No. 1 Huskies defeat defending EKL champions Bishop Miege, 70-56
The Blue Valley Northwest boys varsity basketball team defeated Bishop Miege, 70-56. Juniors Jack Chapman and Alston Mason led the way with a combined 47 points.
February 11, 2020
The last time the Huskies met the Stags, they wound up losing a nail-biter, 54-52 in a game that would eventually cost them the EKL championship last year. Knowing this game could have big championship implications, junior Jack Chapman knew this game was a must win for the team.
“Our main goal coming in was we want the EKL title this year and we knew we had to beat them to get it,” Chapman said. “We came in, played together, played super hard, got the win and I’m excited. Obviously we have to play the rest of the EKL and see if we can beat them but I’m excited.”
Confirming what Chapman said, head coach Ed Fritz said the recent history of EKL champions has come down to this game.
“They’re a good team, I think every year for the last twenty years if you do your research it’s either been Miege or us for the conference title,” Fritz said.
A big part of the Huskies win was their ability to contain sophomore Mark Mitchell from Bishop Miege. The 5-star sophomore was held to 21 points while being guarded by Chapman on the night. Chapman said it came down to his own toughness.
“You know it’s tough, Mark’s a really good player, but you just gotta play your hardest and try to be the tougher person,” Chapman said.
Finishing the game with 20 points, junior point guard Alston Mason was focused on creating looks for his team to help them win the game.
“[We beat their defense] by moving the ball, attacking their zone to try and get easier shots,” Mason said.
Being unable to figure out the Huskies offense, the Stags found themselves switching between a variety of zones and man to man defense. Fritz said the team did a good job of executing their offense no matter what the defense came out with.
“They played three or four different zones, played a lot of man to man, we had different things we were trying to run depending on what they were doing but we just wanted to move the ball and get good shots,” Fritz said. “I thought Jack was killer on the offensive glass and they couldn’t stay in front of Alston so that was big.”
Finishing as the leading scorer for either team, Chapman would finish the game with 27 points. He was also one of the five starters who played the entire game for the Huskies. Fritz said he kept the starters in because of how well they were playing.
“They were doing a pretty good job, I coach by feel and they seemed to know what was going on and we were shooting a high percentage,” Fritz said.
With the win, the Huskies record improves to 13-2 on the season. The boys varsity basketball team will stay home to take on Blue Valley West on Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
