Eagles place third
in Maverick Tournament

March 2, 2000
Seeley Swan Pathfinder
Seeley Lake, Montana

by Jim Nelson

The Seeley Lake Eagles entered the Maverick Tournament with an unblemished record of 17-0. Their first opponent was Mission, who advanced to play Seeley Lake with a Monday night 46-36 victory against Bonner. This game was no contest, as the Eagles jumped up 15-2 and cruised to a 43-19 victory. Zach Nelson led Seeley Lake with 11 points.

1 2 3 4 Final

Seeley 15 16 6 6 43

Mission 2 6 5 6 19

Zach Nelson - 11 pts, 6 steals, 5 assists, 3 rebs

Cody Hard - 8 pts, 2 assists, 2 rebs, 1 steal

Nick Parker - 8 pts, 3 rebs

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

Joey Moderie - 4 pts, 1 reb, 2 steals

Tanner Marlatt - 2 pts, 1 steal, 2 rebs

Brody Klemer - 2 pts, 4 rebs

Ryan Teafoe - 2 pts, 1 steal

Andy Fink - 2 pts, 1 reb

The second game of the Tournament would be a much stiffer test. Seeley's press could not stop St. Joseph's ball handling or shooting by Willy Stack, but pulled away with great outside shooting by Tanner Marlatt and Nick Parker, and good inside play by Riley Devins and Cody Hard. Balance prevailed and Seeley handed St. Joe's their first loss of the year, winning 65-53 to advance to the semi-finals.

1 2 3 4 Final

Seeley 21 12 14 18 65

St. Joseph 13 11 14 15 53

Tanner Marlatt - 16 pts, 4 assists, 2 rebs

Nick Parker - 15 pts, 1 reb, 1 assist

Riley Devins - 13 pts, 3 steals, 4 assists, 3 rebs

Cody Hard - 9 pts, 3 assists, 7 rebs

Zach Nelson - 6 pts, 2 steals, 7 assists, 2 rebs

Brody Klemer - 4 pts, 2 rebs

Joey Moderie - 2 pts, 2 rebs

Saturday morning found the Eagles up early as they had to face a tough Meadow Hill team at 8:00 a.m. Seeley never seemed to get going in this game. The Eagles were ice cold, shooting 29% from the field and could not take care of the ball or rebound. As flat as they were, they still hung in the game well into the fourth quarter, before falling short 48-37. This was the Eagles' first loss of the year, and put them in a third place game with Valley Christian.

1 2 3 4 Final

Seeley 13 5 10 9 37

Meadow Hill 15 12 10 11 48

Cody Hard - 16 pts, 10 rebs

Zach Nelson - 12 pts, 3 steals, 4 assists, 7 rebs

Riley Devins - 6 pts, 1 steal, 1 assist, 2 rebs

Brody Klemer - 2 pts, 1 reb

Tanner Marlatt - 1 pt, 2 steals

The Eagles had just a couple of hours to re-group as the Valley Christian Eagles fought their way up the losers' bracket to challenge Seeley. This game started out as a dead heat, as Valley held a 22-21 half time lead behind their hot shooting guard, Kyle Smith. Coach Bender adjusted his defense in the second half, going to a box an one, putting Riley Devins on Kyle. The alignment worked, as Smith was shut down. Strong bench play by Ryan Teafoe in the third quarter helped Seeley build a 35-27 advantage. Full court pressure in the fourth helped seal the victory as Seeley won 49-37. Three Eagles scored in double figures, led by Zach Nelson's 16 points. The victory gave the Eagles a third place trophy in the tough 18 team Maverick Tournament. Good job boys!!

1 2 3 4 Final

Seeley 10 11 14 14 49

Val. Christ. 10 12 5 10 37

Zach Nelson - 16 pts, 5 steals, 5 assists, 3 rebs

Riley Devins - 12 pts, 2 steals, 3 assists, 2 rebs

Cody Hard - 10 pts, 9 rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals

Ryan Teafoe - 6 pts

Tanner Marlatt - 4 pts, 1 steal, 2 assists, 1 reb

Ryan Nichol - 1 pt

Nick Parker - 5 rebs

To wrap up the Seeley Lake Eagles season, the boys finished the year 20-1. Their only loss was in a game they didn't play well, but were the better team. In my mind they were the most talented, unselfish, and best coached group of young men at the Tournament, or for that matter that I've ever been around. We are all looking forward to seeing you play next year! Great season Eagles.