Esko dominates Coaches Classic

Year after year one thing remains the same: the Esko boys seem to dominate in the Esko Coaches Classic. This year was no exception as Esko hammered Duluth Marshall Friday night, 100-54, and then defeated Cannon Falls 80-63 Saturday to capture their seventh-straight Coaches Classic title.

Trevor Spindler scored 25 points and Camden Berger added 20 as the Eskomos crushed the Hilltoppers 100-54 Friday night. Esko rolled out to a 58-31 point lead at the break, then put it in autopilot in the second half to set up a meeting Saturday with Cannon Falls, who defeated Hinckley-Finlayson 62-29 earlier on Friday night.

On Saturday Payton Wefel lit it up for the Eskomos as he led the Eskomos in scoring with 25 points - 21 of those points coming on seven three-pointers. Spindler added 18 points for Esko in the win and was named the tournament's MVP.

The girls' side saw the Lady Eskomos win their second consecutive tournament with a 52-41 win over the Hermantown Hawks Monday morning in another holiday tournament affected by last week's weather. The girls' side of the tournament - which was scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday - was changed to Friday, Saturday and Monday due to the winter storm.

Esko opened up the Coaches Classic with a 59-51 win over a very good Cherry Tiger team, who was playing the Coaches Classic for the first time. In a tight battle the entire way, Bridget Yellin made the difference with her dominance inside as she finished with 17 points in the eight-point win. Kristy Demuth chipped in 13 points.

In the semifinals Saturday the Eskomos defeated St. Anthony Village 57-43. Esko jumped out to a 14-point point lead at halftime 27-13 and used good defense and solid shooting to advance to Monday's title game. Demuth led the Eskomos with 18 points, while Yellin added 15 in the victory.

"We played such good solid defense, and we took care of the basketball the entire tournament," head coach Scott Antonutti said. "I thought they played exceptionally well throughout the entire tournament."

Monday's championship game saw a rematch from earlier this year when Esko defeated Hermantown by six points. Again it was the Eskomos coming away with the win - this time by a score of 51-41. Demuth again led the way as she poured in 22 points for the Eskomos. Demuth was named the girls' tournament MVP. Demuth averaged almost 18 points per game, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals per game for the tournament.

Esko, which allowed only three Hermantown players to score Monday, picked up the ninth win of the season. The Eskomos girls team was set to host Moose Lake-Willow River Thursday as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press.