Since the tournament began in 2002, the Kingman Eagles have shown great competitiveness in the Eagle Classic. With the boy’s team winning the tournament each of its first four years and the Lady Eagles failing to bring home the trophy only once before in its history, it is easy to say that Kingman utilizes its home court advantage well in this annual season-opening tournament.

This year was no exception. With two more teams than last year, making a total of six participants, the tournament was re-organized into a pool-play format, with two pools consisting of three teams and the winners of each pool playing for the championship. The boy’s varsity squad kicked off on the right foot as they flattened the Conway Springs Cardinals 62-35 in their season opener on Wednesday, December 10th. The Eagles looked fresh and ready for the new season as they shot nearly 50% from the field. Senior Luke Adlehardt went 5-8 from beyond the arch as he racked up a team high 23 points, followed by senior teammate Hunter Hageman who had 13 points and 6 assists.

The very next night, the Eagles took on the Nickerson Panthers in one of the most breath taking games in the school’s history. After an electrifying back and forth affair for most of the game, the boy’s found themselves down by one point with less than ten seconds to go and Nickerson at the foul line. After the Panthers missed their foul shot, Sam Clouse rebounded the ball and passed it off to teammate Hunter Hageman who proceeded to drive to the basket and put up the winning shot with less than two seconds showing on the clock, giving the Eagles the win 46-45.

"It was nuts," said Hageman after the game. "Everyone was going crazy, and I liked it a lot." Hunter finished with 14 points, pursued closely by senior Beau Gault, who had a productive night tallying 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Much of the same took place Saturday night in the championship game against the Haven Wildcats. After falling behind 15-24 at halftime, the Eagles rallied and took a 47-46 lead with little time left in regulation. Unfortunately, the Wildcats hit a last second shot as time expired, crushing Kingman’s hopes for the Eagle Classic Title. Despite not winning the trophy, the Eagles have started off right as they begin the 08’-09’ season 2-1.

The Lady Eagle varsity team struggled to put points on the board as they dropped their first round game to Conway Springs 38-19. Costly turnovers and dry shooting lead to a long night for Kingman, but the girls stayed determined and played like an entirely new team the following night against the Nickerson Panthers as they came out the victors 50-46.

The Lady Eagles gave fans something to cheer about in their first win of the season as senior Kristen Wollen and junior Steph Funke both put up 8 points to lead the team. Funke also led the team in steals with 6, and assists with 3. Junior Tina Molitor capped the night off with 9 of Kingman’s 42 rebounds.

In the final day of tournament action, Kingman was matched up against the Wellington Crusaders in the 3rd and 4th place game. The girls once again played a tough game but surrendered their second loss of the season as they fell 45-37. Steph Funke once again led the team in points with 9, and Amelia Govert, sophomore, had 8 rebounds for the Eagles.