Eagles win district final, head to state

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The Milford boys’ basketball team picked up a couple big wins in subdistricts Feb. 23 and 25 to advance to a March 1 district final.

The Eagles (26-0) beat  Mitchell 75-46 March 1 in North Platte to qualify for the state tournament.

Milford is the No. 5 seed and will play No. 4 seeded Concordia at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. It’s the first trip to state for the Eagles since 2019.

Milford took care of business in subdistricts, beating Raymond Central 85-53 and Lincoln Christian 64-53.

The Eagles built a 55-29 lead at halftime against Raymond Central Feb. 23 and continued to pull away in the second half.

Coach Tony Muller said Milford did a good job pressuring the Mustangs and forcing turnovers. Raymond Central shot well to start the game, he said, with 18 first-quarter points.

This was the second time the teams had played, and Muller said Milford went with more full-court pressure and speeded up the tempo.

Jaxon Weyand and Micah Hartwig led Milford in the first half with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Weyand finished with 25 and Hartwig scored 17. Seth Stutzman and Cabe Schluckebier joined them in double figures with 10 each.

Schluckebier added six rebounds, four of them offensive. Stutzman recorded six assists and four steals.

Muller said Stutzman does a good job finding the open man when he’s double teamed in the post.

Raymond Central was 9-23 from three-point range, while Milford was 3-5. Muller said the Eagles scored more quickly, allowing the Mustangs more possessions.

The Eagles, however, were 14-17 at the free throw line, while RCHS was 4-7.

The win put the Eagles in the subdistrict final against Lincoln Christian Feb. 25. The Milford High gym was at 75% capacity, the limit at this point. The fans were loud, and both schools brought their pep bands.

“The intensity was up the whole time,” Muller said.

The match-up on paper was not favorable for the Eagles, he said. Lincoln Christian has Drew Buekelman who’s 6-7 and Easton Marshbanks who’s 7-0. In addition, the Crusaders have talented guards who can shoot well from outside.

Isaac Yeackley drew the task of guarding LC’s Buekelman, while Schluckebier stuck to Marshbanks. Muller said both played very good defense, and the team did a good job helping out. Both Crusaders got in foul trouble and had to spend time on the bench.

The Eagles led by five at halftime. In the third quarter, the pace slowed and the Lincoln Christian big men were able to block some Milford shot attempts, Muller said. LCHS outscored Milford 10-6 in the period.

MHS came back in the fourth after struggling from the free throw line all game and started making free throws to keep and even build the lead. Milford was 24-39 from the line for the game after going 6-14 in the first three quarters.

Muller said Lincoln Christian tried to cover Milford’s perimeter shooters but couldn’t stop the drives to the hoop.

“It was a great win,” Muller said.

Weyand led the Eagles with 21 points, and Stutzman added a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.