Falcons notch third win in nailbiter over Eagles
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford boys basketball team picked up their third win of the season last Tuesday after defeating the Chequamegon Screaming Eagles 62-60. AJ Brodhagen shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, Irvin Aguilera sank two clutch free throws at the end of the game and the Falcons were able to fend off a late rally from the visitors to notch their first Marawood-North win of the year.
Two free throws from Chequamegon’s Cooper Michalski tied the game at 6060 with 1:37 left to play, but Abbotsford was able to drain most of that time off the clock on their next possession. When it was finally time to attack, it was Aguilera that the Falcons turned to. The sophomore guard drove to the basket but was fouled before he could get a shot off. With five seconds left on the clock, Aguilera put his team back on top after connecting on both of his free throw attempts. The Eagles made one final push, but Evan Reis was able to deflect a pass to end Chequamegon’s possession without a shot, sealing Abbotsford’s 62-60 victory.
While Abbotsford led for much of the evening, they could not seem to shake the Eagles. The Falcons jumped out to an 8-0 lead as they scored on their first four possessions, getting baskets from Brodhagen, Aguilera, and Grayson Totzke on the early run. But Chequamegon answered with a 10-1 run of their own, pulling themselves back into the contest.
The opening sequence was indicative of how the rest of the half would play out. There were nine lead changes or ties in the first 18 minutes of the contest and while the Falcons led for much of the period, the visitors never let them build a lead larger than five points. Brodhagen put up five straight points for the Falcons as they tried to pull away towards the end of the half and Aguilera connected on a three-pointer to put the home team up 31-27, but the Screaming Eagles came up with a 5-0 run to lead the game 32-31 at halftime.
Brodhagen put up the first six points for the Falcons in the second half and Abbotsford responded with an important 10-2 rally to open the second period. Aguilera capped off the run with a put back basket to put Abbotsford up 41-34.
The two teams continued to trade baskets, but unlike in the first half, the Falcons were able to keep the Screaming Eagles at an arm’s length for much of the period. Chequamegon’s AJ Morgan brought the visitors back within a single possession when his field goal made the score 54-51, but Totzke was able to answer with a layup on Abbotsford’s next trip down the court.
A 7-0 rally from Chequamegon at the end of the game threatened to undo the control the Falcons had earned for themselves, but Aguilera’s free throws tipped the scales back in Abbotsford’s favor one final time.
Abbotsford’s ability to create points off turnovers seemed to be the difference maker in an extremely close matchup. They were highly effective on possessions following a turnover from the Screaming Eagles, scoring 24 points after 21 Chequamegon turnovers. Meanwhile, the visitors managed just eight points after 16 Falcon turnovers and only had two transition points compared to 10 for Abbotsford.
Brodhagen, Aguilera and Totzke all finished in double figures, with Brodhagen putting up 18 points, Aguilera adding 15 and Totzke finishing with 13. Aguilera had a team high-five assists and Brodhagen led all players with four steals. Payton Schreiber had two consecutive three-point shots in the first half and finished with six points, Preston Bunkelman and JV Castillo both had three points and Reis and Blake Bargender finished with two points each.
The Falcons will conclude their threegame homestand with a Thursday evening matchup with Edgar. The Wildcats are 10-2 this season and are coming off a 71-54 victory over Northeastern Christian Home School. Brett Baumgartner, Teegan Streit and Leyton Schuett are all averaging over 10 points per game and they are on a seven game winning streak. The start time for the Jan. 18 matchup is set for 7:15 p.m.
