West Side overcomes hot start from Marsh Valley to win on Eagles’ ‘Retro Night’
Published at
ARIMO — The Marsh Valley Eagles were flying high in the first quarter of their Retro Night matchup with West Side Saturday, scoring like the 2000s game while wearing shorts from the 80s.
The Eagles (3-5) held a 25-17 advantage after eight minutes of play. But it was all West Side from there as the Pirates (7-2) scored the first seven points of the second quarter, and took a lead they would never relinquish late in the first half.
After holding off a late fourth-quarter charge from Marsh Valley, thanks in large part to the clutch shooting of senior McKay Peterson, West Side claimed a 64-57 win.
Peterson said after the game that, the win “felt really good.”
“We’ve put in a lot of work,” he said. “After Christmas, we’ve had some hard practices to get ready for this game, and I think it paid off.”
The Eagles came flying out of the gates, getting significant contributions from nearly everyone in a white jersey who saw the court. Even with some toughness, and shot-making, on the part of the Pirates, Marsh Valley seemed nearly unstoppable and held a healthy eight-point lead after one quarter of action.
Pirates head coach Tyler Brown, according to Peterson, pointed out to his team during the first break that the Eagles were on pace to score 100. The senior said he thought to himself, “That’s not good.”
Brown’s marching ordered for his team were to up their hustle and intensity, and start the comeback by dominating the rebounds.
West Side punched back quickly in the second, scoring the first seven points of the quarter, forcing a Marsh Valley timeout less than three minutes in.
The Eagle were held without a rebound in the entire second quarter — though there were some “team rebounds” on misses that found their way out of bounds off the hands of Pirates players.
Senior captain Ivan Campbell was a huge factor in the rebounding edge, playing like a bull in a China shop following a rough first period. He finished the game with 14 rebounds and was one point shy of a double-double.
“We have to get rebounds. … The more rebounds I get, my team gets, the better chance we have of winning,” Campbell said, adding that his team showed more aggression, effort and hustle after a rough first. “We did what we were supposed to.”
Fellow senior and West Side football star Crew Sage picked up the scoring, leading all players with 19 points, to go with two rebounds, one steal and numerous assists.
Despite falling behind, the Eagles continued to battle and never found themselves out reach.
Led by senior Justis Whitworth, who did a bit of everything finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks, Marsh Valley battled its way back into the game, and were trailing by just one point with 1:53 remaining in the game.
But the Eagles did what they could not afford to do, and left West Side’s best shooter open. Peterson, who said he models his game after two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry, did his best Curry impersonation nailing a clutch 3-pointer to give his team some breathing room.
Then, after a 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line from Marsh Valley’s Tate Whitworth, Peterson was left open as the Eagle defense crashed on Campbell in the paint. Campbell kicked it out to the wide open shooter and Peterson drilled a dagger through the hearts of the home team.
Peterson said his mind was black as he was shooting back-to-back clutch triples — “I just catch and knock it down.”
“I’m confident in my shot, I’ve spent a lot of time in the gym,” he added.
He said the win felt good, though it there were some adjustments needed following the first quarter.
“That first quarter was a little rough, but we all picked it up after that,” Peterson said. “We all, kind of, came together and just took it to them.”
West Side is back in action Friday, when they host Ririe — whom they lost to last week.
Marsh Valley also plays Friday, at Filer.