Royal rolls to districts with twin wins
Gage Christensen drives the lane against Burbank in search of two points.
ROYAL CITY — The one thing you might not have expected from the Royal High boys in basketball last weekend – a stirring close – is exactly what led to two victories, third place in the SCAC East and the district 1A tournament.
The Knights outscored River View, 23-9, in the fourth quarter on the Panthers’ home court to upend River View, 66-62, Friday night. Saturday they pounced on Burbank, 17-6, in the final stanza to defeat the Coyotes, 51-40.
Royal, 5-4 SCAC East, still has a SCAC East contest at Kiona-Benton this Friday. It will have no bearing on district seeding, but a victory over the second-place Bears would give the club some momentum.
Royal will open the district tournament at LaSalle on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Win or lose, the Knights will be around for that weekend.
“This was an amazing game for our boys,” coach Pete Christensen said. “We started super slow once again but refused to go away.”
The Knights were 10 points down at the beginning of the fourth quarter but they had enough players to apply just enough defensive pressure to cause the Panthers to make some critical mistakes.
The return of Corbin Christensen and Isaac Ellis was invaluable. The Knights finally took their first lead of the game with 20 seconds left when Corbin Christensen made his lone 3-point attempt of the night.
The Knights shot well from the free throw line and switched up the press several times to keep the Panthers off balance. They made 11 of their 17 free throws.
“It is always challenging to play well in River View,” Pete Christensen said. “But our kids never caved to the challenges we faced there.”
Corbin Christensen led the Knights with 20 points. Senior Carson Gilbert contributed 19. Kaden Jenks added 12, and Isaac Ellis had 10. Jenks led the rebounders with12 caroms.
For three quarters Saturday, the Knights did not look like the same team that finished Friday. But again, things came together in the fourth period.
Jenks took the lead in this contest with 16 points. He tied Owen Ellis with five rebounds. Corbin Christensen added 11 points, and Gage Christensen produced seven.
“We started slow in both games, but our kids have proved over and over again that they are persistent in their commitment to compete in the game,” Pete Christensen said. “They are cool under pressure and they are very fun to watch.”