BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
With the Class 2, District 11 Tournament at its gym Feb. 24-28, the Purdy boys basketball team has one major focus in the next two weeks — get healthy.
The Eagles, at 14-9 this season, went 2-1 last week, besting Southwest, 53-49, on its Tip-Off night Feb. 4, then playing at home again two days later, earning a 92-60 victory over Sheldon. The loss on the week came to district and conference foe Blue Eye, 57-45.
Brad Stewart, Purdy boys basketball coach, said the Eagles could be at the 16-7 mark, but 6 seconds of play over two games resulted in two ticks in the loss column.
“We have two regular season games left if we don’t [drop today’s (Wednesday) game] due to weather,” he said. Going into the district tournament, we have not played a lot of ball, but we have been playing well. We played a heck of a game against Crane and were up 3 at the end, but they hit a tough 3-pointer and we took the loss in overtime. Not making excuses, but we’ve been dealing with a lot of sickness, and by overtime, we were done.”
It was the second overtime loss this season, as the Eagles fell to Marionville, 80-73, at home on Jan. 3. The final score against Crane on Jan. 29 was 77-68.
“We played Friday night [against Blue Eye] short-handed, and we also didn’t play very well,” Stewart said. “We’re still dealing with sickness and are a little beat up, so we’re hoping in these next two weeks to get healthy.
“We haven’t even been able to consistently practice together due to the sickness and injury. But, we’re confident in the fact we’ve played well all year.”
Once healthy, Stewart said the key to success in the district tournament will be playing a solid four quarters consistently.
“I don’t feel we’ve been consistent putting four quarters together,” he said. “We’ve played average at times but extremely well at other points in the game. We had a shot at the No. 1 seed if we had beat Crane, and now, we’re looking at somewhere 2-4.”
The district seeding meeting on Tuesday will have a clear division between the top four and the bottom three. Purdy, Blue Eye, Crane and Galena all have 14 wins or more, while Exeter, Verona and Wheaton all sit at one win apiece.
“There’s a clear-cut top four, and [getting a bye as the No. 1 seed] is not necessarily a good thing,” Stewart said. “It’s nice to get a game in and a win in the opening round. It builds momentum, and teams with byes sometimes don’t play as well. But, with this group, there’s no sure thing.
“Obviously, when you step on the court in the postseason, you risk losing a game, but if you can’t get through the first round, you’re probably not good enough to win the district anyway.”
Purdy’s final contest of the season is against Galena on the road Feb. 18.
“The top four teams are pretty even, and no one wants to play one another,” Stewart said. “However it shakes out, someone will have to beat two of the top four to win the district, so it’s pretty competitive.”
Purdy’s conference, the SouthWest Central League, is also up in the air, as all four teams are in the mix for hardware. Blue Eye is in the driver’s seat at 1-0 and will take the title if it wins out. Purdy and Southwest are 1-1, and Galena is 0-1.
“We were playing well against Blue Eye, but they had an 8-0 run in the third quarter that kick-started them to the win,” Stewart said. “It would’ve been different to me if they did something we couldn’t handle, but we made two mistakes that led to back-to-back 3-pointers for them, then they got a steal and another basket. In this conference, there are so many scenarios because there are so few teams, and we don’t control our destiny after that loss.”
However the conference shakes out, Stewart hopes his Eagles are ready for district play.
“The teams in the top of the district have had good seasons, and we all want that cherry on top of a district championship,” he said. “We’ve got guys who want that, and we hope hosting it helps.
The Eagles wrap up regular-season action in the next week, hosting Lockwood today (Wednesday) and traveling to Galena on Tuesday. The district tournament runs Feb. 24-28 in Purdy.
