By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Sophomore Braxton Ehnert scored a career high 15 points to lead the way, but it wasn’t enough as the New York Mills Eagles fell to Breckenridge by a score of 79-47 in the sub section opener last week. 

“They hit us with a ton of energy in their home gym and that, along with their superior athleticism was just too much for us to handle. They made more 3s than we were hoping which was something we needed them not to do in order for us to pull the upset,” said head coach Mike Baune. 

The loss ends the Eagles’ season with a record of 2-25 overall and 2-12 in the Park Region Conference. After ending last season as the Section 6A runner up and ranked second in the state, NY Mills featured a new-look team this season with five new starters on the court. After struggling to score points early in the season, the Eagles found a way down the stretch to not only pick up the pace on offense, but limit their opponents on the defensive end of the court. 

“It was definitely a challenging season overall in many ways. We really struggled to score the ball throughout the duration of the season, which made it near impossible to come back in games in which we got down early. Our best performances started with good defensive efforts, which kept games close and allowed us to score enough to have chances to win,” said Baune. “I’m very thankful for our seniors and the efforts they’ve given over the last few years and glad they got to be a part of some very special teams.”

With a bulk of their team returning next season, Baune said he is excited to watch the team grow in the future. 

“As we shift our focus towards the off-season and the future on NYM basketball, I’m proud to say we have quite a collection of young hoopers who want to really put in as much gym time as possible. And that’s where it starts: giving kids the opportunity to get into the gym often to develop skills as well as athleticism. That’s the plan… Mills basketball is strong,” said Baune.