Sacred Heart boys basketball unfazed by loss of two big scorers during 12-2 start
Jan. 19—EAST GRAND FORKS — With small enrollments at the Minnesota Class A boys basketball level, when a team loses two star players to graduation, you can usually expect that team to struggle a bit the following season.
A year ago, East Grand Forks Sacred Heart advanced to the school's first Minnesota state tournament and finished fifth behind a 1,000-point career scorer in Sam Gapp and the school's all-time points leader Kobe Tomkinson.
So it's a down year for the Eagles, right?
Not at all.
Sacred Heart improved to 12-2 with a 63-51 win over Mahnomen-Waubun on Thursday night in the Sacred Heart gym.
"We knew the talent was there," said Sacred Heart coach Destry Sterkel, whose wife delivered their second child early Thursday morning. "We thought come playoff time we could be a contender, but we also thought it could click, and we could win right away. We try not to talk about last year. I don't think anyone thought we'd go 30-4 last year, and I don't think anyone thought we'd be doing what we're doing this year."
Against Mahnomen-Waubun, Ethan Arntson scored 23 and Parker Erickson had 20 but the biggest Sacred Heart weapon is 5-foot-5 floor general Josiah Sundby.
Sundby finished with eight points, 11 assists and had his hand-prints all over the Sacred Heart outcome.
"When he's on the court, everyone is calm and collected," Sterkel said. "He's a true point guard. He gets himself going when he needs to, and he gets others involved. He rebounds. Most importantly, he impacts winning. We're off to a good start because of his leadership and getting us to how we need to play."
Sacred Heart hit eight 3-pointers, two by Sundby himself, as the point guard's driving-and-kicking ability set up his teammates for great looks on the perimeter.
"At the beginning of the year, people knew they had to step up," Sundby said. "Everyone is finding their roles. I definitely take it on myself to try to be a leader because I'm the point guard. I make sure I'm saying what guys want to hear but also what makes them better. I'm working on being a better leader because Sam and Kobe were great leaders last year."
Against Mahnomen-Waubun, the Eagles led by just five at halftime. Erickson, a 6-3 sophomore forward, started the second half with a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper to push the lead to 10.
The lead was never under seven the rest of the way.
The Eagles even utilized a rare small lineup with 5-5 Sundby paired with his freshman brother, Isaac Sundby, a 5-2 freshman.
"He's got a great future," Josiah Sundby said.
But for now, the Eagles go as Josiah goes.
"(Last year) was Kobe's and Sam's team," Sterkel said. "(Josiah) knows this is his team and this year he'll get Ethan and Parker and Landon (Denney) and Breck (Bloom) going. When that's not going, he'll get going. He's commanding the team, and it's great for us."
Halftime: Sacred Heart 27, Mahnomen-Waubun 22
Mahnomen-Waubun — Darian Chilton 4, Mike Weaver 6, Dennis Ashley 10, Tyson McArthur 8, Carter Clark 10, Brody Lhotka 8, Kobe Weaver 5
Sacred Heart — Mike Gapp 6, Josiah Sundby 8, Parker Erickson 20, Ethan Arntson 23, Landon Denney 6
