Redbirds oust Eldorado in regional play

Dan Dewerff sighed after the West Frankfort-Eldorado game.

“We didn’t block out on the boards,” he said. “We didnt shoot well. We didn’t think well at times.”

But, the most important thing for Dewerff is that his team won the game and advanced to semi-final action at the Class 2A Eldorado Regional.

The Redbird coach made the observation following a sluggish 61-56 win over Eldorado on Monday night. The game propelled the Redbirds to the semi-final round Wednesday night versus Harrisburg. It marked the third win on the year for the ‘Birds over Eldorado. Two of those wins came at Eldorado.

The Redbirds held short leads at the end of each quarter break. They began slowly, but sophomore Braxton Koehl carried them the first quarter scoring nine of the teams 11 points in the first quarter. In fact, sophomores Koehl and Christian Dunning finished as high scorers for West Frankfort in the game. The Redbirds were plagued by unforced errors and defensive breakdowns at times. Still when critical points emerged, the Redbirds were able to get a block or key steal.

The parameters of the Redbird leads ranged from a 17 point advantage to just a 4 point cushion in the second half. Even late in the game the Redbirds saw their lead trimmed to a four point lead.

The Redbirds move to the Wednesday night 6 p.m. game when they face Harrisburg. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams, Harrisburg is not only top seed in the tournament but the state’s No. 1 rated team in Class 2A. Game time is 6 pm at Duff-Kingston Gym in Eldorado.