Moving up from the Humansville Tournament consisting of all 1A schools to the Eugene Tournament which consists of mostly 2A and 3A schools along with powerhouse St. Elizabeth, was a bold move for the Pirates. However, in order to take our team to the next level, it was something that had to be done.
"I wanted to see where we were at early on so that we could make the necessary adjustments before we started playing the teams in our district."
The first game in the tournament against Fatima as "a rude awakening." The Pirates were shell-shocked at the speed and quickness of Fatima as they quickly jumped out to an 18-1 lead. Macks Creek reeled them in a bit by half time, closing the deficit to 12 points. However, the second half wasn't kind to the Pirates as a total break down in defense sent the Pirates into the Consolation Bracket with a 92-54 loss. Cole Register led the Pirates with 18 points and Hunter Lane added 16.
"I told the boys after the game that their speed is where we have to get to to be able to meet our goals this season. Our next game would determine a lot about the character of our team."
In the Consolation Semi-final, the Pirates took on another 3A school in Missouri Military Academy. They were big and strong and extremely physical. The Pirates were up to the challenge and responded with an equally physical game. A late 6-0 run to finish the second quarter saw the Pirates go into the locker room with a 30-24 advantage. MMA would pound the boards in the 3rd quarter and got within 1 point with 3 minutes to go in the 3rd. After a timeout the Pirates went into a full court press and finished out the quarter with an 18-4 run. Another solid quarter kept MMA at bay and the Pirates ran their record to 2-2 with a solid 74-54 win. Hunter Lane led all scorers with 30 points while Cole Register added 14. Colton Walter left the game early in the second quarter with what appeared to be a broken rib after he had 2 points but dished out 4 assists in his limited appearance.
The Consolation saw the Pirates face the first school of their own size and it was simply no contest as Macks Creek jumped all over Tuscumbia in the first quarter 35-4. The Pirates took off the press 4 minutes into the game but their half court pressure defense was outstanding and it led a ton of turnovers and easy transition baskets.
The Pirates set a bunch of records with their 109-17 victory. Cole Register had a career high with 35 points on 15 for 20 shooting and 9 assists while Senior Hunter Lane was 1 point shy of his career high with 41 points on 20-25 shooting. Hunter also added 8 assists and 10 rebounds to continue his assault on double doubles with 5 on the young season. Sophomore Austin Brown also had a career high with 13 points. Freshman Chase Whitworth had 8 points and Freshman Logan Gallamore added 4 with 10 assists and 5 steals. Junior Tanner Smith chipped in 5 points to go along with his 8 steals. The Pirates set a Missouri High School record with 40 assists on the night.
The Junior Varsity team faced off against the Linn Wildcats and played well at times, but were no match to the size and quickness of the bigger school. The Pirates fell to 1-2 on the season with a 64-34 loss. Daniel Cortez led the Pirates with 13 points and Caleb Leach added 6.