(Elk Horn) Two boys basketball teams that split their regular season contests will have a rubber match in Dunlap Monday night.
District quarterfinal action in Class 1A District 16 pairs Rolling Valley Conference foes Exira-EHK and Boyer Valley with one another. “They are a pretty talented team. Both games we’ve switched back from man-to-man and zone. We probably have to show them a little something different than we have in the past and I’d imagine they’d do the same to us.”
The Spartans won the most recent meeting one week ago by a score of 55-54. The Bulldogs took the first matchup 56-54. Close games are nothing unusual for coach Doug Newton’s squad. Ten of their 21 games this year have been decided by ten points or less. “It would be a little better on my heart if they’d quit doing all these last minute comebacks. We’ve had so many close wins and overtime wins and a couple of close losses in there too. They don’t quit. We’ve been down 10-12-14 points and keep plugging away.”
Newton says Boyer Valley is athletic and very physical on the boards. “Gavin Reineke is about 6’5″ and he’s a tough matchup. He can shoot over the top of our guards and he can go in the post a little bit. He’s really smart. They’ve got another kid with Jaidan TenEyck and he’s really good too. With their quickness and athleticism they put us in some pretty tight spots.”
Exira-EHK has reached the postseason with a record of 11-10. Tyler Petersen averages 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals per game. Easton Nelson and Trey Petersen also score in double figure on average. Boyer Valley is 9-5. Gavin Reineke averages 13.4 points, Jaidan TenEyck 11.1 points, and Trevor Malone 10.2 points.
Monday’s winner will oppose either West Harrison or Ar-We-Va on Thursday.
