SMITHVILLE — Colonel Crawford moved to 18-0 with a statement win over the No. 8 team in Division II Sunday night.
The Eagles held Waverly to just two points in the first half and came out on top 44-23. Sunday was a rare day that featured high school basketball, thanks to the first annual Battle At The Berkey event.
“It was like a tournament. One game at a neutral site. I hope we made a statement,” Colonel Crawford head coach Dave Sheldon said after the big win.
The Eagles are the No. 1 team in Division III and were led by the senior duo of Carter Valentine and Mason Studer with 10 points each.
Derek Horsley scored seven points off the bench.
“Derek came in the game and gave good minutes. He didn’t start until Christmas because of a football injury. He’s so under control and he can knock down 3s.”
Nolan McKibben put up six points for the Eagles, as did his teammate Carson Feichtner.
Waverly (15-4) was led by Will Futhey, who scored a team-high 10 points. Trey Robertson scored eight points for the Tigers.
“Robertson kid has had over 1,700 career points. He’s the all-time leading scorer. It was everybody, because what we were doing on screens. They did a phenomenal job to hold him to eight,” Sheldon said.
The game started out with a slow pace that favored Colonel Crawford. Eagles held a 7-2 advantage after one quarter.
In the second half the Eagles put on a defensive clinic. Colonel Crawford didn’t allow a Waverly basket in the second quarter and went into the half leading 16-2.
Valentine had five points in the first half for the Eagles, while Studer pitched in four.
Robertson had the lone basket for the Tigers in the first half.
“A lot of credit goes to my assistant Nate Hill. We watched seven games on these guys. We had two snow days where we couldn’t get in the gym,” Sheldon explained.
Waverly’s offense was able to come alive a bit in the third quarter. Futhey scored seven points and his team trailed Colonel Crawford 28-9 heading into the final quarter.
Much like the Eagles did all game, they kept the defensive intensity up in the final quarter. Waverly scored 14 points in the final quarter, the most they would score in a single quarter.
