DAYTON — Ryan McCafferty couldn’t remember a past crowd like Thursday’s.
The size. The volume.
“It made a huge difference,” McCafferty said.
Supporters of the Tongue River Eagles and the Big Horn Rams sat on opposite sides of the Tongue River High School gym and only added to the rivalry-game feeling. The Eagles’ head coach, Tyler Hanson, agreed with McCafferty, saying Thursday’s congregation was probably the best in the last four years.
Tongue River fed off that early, putting up a monster first quarter and never trailing on its way to a 51-31 victory. It was the Eagles’ second win over Big Horn this season.
“The crowd was awesome,” Hanson said. “It was rocking the whole game on both sides. Growing up as little kids and even being in high school, those are the game environments you live for and dream of playing in.”
Tongue River’s student section dressed up as farmers. Its motto for the week: “Shear the sheep.”
The Eagles controlled the game from the start, giving the home crowd more fodder. They hit four 3-pointers and outscored the Rams 20-3 in the opening period. Tongue River ambushed Big Horn with a zone press on defense. While the Eagles use the scheme often, Hanson said he didn’t call it against the Rams in the teams’ first matchup three weeks ago.
And after allowing Big Horn big man Toby Schons to drop 26 points last month, the Eagles focused on stopping him. Instead of trying to defend Schons in the post, they attempted to deny him the ball, with a big man in front of him and baseline or midline help behind him if necessary. It worked, as Schons was held scoreless.
Cade Butler led the Rams with eight points. They did cut into Tongue River’s advantage in the second and third quarters, actually outscoring them in both periods. The Eagles led 30-15 at halftime and 37-28 at the end of the third.
“We said that they were going to go on a run at some point in the second half,” Hanson said. “Big Horn’s a good enough team that they’re not just going to give up after the first half they had. They’re good enough that they can put points on the board in a hurry, and they showed that in the third quarter.”
Tongue River locked back in to begin the fourth. Hanson subbed in five fresh players, and the Eagles didn’t let the Rams score until the quarter’s halfway point to cushion a 51-31 victory.
“I just can’t praise our defensive effort and our defensive execution more,” Hanson said. “That was from all the dudes who got into the game.””
McCafferty and Brant Bockman tied with a game-high 10 points.
Both teams return to the court at 6 p.m. Friday. Big Horn travels to Newcastle. Tongue River hosts Rocky Mountain.
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