Noxon escapes with wins over Two Eagle River

Palbo was the site of two high schools' basketball games which could have had different outcomes than they did. 

Noxon’s boys' and girls' teams took to the court at Two Eagle River High for a pair of Western 13C conference games, with both Noxon teams escaping with wins that went into the fourth quarter before they were decided. 

The girls' game was the most tense of the two, with the Lady Devils from Noxon nipping the Lady Eagles from Two Eagle River (TER) 36-35 in a game that wasn’t fully decided until the final whistle. 

The boys' game was the cliff hanger the girls' game was, but it was close up to the end before the Noxon boys fended off a late TER charge and won 87-79. 

In the girls’ game, Noxon came out strong in the first quarter, riding the eight first quarter points scored by Seanna Richter to a 13-6 lead after eight minutes of play. 

But in the second quarter, TER’s defense held Noxon to just two points while the Lady Eagles scored eight to trim the Noxon lead to 15-14 at halftime. 

From that point on, the game was back and forth with several ties and lead changes.  Noxon added one point to their lead in the third quarter and were up 30-28 heading into the final quarter. 

The Lady Eagles stayed close the rest of the way and were within one point with just over a minute remaining in regulation.  But that would be enough for the visitors who eked out the 36-35 win. 

Richter wound up as the leading scorer for the Lady Devils with 15 points, one point more than the team-high 14 points scored by TER’s Keke Tenas. 

The boys' game also had its tense moments as Noxon scraped out a 25-21 lead after one quarter, then outscored the host Eagles 28-20 in the second quarter, giving them a 53-42 lead at the half. 

TER got their high-powered offense rolling in the third quarter, allowing them to shave eight points of the Noxon advantage, 75-71, going into the final eight minutes. 

But Noxon added four points back to their lead in the fourth quarter then held off one last Noxon rally to secure the eight-point win. 

The win boosted Noxon to 7-1 on the year and 4-0 in conference play ahead of their showdown this Saturday in Noxon with 5-0 conference leader St. Regis, which is 10-0 on the year. 

Rilely Gates led all scorers with 28 points, while teammate Talon Addison added 27 to the TER effort. 

Noxon got double figure scoring from five players, topped by Cameron Blair’s 26.  The Red Devils also got 17 points each from Ricky Williams and Shane Hatchel, 14 from point guard Justice Kayser and 10 from senior post Shane Murray 

Prior to the Noxon vs St. Regis games, the Red Devils will travel to Hot Springs this Friday (Jan 24) for a crucial conference weekend.