The #7 ranked Ropes Eagles hosted and beat the #24 ranked Plains Cowboys in a district basketball brawl, 61-38, to capture the 2A District 5 Championship this past Friday night.
The win was powered by the trio of Cutter Stumbo, Kade Franklin and Kaden Riker, all of whom scored in double figures. Stumbo led the way with 19 points behind four three-pointers made, while Franklin scored 16 points and Riker scored 14 points.
Other Eagles scorers included Kolter Dockery, Branson Simental and Cason Kucel all with two points, and Zayden Pittman with one point.
And as good as the offense was, the Eagles’ defense might have been better, holding a team like Plains with elite guard play and explosiveness under 40 points on the night.
“I was extremely proud of our kid’s effort,” Eagles Head Basketball Coach Cameron Copley said. “We were flying around and defending for 32 straight minutes. Offensively, we had a good rhythm and were moving well without the ball which made us tough to guard. Our toughness and execution was where it had to be to beat a team like Plains. Coach Elam does a fantastic job, and we knew it was going to be a battle.”
The win improves Ropes to 23-3 overall and 10-1 in district play, and it secures the District Championship with a game still left to play, which is impressive in itself, but even more so when you realize it’s Coach Copley’s first year as Ropes’ Head Coach.
When reflecting on that fact, Coach Copley deferred all the credit to his athletes.
“I am extremely proud of our kids for earning a District Championship,” Coach Copley said. “They’ve earned it by the way they prepare and compete on a daily basis. We are focusing on ways to improve and look forward to getting back to work.”
They’ll do exactly that early in the week as they travel to face Sundown for their final matchup of the regular season.
Regardless of the result in that one, the Eagles first-round/Bi-District playoff matchup is already set against McCamey on Monday at 6 p.m. at Andrews High School.