The Eureka High School boys basketball team opened the Hillsboro Tournament with a 21-64 loss to the Hesston Swathers. This marks the second in a three-game stretch where the Tornadoes played a ranked team, the second in a row in which they played a team from a higher classification. The difference was readily apparent as the much taller Swathers dominated the boards against the Tornadoes.
The Tornadoes shot much better from the field against Hesston than they did in their last game, but because of the rebounding disadvantage, they generally only got one shot at the basket. In addition, the Swathers used their superior quickness and height to force 20 turnovers, which obviously limited the number of shots the Tornadoes took. Defensively, the Tornadoes played much better than the final score indicates; they just could not handle Hesston’s height.
Tyson Coon led the Tornadoes with 10 points. Cole Ptacek had 5, Easton Mead had 3, Peyton Hare had 2 and Brody Mitchell added 1 to complete the Tornadoes scoring.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final EHS 2 8 4 7 21 HHS 19 12 29 4 64
The Tornadoes continued their tournament play Thursday, Jan. 23, against Remington. The first quarter was a disaster for the Tornadoes. They shot 10% from the field on the way to putting up 3 points for the quarter. Defensively, they gave up 23 points to the red-hot Broncos, who couldn’t seem to miss. After one frame, this game was well on its way to becoming another rout.
However, the Tornadoes shot better the rest of the way and clamped down defensively on Remington, closing the 20-point gap to 14 by the half. The second half was mostly the same, with Remington out-scoring the Tornadoes by two to win the game by 16.
Coon led the Tornadoes with 12 points. Ptacek had 7, Mead had 6, Hare had 4, and Kotah Davis and Cooper Roberson had two each.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final EHS 3 12 8 10 33 RHS 23 6 14 6 49
The Tornadoes completed the Hillsboro Tournament Saturday, Jan. 25 with a 24-51 loss to Riley County. Once again, the biggest Tornado problem was poor shooting and rebounding. They would get only one shot per possession, while Riley County, which did not shoot a significantly higher percentage, was able to get off multiple shots due to their rebounding ability. This was the second straight game where the Tornadoes averaged 12 turnovers, which is a great improvement over their pre-holiday average of 19, but they just can’t convert on the offensive end.
Coon led the Tornadoes with 15 points. Ptacek had 5, Laken Valentine had 3, and Mitchell added 1.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final EHS 4 6 6 8 24 RCHS 16 15 12 8 51
Up Next
The Tornadoes will host Fredonia this Friday, Jan 31, for their winter royalty event. They will then host Olpe on Monday, Feb. 3, which will also feature Tiny Tornado cheer action.
