Plains teams score wins over Two Eagle River

It was a pair of early season basketball games with a mid-season fan atmosphere as the Plains Horsemen and Trotters hosted a pair of contests with Class C Two Eagle River this past Thursday evening.

In the end, the Horsemen held off a determined Two Eagles boys team and defeated the Eagles 57-47 in the opening game of the night. 

Then, the Trotters demolished the Lady Eagles from Two Eagle (Pablo) 61-12 to give the home teams a two-game sweep. 

Saturday, the Plains teams traveled to Troy for a pair of conference games, with the Trotters beating the Lady Trojans 52-36 while the Horsemen fell to Troy 49-33. 

Plains boys fell behind Two Eagle in the opening quarter of a fast-paced, rough and tumble contest which saw the visitors take a 16-10 lead after eight minutes of play.  As is their typical approach to basketball, the Eagles displayed their team speed and accurate shooting in the first quarter. 

However, Plains showed it also has team speed, shooting and almost surprising leaping abilities as they battled back and outscored Two Eagle River (TER) 15-9 in the second quarter to produce a 25-25 deadlock at halftime. 

Then, in the third quarter, Plains cranked up its defensive pressure that kept the potentially high-scoring Eagles offense off balance while outscoring TER 21-7.  That gave the Horsemen a 46-32 lead heading into the final quarter of play. Senior guard Darren Standeford had nine points in the third quarter, including a long-range three. 

TER tried to catch up in the last quarter, but each time they cut the Plains lead, the Horsemen answered as they held off the aggressive Eagles and preserved their 10-point victory. 

Standeford led a trio of Horsemen who scored in double-figures with 17 points. Joining Standeford in double figure points were seniors Zayden Allen (11 points) and Wyatt Butcher (10). 

The Trotters took the court after the boys' game and overwhelmed the Lady Eagles from the opening tip-off. 

By the end of the first quarter, with the Plains defense wreaking havoc on the Lady Eagles offense, the Trotters had built a 20-5 lead. 

It would only get worse for TER from that point. 

Plains added 17 points to their first quarter lead in the second quarter, outscoring the outmanned Lady Eagles 22-5 on their way to a seemingly insurmountable 42-10 halftime advantage. 

The Trotters, with substitutes playing much of the second half, shut out Two Eagle 13-0 in the third quarter, giving them a 56-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter with the Mercy rule and its non-stop running clock (except for timeouts) in play. 

The fourth quarter was a low-scoring affair compared to the first three, but Plains still tacked on four points to its lead to cement the 6-12 win. 

Mila Rivinius paced the Trotters offensive assault with 11 points, while teammate Ava Lawyer contributed 10.  Eleven players scored for Plains during the game. 

Saturday in Troy, the Trotters once again took an early, first quarter lead, 17-10.  Troy fought back in the second quarter, outscoring Plains 9-7 to trim the halftime lead to 26-17. 

But the Trotters offense cranked it up in the third quarter behind the play of Aubree Butcher and Trystan Larsen and added 10 to their halftime advantage, giving them a 44-25 lead with one quarter to play. 

Troy outscored Plains 11-8 in the final eight minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the game-long Trotters’ lead as the visitors posted a 52-36 victory. 

Larsen had a game-high 14 points, while Butcher pitched in 12 to the Plains effort. Butcher also had a game-best 10 rebounds for the winners. 

The win boosted the Trotters to 2-1 on the just underway 2024-25 season. 

In the boys' game Saturday, Plains fell behind 12-9 after one quarter of play, then 20-16 at the half. 

Plains came out in the third quarter and took a kept the score close, but a late basket helped Troy establish a narrow 34-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Troy amped up their defensive pressure in the final quarter, holding Plains to just two points while scoring 13 of their own to ice the 49-33 Western 7B conference encounter. 

The loss dropped Plains to 1-2 on the year. 

Next up for the Trotters and Horsemen is a game tonight (Dec 17) in Hot Springs against the Savage Heat. They return home Thursday (Dec 19) for games against Alberton, their last contests prior to the Christmas break. 

    Plains senior Zayden Allen applies defensive pressure to a Two Eagle River player during their game Friday night in Plains.  (Chuck Bandel/VP-MI)