New Life Academy boys basketball: Eagles win opener over St. Agnes

It wasn’t a perfect night for the New Life Academy boys basketball team, but the Eagles opened the season off with a win by beating St. Agnes 57-47 on Friday.

“It is always good to get wins early in the season to build confidence and excitement for the season,” said NLA head coach Doug Linton.

The Eagles were led by senior guard Cam Duffy’s 13 points.

Duffy had plenty of help, though, as 11 different players scored for New Life Academy. Junior guard John Horner scored 12 points, while junior guard Alex Busch added nine coming off the bench. Even with 11 different scorers, Linton noted that it wasn’t the offense that kept the team in the game, but it was the defense.

“I thought our team started strong and played through some tough stretches but never quite playing hard and pressuring the ball,” Linton said. “We did not shoot very well, but our defense kept us in the game and allowed us to take control late.”

Junior guard Nick Turch led the way for St. Agnes with 19 points, but after Turch, no player scored more than seven points.

Until the Eagles get in tune offensively, it will be important for them to continue their disciplined defense.

The Eagles (1-0, 0-0 in MN Christian Athletic Association play) hosted St. Paul Academy on Tuesday (0-0) before taking on Breck (1-0) on Friday at home.

“St. Paul Academy… is one of the favorites in our section as is Breck, so we will have two very tough games,” Linton said.

Breck is coming off a down year, finding last season 11-15 overall as is St. Paul Academy, coming off a 12-17 campaign. It is very possible the Eagles could get off to a 3-0 start. It’s worth noting that the Eagles started last season 0-1 before winning five straight games.

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