​Bus breakdown doesn’t hinder Eagles in playoff win over Wildcats

Bus breakdown doesn’t hinder Eagles in playoff win over Wildcats

3/2/2023

by Michael Smith

COLUMBIA -- The Grain Valley boys basketball team encountered an unfavorable situation Wednesday.
     It didn’t have anything to do with the Eagles’ first-round matchup in the Class 6 District 7 Tournament with Blue Springs at Columbia Hickman High School.
     The team bus broke down on the way to Columbia, which caused the team to be stranded for 45 minutes. While the team got to the gym later than expected, it didn’t let that affect its play in the most important game of the season.
     Grain Valley got big performances from senior Rhylan Alcanter and Eli Herbert, as the duo combined to score 34 points in a 61-53 victory.
     Grain Valley was unfazed by the bus incident.
     “As a coach, that’s always your worry that it might affect your team,” Andy Herbert said. “We didn’t even discuss it. It’s just part of the journey. Fortunately, we played the second game and not the first, or we might have been in trouble.”
     Eli said that it may have been a good thing for his team.
     “It’s just more time together for us really,” Eli said. “It’s more time to bond. There is no where we would rather be than with our team. It didn’t bother us at all. It was a fun experience on the bus.”
     The Eagles, seeded No. 4, advance to play No. 1 seeded Columbia Rock Bridge at 6 p.m. Friday at Hickman.
     Herbert led the team with 22 points and a lot of those points were critical late in the game as he made all four of his free throws in the fourth quarter and sank all 11 attempts for the game.
     Alcanter got all 12 points in the first three periods and his scoring in the paint opened up driving lanes and open shots from the outside for his teammates.
     “Rhylan Alcanter played tremendous tonight,” Blue Springs coach Adam Jones said. “He put us in a bad spot at the beginning of the game. He was getting easy looks. I thought he was their guy tonight.”
     The senior also was missing his headband that he normally wears when he plays. Judging from his performance Wednesday, he didn’t need it.
     “I forgot it,” Alcanter said. “I am a pretty superstitious person, so that was kind of scary for me. We won, so it’s a good thing.”
     Not only was the duo’s scoring important, but the rebounding department, something the Eagles have struggled with sometimes this season, they dominated. Grain Valley out rebounded Blue Springs 30-14 including 10-4 on the offensive glass. That allowed the Eagles to get up some extra shots.
    Alcanter, senior Owen Herbert and junior Stylz Blackmon led the Eagles with six rebounds each.
     “We got some big offensive rebounds in the first half,” Andy Hebert said. “Owen got some rebounds where he went up and got it with two hands. That has been an emphasis and we were able to pull it off.”
     Alcanter scored half of his points in the first period. In face Herbert and Alcanter accounts for all the team’s points as it took a 12-7 lead into the second quarter.
      Grain Valley pushed the lead to 32-25 at halftime with junior guard Logan Marcum getting a pair of key baskets, a layup on an inbound pass and a spin move that freed him for another layup.
     Blue Springs (11-15) cut the lead to 32-27 after a bounce pass from senior Josh Allen found sophomore Malik Lewis for a wide-open layup early in the third, but the Eagles eventually ballooned the advantage to 48-34, which was highlighted by a pair of and-ones from Herbert and senior guard Reece Troyer.
     Herbert hit a driving floater as he was fouled. She shot hung on the rim for about three seconds before it went in as the freshman pumped his fist after. Troyer made a savvy baseline move where he used a head fake not get Blue Springs junior forward Lincoln Stephenson to jump before he put up the shot. After the Blue Springs defender was up in the air, Troyer went up for a layup drew the contact for a foul and made the basket.
     Up to that point, Grain Valley played stellar defense, mixing a variety of zone defenses to help stymie Blue Springs leading scorer – Allen. The Blue Springs senior only had five points going into the final period and finished with 10 as Grain Valley held him to 4-for-15 (26 percent shooting) from the field.
     “We knew that was their guy,” Eli said of Allen. “We knew if he got going, everyone else on their team would get going. Luckily, we got him to take hard shots early, which got him off his rhythm.”
     Grain Valley made 10 of their 16 free throws in the fourth period to seal it as the Wildcats didn’t get any closer than eight points.

The Grain Valley boys basketball players greet each other following a 61-53 win over Blue Springs in the first round of the Class 6 District 7 Tournament. Photo credit: Michael Smith