The Blue Sky Eagles started this year's boys basketball season on a roll and have not looked back since.
Blue Sky faced a tough weekend, taking on Box Elder Friday night and traveling to Chester Saturday. The Eagles defeated Box Elder 72-48 and edged Chester 67-63 to remain undefeated.
Blue Sky's matchup with Box Elder was never close, leading 21-10 after the first quarter and amassing a 41-19 lead at the half. The Eagles took a 30-point lead into the final quarter of play.
Brent Petrick led the Eagles with 18 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Mike Hutchinson and Mitch McKinley each added 14, followed by Kevin Jurenka with 10.
Nine players scored for the Bears, led by James Burns with 11, Art Whitford with 10 and Tim Parker with eight.
"Our kids came out to play," Blue Sky coach Darin Hannum said. "We capitalized on the youth of Box Elder." Hannum also said his team's size was a big factor in the game, adding, "We have two or three inches on them at every position."
On Saturday at Chester it nearly looked as though the perfect record was going to fall. Chester led 32-20 at the half, but Blue Sky battled back to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles, who struggled from the free-throw line through the first three quarters, shot 70 percent from the charity stripe in the fourth. Also helping the Eagles fight was the effort from the post players on rebounds. Hannum said that when his players missed free throws late in the game, his team came down with the rebound and got some second-chance baskets.
"It ended up being a good learning experience," Hannum said. "We had to have some kids step up for us."
Petrick finished the game with 27 points followed by McKinley with 16. Travis VanDyke and Adam Stubbs each added 18 points for Chester.
The Eagles will remain number one in the District 9C standings this week, but Hannum said his players don't let that rating make them overconfident.
"They haven't been real happy with the way they have been playing so far," he said, noting the same team started last season with a 6-0 record. "They think they can play a lot better than they are right now."
Blue Sky faces Rocky Boy on Friday, a game Hannum said will give his team a better feel about where they sit in the district.
