BY JACK BULLOCK
ODIN –

With just one senior on the roster, the Eagles have weathered a lot of varsity minutes in 2012-13 with kids who are “learning on the fly.”

On Thursday night, these youngsters picked up their first “signature” triumph of their young careers.

Using its overall quickness advantage, especially on drives to the basket, Odin shocked Cisne at home on Thursday night in overtime, 67-60, in a Midland Trail Conference contest.

Ike Margrum, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, might be diminutive in stature but he came up with one big play after another in leading the Eagles with 20-points on the night.

Whether he was scoring on drives to the basket or dishing out passes to teammates for easy looks at the basket, Margrum was problematic for the Lions.

Five-foot-eight freshman Dustin Quick delivered 17-points while Devin Williams added 14.

Despite getting down early in the fourth quarter to the talented Lions, the Eagles never gave in and outlasted Cisne at the end to drop the visitors to 20-6 overall and 6-2 in the MTC.

Meanwhile Odin improved its stock to 15-8 and 6-1 in the league standings.

“We knew that they were big and that the boards were going to be a problem for us. But I thought that when we spread their big kids outside on the floor that we could use our quickness and get one-on-one matchups that with our quickness that we could take advantage on this end,” said Coach Finckbone. “We went to our four-corners and got Ike (Margrum) the ball and let our quickness take over.”

Cisne was lead by 6-foot-7 senior Bjorn Fjermedal with 20-points and an astonishing 23-rebounds over the smaller Eagles.

Coach Adam Ellis got 15-points from Dustin Atteberry and 12-points from Erick Powell but the Lions didn't get the key defensive stops or enough big baskets to pick up a road conference victory.

Cisne can point to several factors in its demise but the one that stands out the most was an inability to hit from long range.

The Lions finished 17-of-50 overall from the field but were only 1-of-16 from behind the 3-point line.

The hosts were significantly better, offsetting their size disadvantage by spreading the floor and to get easier looks at the basket.

Odin hit 22-of-52 shots (6-of-15 from the arc) in the contest.

Despite being pounded on the boards (41-22) the Eagles found a way to pull out the win.

Odin fell behind early but they didn't let that fact get in the way of what they wanted to do offensively.

Cisne got the lead early on the strength of Fjermedal around the basket.

He was in command in the paint, grabbing seven first quarter rebounds and tossing in eight points in a quarter that ended at 18-14 Lions.

However the turnover bug that Cisne caught on this night also proved to be a deterrent in the Lions' victory cause.

Cisne finished with 18-turnovers with five coming in the opening quarter.

Odin's first big rally occurred in the second quarter that produced a 34-32 halftime lead.

Quick scored 10 of his points in the frame, and his second of two 3-pointers gave the Eagles a 27-25 lead with 2:30 remaing.

Sophomore Austin Perkins scored eight points in the contest and his basket at the buzzer on a nice pass from Williams sent Odin to the lockerroom with a two-point lead.

Cisne came out in the second half and looked the part of a 20-game winner by taking a six-point advantage at the end of the third quarter.

An 8-2 run to close the stanza, with six points coming from Fjermedal put the Lions in a position to close out the game with a win.

Fjermedal scored four of those points on a pair of baskets off of assists by senior Matt Paul.

Both came on lobs to the 6-foot-7 senior inside against the smaller Odin defenders as Cisne led 50-44 heading to the fourth quarter.

Cisne got its largest lead of the game and looked the part of a winner at the 5:50 mark as Fjermedal got loose in the lane on a spin move for a 53-45 advantage.

However the Eagles were far from being finished.

A 12-0 run with Margrum getting things going with a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer from the right wing which gave Odin the momentum it needed for the come-from-behind win.

“When they (Cisne) made that run and got up eight points, we could have folded the tent but we didn't and that is a credit to how much these kids have matured,” added Coach Finckbone. “We are still a young ballclub and we start four sophomores and a junior and bring a freshman off the bench.”

Back-to-back steals by Quick and Gavein Wood gave Odin back the lead at 54-53.

Margrum then exploited the Cisne defensive effort with another drive in the lane for points.

A free throw by Perkins made it 57-53 Odin with just 2:06 remaining.

The Lions had enough left in the tank to force overtime but the gauge was getting close to empty.

Paul, who ended up with eight points on the night, scored on a drive to the goal and Atteberry followed that up with another bucket.

Trailing 59-57, Cisne again got the ball inside as Fjermadal got another assist from Paul to tie the game with :08 left.

Odin had a shot to end it in regulation but Williams' 3-pointer from the right wing was off the mark and Quick's rebound tip in was well after the buzzer as the two teams got set for overtime.

In the extra session, Odin was the team that had the extra gas in the tank.

Cisne missed six 3-point attempts and all seven of its overall shots in the overtime period.

Odin capitalized on the Lions' misfortune with Margrum hitting another lay up on a drive against the bewildered defense and then finishing off the game by nailing 6-of-8 free throws.

The Lions played the contest without one of its top players as senior guard Austin Atteberry didn't suit up due to an ankle injury suffered Monday night in a win over Christ Our Rock Lutheran.

“He (Fjermedal) was killing us on the blocks tonight but our quickness played a big role, especially defensively against their outside shooters,” finalized Coach Finckbone. “We feel like right now we have the kids and the potential to be something special in the future.” 

Cisne (60) – Powell 4 0 4-10 12, D. Atteberry 5 1 2-2 15, Matthews 0 0 1-2 1, Paul 4 0 0-0 8, Fjermedal 10 0 0-0 20, Hosick 2 0 0-0 4, Conrad 0 0 0-0 0, Hamilton 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-16, 3FG-1, FT-7-14, PF-18.
Odin (67) – Williams 1 3 3-6 14, Margrum 7 1 1-2 20, Horton 1 0 0-0 2, Wood 1 0 2-2 4, Perkins 2 0 4-6 8, Quick 4 2 3-4 17, Slusher 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-16, 3FG-6, FT-13-20, PF-15.
Fouled Out – Powell, Fjermedal - Cisne; Wood - Odin.
Technical Fouls – None.

Editor's Note: I'm not one to write a lot of commentary unless I see something special happen. I hear the National Anthem about 100 times a year and about 80 percent of them are not very good renditions. But last night ABV and the folks at Odin for the game were treated to a very good Star Spangled Banner.
Odin student Stormie McMullin did a great job in playing the Anthem on the flute. It was really well done. She should get invited to play it elsewhere this season. A big ABV Salute goes out to this young lady. Well Done!!!