Eagles rise to challenges

SEELEY LAKE - The Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles boys basketball team took third place in the Copper League Tournament last week to end their season with a record of 10 wins and four losses. Despite all the uncertainty this season, Head Coach Bradley Miller was very pleased with the season and proud of his players.

They took the first game of the tournament with a solid win over Clinton but a tough loss at the hands of Valley Christian sent them to the consolation bracket.

The Eagles faced Missoula International School (MIS) in their final game for third place. The two teams had not met during the regular season due to MIS not playing schools with no mask mandate.

"I think all the kids were a little bit nervous because they didn't really know what to expect and they were a pretty stinking tall team for junior high," said Miller.

The Eagles trailed MIS for much of the game but in the last couple minutes they took the lead and pulled off a victory.

For Coach Miller, the only certain thing this season was uncertainty.

They began the season with five eighth-grade starters and several on the bench but sickness, injuries and other eligibility issues constantly had the team in a flux. Just two thirds of the 22 kids who started the season remained at the end.

"It seemed like every week my starting lineup was different," said Miller.

While the flux in players presented its challenges it also gave opportunities for younger players. Miller said seventh graders and even some sixth graders have seen playing time in the games and they rose to the challenge.

"The team's done a good job of fighting through it and making sure that we're still doing the same thing every day," said Miller. "Every day we're coming in, we're working hard and bringing the same attitude to every game."

Miller's favorite game of the regular season was taking on Potomac. It was a close game at the half but the Eagles soared in the second half to a 30-point victory.

"That was the least amount of kids I had for a basketball game. I had five on the court and two subs," said Miller. "They were all dog tired, sweating to death because they didn't have any subs and they took it well. They took the challenge and got it done."

Miller, who has been assistant coach for three years and head coach one year, said that this year's group of kids stands out in many ways.

"I couldn't ask for any more of them. It almost makes me tear up how hard workers they are and how much they buy into the system. They lean on each other for help. They don't bicker very often. They lift each other up. They look for the open guy. They play team basketball," said Miller. "Our big thing that we focus on is playing team basketball and they do a really good job of it. I'm very, very, very proud of them."