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Storm Survives Minatare Rally

Creek Valley's Storm basketball team opened the 2019 MAC Tournament with a home contest against the Minatare Indians Tuesday night.

The Storm came into the game as the favorite, and defeated the Indians 60-to-33 just 10 days prior. The Storm's starting lineup has a significant height advantage, and Minatare's shooters would have to be sharp from the outside if they were to have any chance to advance in the tournament.

The game started with Creek Valley opening fast, and thwarting the Indians' inside game with tough defense. The long arms of the Storm's big men, seniors Sam Grabowski, Garrett Sawyer, and sophomore Oakley Hodges, made it difficult for Minatare to effectively pass the ball, resulting in turnovers and steals.

Creek Valley built a lead of 14-to-4 halfway through the first quarter, with Sawyer and Hodges nailing three point shots, and sophomore Justin Ningen and junior Patrick Hansen cut through the Minatare defense to score points on layups.

In the final minute of the first quarter, Minatare got their offense going and scored four quick points to edge closer at 18-to-10, but the Storm's Grabowski drained a three point shot at the buzzer to put Creek Valley ahead 21-to-10 going into the second period.

The second period continued the Storm's defensive dominance, with Minatare passes intercepted and slapped away by the Storm's big men, while Creek Valley dominated under the boards.

Even the Storm's missed outside shots were followed up by offensive rebounds and lay-in's, and Creek Valley started to pull away from Minatare as the period progressed.

With a little over a minute left in the half, the Storm led by 14 points, prompting head coach Bill Wilber to put in his substitutes. 6'4"freshman Drew Fraas scored three points coming off the bench in the final minute for Creek Valley to put the Storm comfortably ahead 37-to-22 at the half.

But Minatare battled back in the third quarter while the Storm seemed to relax, and the Indian's undersized but speedy starting five, led by senior Ephroen Lovato, junior Kaleb Gonzales, and sophomore Dario Rodriguez, started to chip away at the lead. The Indians put up 19 points against the Storm's 13, and ended the quarter closer but still behind at 50-to-41.

The Indians continued to score against the Storm's defense in the fourth quarter, edging closer as time progressed. By the end of the quarter, the Indians had put up 22 points against the Storm's 16, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit, and the Storm escaped with a 66-to-63 victory.

The Storm advanced to face Garden County on Thursday in the semi-final round of the MAC Tournament at Sidney High School.

 

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