ARGYLE — If Argyle had defeated Barneveld on Thursday, Feb. 8, the Orioles would have claimed at least a share of the Six Rivers East Conference and controlled their own destiny for the outright title. Instead, the Eagles spoiled the Orioles’ hopes of their first conference championship title since 1992 with a 46-42 victory.
“We knew that coming in,” Argyle head coach Jesse Halvorsen said of his team’s conference championship chances. “They (Barneveld) are a good team, too. They played their heart out, and we came up short. Sometimes that happens.”
The same scenario occurred last season. With three conference games left, Argyle had just one conference loss and needed to win out to stake a claim to the Six Rivers East title. The Orioles dropped two of those three games, taking second to Barneveld.
The start to Thursday’s contest proved the conference title was on the line, as the two teams exchanged the lead seven times and were tied up another five times. Argyle took a 26-21 lead into the locker room, thanks to a 7-point run before the end of the first half.
The rally started when Will Helfvogt completed an old-fashioned 3-point play for a 22-21 lead. Max Godfrey then took a steal back for two points with just under a minute left in the first half. With 20 seconds left, Helfvogt scored on an inbounds play.
Barneveld even spoiled its final possession, traveling on an offensive rebound with just 3.4 seconds left.
The Orioles’ momentum carried into the second frame, as Helfvogt opened with a 3-pointer. He drained another one 46 seconds later, as Trenton Owens gave him too much space to shoot.
“A lot of it was Will making some good shots,” Halvorsen said of his team’s spark. “We were trying to get the ball inside. Once we got that, we did really well.”
Argyle built up a 9-point lead with a free throw from Jeremiah Collins at 16:22. The Orioles then went cold for nearly four minutes, allowing Barneveld back into the mix.
The Eagles made it a two-possession game thanks to a pair of transition buckets on steals. With his 6-foot-4-inch frame, Kasey Helgesen intercepted a pass intended for Helfvogt. No Oriole defender picked him up in time, resulting in a 3-point basket. Later on, Gavin Fishnick stole an Argyle inbounds pass right below Barneveld’s basket and put it up for two. His score made it a 33-29 game, still favoring the Orioles.
Argyle kept Barneveld at bay, drawing fouls on Terek Marx and Tucker Shipman. The Orioles’ own fouls put the Eagles in bonus with 9:23 left in the game.
Owens tied the game at 37 with a 2-for-2 trip at the line. Thirty seconds later, Helgesen gave Barneveld its first lead since 21-19 in the first half. Although Godfrey knotted the game at 38 with his own free throw, the Eagles pulled away for good with a 7-point run. Shipman had an easy lane to the basket, as Godfrey sold out on a failed steal attempt. Brady Esch went 2-for-2 from the line, and Nick Poad made an and-one.
With two minutes remaining, Argyle pulled within one possession at 45-40. Ike Waage made the Orioles’ first field goal in seven minutes, and Helfvogt made both double bonus free throws. Those were the last points Argyle scored, as Barneveld finished the game at the line.
Helgesen, the conference’s leading scorer (17.8 ppg), finished with 18 points for Barneveld.
“He’s a good 3-pointer shooter,” Halvorsen said. “He’s a really good player. He’s tough to guard and slow down.”
Helfvogt went point-for-point with Helgesen, also scoring 18 points. He made three 3-pointers and went 5-for-5 from the line. Waage also finished in double figures with 12 points.
With the loss, Argyle dropped to 14-6 overall and 7-2 in conference. Although Barneveld (14-6, 8-1) must win out to earn the Six Rivers East Conference title alone, the Eagles play Black Hawk, Juda and Monticello, which combined have won six conference games.
