The Southern Door Eagles can tick another few boxes on the season after beating the Oconto Blue Devils 69-54 in the regular season.  The victory caps off an undefeated conference schedule, finishing 21-3 overall, 16-0 in conference.  Drew Daoust also reached the next of his many career milestones late in the game.

 

The game was not easy as the Blue Devils played some of the toughest defense the Eagles saw all season.  After jumping up to an early lead, the Eagle found themselves trailing for a majority of the first half thanks to hot hands from behind the arc for Oconto.  Two different players made a trio of threes in the first half.  The Eagles were led in the first half by Drew Daoust with 13, and Caden Pierre used a pair of threes to follow him with 9. The Eagles at one point found themselves trailing by 14, but only trailed 31-40 at half.  

 

The second half started back and forth, and the nerves of trying to get Drew Daoust the 23 points he needed to reach the 3000-career mark calmed slightly coming out of half.  After climbing all the way back to a 50-50 tie, and a brief exchange of leads, Drew Daoust would drive off a Tyler Neinas screen and put the ball in for his 3001st career point.  Once that milestone was reached, it was all but over for Oconto. Momentum has fully swung into the Eagles favor.  The team started to play their normal brand of relaxed basketball, frustrating the Blue Devils en route to outscoring them 37-14 in the second half.

 

 

The frustration reached a boiling point late in the game and sealed the deal as the Blue Devils earned not 1...not 2...but 3 technical fouls in a single sequence of events in the closing minutes.  This swing sent the Eagles to the free throw line for 6 consecutive technical free throws, and an entire lineup change as the subs were able to replace the starting squads to cap of the final 15-point victory for the Eagles.   Leading scorers for the Eagles were Drew Daoust with 34, Caden Pierre with 14, and Lauden Berg with 8.

 

 

The Eagles will have a bye in Level 1 of the WIAA playoffs, and await a Friday night home game against either Crivitz or St. Mary Catholic.  The Eagles game will be broadcast on U102.1 and the New Radio Sports Network.