Timberwolves end Eagles season

TEKOA - For the third time this season, the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves and St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse Eagles faced off, this time to determine who would advance to Dayton in the 1B District 9 tournament and who would have their season end. The victory went to the Timberwolves, who improved to 3-0 on the season against the Eagles with a 78-59 win.

"It's always an accomplishment to make District," St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse coach Mike Stubbs said. "Being truthful, at the start of the season I had hoped if we played more 'A' games than 'B' games we'd be a little higher (seed). Nonetheless, we made it to District. You just want a seat at the table, and you go from there."

For the first half, both teams showed they belonged next to each other at that very table. Tekoa-Rosalia had the advantage early, holding a 9-5 lead with 5:30 to go in the first quarter.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse was able to keep the game within single-digits but the Timberwolves were still able to expand on their lead and the Eagles went into the second quarter trailing 22-13.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse gave itself a chance in the second quarter, opening with a 10-0 run that was capped off with a Tanner Fleming 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 23-22 lead with 4:54 to go in the first half.

That would be the only lead for the rest of the game for St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse, as Jadin Campbell hit a 3-pointer on the very next possession. Tekoa-Rosalia went on a 14-9 to end the quarter, closing out the first half with a 39-32 lead. The last three points came from beyond-the-arc as Morgun Martin hit a buzzer-beater.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse wasn't able to repeat its efforts of the second quarter and the Timberwolves outscored the Eagles 21-12 in the third frame to go into the final eight minutes of regulation up 16.

Tekoa-Rosalia began the final quarter with a 7-3 run to go up by 20, and St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse couldn't get closer than within 16 points for the rest of the game and the Timberwolves earned the 19-point victory.

"We had a real good meeting after the loss to Yakama (Nation Tribal)," Tekoa-Rosalia head coach Mike Bone said. "Just re-established our goals and just had a real good talk after that game and just settled back down. I got a little bit wound up in that game and they did too, so it was a negative effect on all of us.

"So we just came back to what we like to do and I just kept encouraging them and kept the positive energy and corrected the minor mistakes and they bounced back and responded really well. St. John played a great game today and kept us on our toes."

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse wasn't able to walk away with the win, but never lost faith throughout the game, a common theme for the Eagles throughout the season, according to Stubbs.

"(I told them) just to believe," Stubbs said. "Believe in themselves. Believe in your teammates. Stay true to your principles, as far as defense goes... our guys played really well. Really, really well."

Isaac Bone led Tekoa-Rosalia with a game-high 34 points. Campbell added 17, Martin had 11 points and Braxton French rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10.

St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse was led with 16 points from Rory Maloney.

With the win, Tekoa-Rosalia advanced in the District tournament to play against Pomeroy at 5 p.m. on Feb. 15 in Dayton. Results were not available at press time.

ST. JOHN-ENDICOTT/LACROSSE (8-10, 6-9)

Birch Brown 0 0-0 0, Bear Brewer 2 0-0 6, Brennen Gonzalez 3 1-2 8, Tanner Fleming 4 0-0 9, Pedro Molina 3 1-4 9, Rory Maloney 7 2-2 16, Matthew DeFord 2 0-0 5, Alex Rocha 0 0-0 0, Jacob Swannack 3 0-1 6, Landen Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-9 59.

TEKOA-Rosalia (15-6, 9-5)

Morgun Martin 4 0-0 11, Westley Bryan 0 0-0 0, Brian Place 0 0-0 0, Joey Murray 0 0-0 0, Jadin Campbell 6 1-2 17, Ziyon Marsh 0 0-0 0, Braxton French 4 2-5 10, Isaac Bone 13 7-10 34, Gabe Morgan 1 1-2 3, Riley Gehring 1 1-1 3. Totals 29 12-20 78.

3-point goals – Brewer 2, Molina 2, Gonzalez, Fleming, DeFord, Campbell 4, Martin 3, Bone.