Sigourney boys stall out against Lynnville-Sully

The Sigourney Savages earned a rematch with the Lynnville-Sully Hawks, having come off an inspiring victory over Moravia on February 15. Sigourney knew it’d need some things to fall their way to beat the Hawks, but was unable to do so, as they wound up with a 26-69 loss on February 20.

    Sigourney got off to a good start, as they were able to find some open shooters and knock down some early baskets. Despite posing a disadvantage in height, the Savages were attacking the hoop early, and set themselves up for a couple made threes. The defense played tough and physical, putting the Hawks out of sorts in the opening minutes. Most possessions only led to one shot, in which the Savages cleaned up on the glass. Sigourney was down 9-12 at the end of quarter one.

    “We were good defensively, but we turned the ball over too much,” Sigourney coach Mitch Eslick said. “We rebounded well in to start, which is what we’d been working on in practice.”

    The second quarter posed more of a struggle at the offensive end, as some missed shots and turnovers led to scoring opportunities for the Hawks in transition. The Savages continued to play tough on the defensive glass and close out on the ball-handler. The time of possession began to swing heavily in the Hawks’ favor, and with that came more scoring. Going into the half, Sigourney had fallen into a 13-32 hole.

    “We got hit in the mouth midway through the second quarter, and we didn’t respond,” Eslick said. “That’s the step we have to make next. We play good when we’re doing well, but when things go south, we struggle.”

    Sigourney put together a spirited effort in the third quarter, stealing away some balls from Lynnville-Sully and getting some quick shots up in the early minutes. The Hawks did just the same, and it began to wear down on the Savages. Some baskets were scattered throughout the quarter, but by then it was nearly too late. Sigourney was doubled up, and the empty possessions slowly grew in the final minutes of play.

    With the game in hand, both teams subbed in their bench players to get some action in front of their respective fans, in the larger atmosphere. Sigourney put together a handful of points in the fourth but came up short in the 26-69 loss.

    “This was a tough pill to swallow, leaves a bitter taste, but overall we had a good year,” Eslick said. “We’ve got a long way to go to close the gap on the elite teams. We’ve made strides forward and now we have to continue and make progressions in the offseason.”

    Spencer Magill led the charge for the Savages, finishing his night with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist. Dustin Haines chipped in with seven points and six rebounds, only his second game back his mended hand, having missed two months prior. Eric Johnson had four points, Cole Weber had two points and Ben House had one point to wrap up the scoring.