Kevin Schnepf
The Forum
Kevin Schwandt doesn't mind it when he and his Moorhead Park Christian basketball teammates spread the floor.
It produced numerous driving layups, a season-high 17 points for Schwandt and a 71-65 Park Christian win over New York Mills on Thursday during the first day of the Concorida Holiday Tournament.
"I enjoyed that," said Schwandt, a 6-foot senior who was one of four Park Christian players to score in double figures.
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"If we can hold opponents in the 50's and low 60's, we're going to win a lot of games," said Park Christian head coach Randy Schauer. "We have been putting up the points."
Park Christian's 71 points was enough to offset the 33-point performance of 6-foot-3 senior Erik Peeters. He and three other returning starters are big reasons New York Mills was rated 15th in the Minnesota Basketball News Class 1A poll.
Peeters scored nine of his 18 first-half points in the final six minutes, helping New York Mills cut Park Christian's lead to 38-31 at halftime.
Peeters two free throws made it 44-40 with 12:44 remaining. That's when Park Christian went on a 12-4 run to make it 56-44 with 8:14 remaining.
Peeters then scored six straight points to cut the Park Christian lead to 56-52 with 5:40 on the clock.
"They hung in there, even to the end," said Schwandt, who scored seven of his 17 points during the final four minutes to hold off New York Mills' final rally.
Win over Barnesville
The Eagles struggled at times against Barnesville in their second game at the Concordia Holiday Tournament, but the two-man attack of Peeters and Alex Helmeke was enough to produce a 56-50 win.
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The Trojans (0-0, 0-0 Heart O' Lakes) were able to break the NY Mills press and get some easy baskets as they built a 14-8 lead. The Eagles went on a 6-0 run to tie the game, but Barnesville used a 6-0 run of their own to go back up, 20-14.
Mills finally got their offense going and outscored Barnesville 16-3 over the final four minutes of the first half for a 30-23 lead at the break.
The Eagles went 3-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc in the second half to hold off Barnesville.
Peeters led all scorers with 18 points. Helmeke was next on the chart with 16. The duo led Mills with eight rebounds and three assists each and Helmeke also dished out three assists.
Norman County East
New York Mills was trying to avenge a season opening loss when they took on Norman County East in the final game at Concordia. But a slow start and poor outside shooting led to a 65-46 win for NCE.
The Eagles were just 2-for-17 from 3-point land and shot just 33 percent in the first half (8-for-24) as NCE built a 30-18 lead. Norman County's defense forced 19 turnovers, collecting 15 steals as they prevented NY Mills from any chance at a second half comeback.
Peeters once again led the Eagles with 13 points and eight boards. Helmeke added 12 points with five rebounds.
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Norman County beat NY Mills, 71-62, on Dec. 10 in the season opener.
2008 starts on the road
The Eagles will return to Park Region play this week with a pair of road games. They begin 2008 at Verndale on Jan. 4. The Pirates (1-6, 0-1 Park Region) split with NY Mills last season.
Mills will look to win their 10th straight game against Sebeka on Jan. 8. The Eagles beat Sebeka (4-2, 1-0 Park Region) in the championship game at the NYM Holiday Tournament on Dec. 22, 79-73.
(The Forum and EOT Illustrated are both owned by Forum Communications. EOT Illustrated Editor John George contributed to this story)
Concordia Holiday Classic
Thursday, December 27
Park Christian 71, New York Mills 65
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New York Mills 31-34--65
Park Christian 38-33--71
Eagles--Erik Peeters 33, Alex Helmeke 8, Mike Baune 8, Shaun VanDyke 5, Dave Ayers 5, Isaih Bauck 2, Joe Hendrickx 2, David Snellgrove 2.
Falcons--Schwandt 17, Eggers 14, Solberg 11, Schwandt 10, Gunhus 8, Nash 4, Fletcher 4, Gunkelman 3.
Field Goals--NYM 14/44, PC 28/54; 3-pointers--NYM 7/17, PC 1/8; Free Throws--NYM 16/27, PC 12/20; Rebounds--NYM 37 (Peeters 11), PC 35; Assists--NYM 11 (Helmeke 6), PC12; Steals--NYM 7 (VanDyke 3), PC 6; Turnovers--NYM 13, PC 11; Team Fouls--NYM 19, PC 18.
Friday, December 28
New York Mills 56, Barnesville 50
New York Mills 30-26--56
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Barnesville 23-27--50
Eagles--Peeters 18, Helmeke 16, Baune 7, Ayers 6, Hendrickx 4, VanDyke 3, Snelgrove 2.
Trojans--Jordahl 12, Olson 11, Gylland 6, Akers 6, Gross 6, Buth 5, Haugrud 4.
Field Goals--NYM 17/32, B 15/28; 3-pointers--NYM 3/11, B 3/15; Free Throws--NYM 13/17, B 11/17; Rebounds--NYM 25 (Peeters, Helmeke 8), B 22; Assists--NYM 11 )3 tied with 3), B 10; Steals--NYM 4 (Helmeke 3), B 6; Turnovers--NYM 12, B 10; Team Fouls--NYM 11, B 16.
Saturday, December 29
Norman County East 65, NYM 46
NYM 18-28--46
NCE 30-35--65
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Eagles--Peeters 13, Helmeke 12, Hendrickx 4, Ayers 4, Baune 3, Bauck 3, Cory Perala 2, VanDyke 2, Brandon Menze 1.
NCE--Tyler Bennefeld 18, Taylor Bennefeld 17, Varriano 7, Sather 7, Liebl 5, Opsahl 4Hellerud 2, Thringer 2, Coplin 2, Sather 1.
Field Goals--NYM 17/37, NCE 19/48; 3-pointers--NYM 2/17, NCE 3/9; Free Throws--NYM 6/11, NCE 18/25; Rebounds--NYM 30 (Peeters 8), NCE 35; Assists--NYM 10 (VanDyke, Baune 3), NCE 12; Steals--NYM 10 (Helmeke 6), NCE 15; Turnovers--NYM 19, NCE 16; Team Fouls--NYM 20, NCE 14.
Park Region Conf. All
#7A Bertha-Hewitt 1-0 6-0
Sebeka 1-0 4-2
Henning 1-0 3-3
New York Mills 0-1 4-4
Pillager 0-1 1-5
Verndale 0-1 1-6
Menahga 0-0 1-7
