Undefeated Eagles Win Tournament

January 27, 2000
Seeley Swan Pathfinder
Seeley Lake, Montana

Back row, from left: Joe Moderie, Brodie Klemer, Cody Hard, Zach Nelson, Andy Fink,
Tanner Marlatt, Nick Parker, Ryan Teafoe, Ryan Nickel, and Coach Joe Bender.
Front row: Andrew Rose and Riley Devins.

by Jim Nelson

The Seeley Lake Eagles traveled to Deer Lodge last Saturday for a tournament, which included teams from Butte, Anaconda and Deer Lodge. Seeley squared off against a Butte junior high team, whose school has almost 800 students, in their first game. What was thought to be a tough game turned out to be another blowout as Butte could not handle the Eagles' swarming defense and speed. Tanner Marlatt and Zach Nelson combined for 26 first half points to help build a 34-18 halftime lead. Seeley gave up only four points in the entire second half en route to a 50-22 victory.

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Seeley 34 16 50

Butte 18 4 28

Zach Nelson - 18 pts, 4 steals, 5 assists, 2 rebs

Tanner Marlatt - 10 pts, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2 rebs

Nick Parker - 10 pts, 3 blocks, 2 rebs

Cody Hard - 4 pts, 1 block, 2 assists, 8 rebs

Riley Devins - 4 pts, 3 steals, 5 assists, 2 rebs

Ryan Teafoe - 2 pts, 2 steals, 2 rebs

Joey Moderie - 2 pts, 3 rebs

Now Seeley needed a victory against the home team to gain the first place trophy. The Eagles scored the first 14 points of the contest and never were challenged as they romped Deer Lodge, 62-14. Cody Hard had a monster game with 12 points and a season high 15 rebounds. In the middle he was intimidating with five steals and three blocks. Tanner Marlatt's 15 points and Riley Devins' season high nine points rounded out another balanced team effort. After the win, Coach Joe Bender was asked when they would get challenged in a game. His answer was, "Next week when we travel to Hamilton to face an undefeated 'A' squad." Seeley is now 13-0 on the season. Great job team!

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