURNAMENT

The Sacred Heart Eagles Boy’s Basketball team saw their season come to an end on Saturday with a 62-47 loss to the Nevis Tigers in the Class A State Tournament Consolation Championship at Concordia University in St. Paul.

FIRST HALF –
The Eagles had a tough break on the first possession of the game as Parker Erickson suffered a leg injury sidelining him for the remainder of the game. Nevis scored the first two points but a Breck Bloom three gave Sacred Heart a 3-2 lead a minute in. It would be the only lead of the half for Sacred Heart as the Tigers would rattle off an 8-1 run to build a 10-4 lead. Nevis maintained that led throughout the half and even though it was an 8AM tip, both teams seemed like they couldn’t miss in the opening half. The Eagles got good bench production in the opening half from Mike Gapp and Greg Downs in Parker Erickson’s absence, and Sacred Heart was able to finally pull back within three points after a Breck Bloom three with 7:46 remaining in the half. Nevis responded with a couple of scores of their own but the Eagles continued to answer back and after an Ethan Arntson layup and two scores by Mike Gapp it was 30-27 Tigers with 4:41 left in the half. The Tigers would create some more separation at the end of the half and end the final 4:41 on a 6-1 run to take a 36-28 lead into the halftime break. Sacred Heart was balanced in the first half but junior Mike Gapp led the way for Sacred Heart off the bench with 7 points. Nevis was led by junior guard Austin Ahrendt with 13 first half points, and the biggest difference in the first half was that Nevis was getting easy looks inside while the Eagles were not.

SECOND HALF –
It was the worst start you could’ve possibly drawn up for Sacred Heart to start the second half, as the Tigers scored on their first three possessions and started the half on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 42-28 to force an Eagels timeout with 15:39 to play. The Eagles didn’t go down without a fight initially, and Sacred Heart rattled off a 6-0 run to pull back within eight points. The run featured a Landen Denney free throw, Breck Bloom three-pointer, and Mike Gapp layup. With the score 42-34, Nevis would create more separation and go on another run to extend the lead back to 50-36 with 11:44 left to play. Ethan Arntson would come down and hit a layup for Sacred Heart, but things turned on the Eagles and Nevis would go on an 8-2 run again to blow the game open at 58-40 with just 6:52 remaining. The game never got close again, and the Tigers were able to run good offense to kill the clock and would ice the game away. A highlight down the stretch for Sacred Heart was Isaac Ortiz coming off the bench and scoring five points for the Eagles. Elliot Arntson also got in the game late and scored a layup right before the final buzzer, but it was Nevis who would be crowned the Class A State Tournament Consolation Champions with a 62-47 win.

Sacred Heart ends its season with a final record of 28-6. They will lose seniors Breck Bloom, Ethan Arntson, Noah Thompson, Bradin Welsh, Mantana Jorgenson, and Landen Denney as all six are set to graduate this spring.
Nevis finishes their season with a record of 26-7.

FOR EAGLES COACH DESTRY STERKEL’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW

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