The Bears were looking to avenge the regular season loss to the Eagles that they suffered back in the Clinton tournament. At that time, the Bears fell to the Eagles 59-45. That was Butler’s last loss, as they have since rattled off an in impressive 11 game win streak, and would look to push that streak to a dozen, and advance to play another round of playoff basketball.
The opening tip-off was grabbed by Summit Christian, who would instantly drive at Trumbore and get him whistled for an early foul, Thomas would go 1 of 2 from the stripe for an early lead. Mallatt would continue his defensive intensity with a steal and a bucket on the their end. The Eagles would drill a 3, answered by a deep ball from Payne. Both teams would trade blows throughout the first. In the first 8 minutes there were 6 lead changes, but the Eagles would begin to pull away and lead the Bears 18-12 after 1.
To begin the 2nd period, Rieger would bury his 3rd triple of the game thus far to push it to a 21-12 advantage and spark a very quick 7-0 Eagle run that would put them in from 25-12 after just 1 minute had rolled off the clock in the 2nd. The Eagles scoring would lead to a Butler time-out, after which Mallatt would step up and knock down a three ball to stop the bleeding, but only momentarily as the Eagles would rattle off 15-2 run to close out the quarter and take a 40-17 lead into the break.
Bears began the half with possession, but would quickly turn the ball over, sparking a 4-0 Eagles run. Mallatt would end the Butler drought with a corner three for the Bears. The Eagles would continue to dominate as they out scored the Bears 11-0 for the mid-part of the 3rd quarter. At the end of 3 quarters, the Bears trailed 62-27.
To begin the final period, the Eagles would strike first would a slam dunk by Thomas. The clock would continue to run in the 4th quarter as the Bears deficit would appear insurmountable. The final buzzer would sound with the Eagles on top 74-37.
Rieger led all scores on the game with 20 points, followed by Pritchard with 14. The Bears were led by Trumbore with 18 and Mallatt with 9.
The Bears season comes to an end with the loss tonight, but we are proud of what this group was able to accomplish this year as they close out the season with a District Title.
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-Courtesy of Cody Morris
