Senior-led Galesburg-Augusta off to 10-1 start

1/24/23

Galesburg-Augusta improves to 10-1, defeating Decatur 54-42

The improvement of the Galesburg-Augusta boys basketball program has been one of the best stories across southwest Michigan. The Rams are off to their best start in over a decade with a 10-1 record. The team is led by four-year varsity players Jalen Dolph, Zach Eberstein, and Carter Boniface, who all experienced plenty of losses early in their career.

The trio of Dolph, Eberstein, and Boniface began their varsity careers in the 2019-20 season going (1-20) and followed it up with an (0-13) record in the covid-shortened season. The group stuck with it and began to see success last season improving to (10-11) including a tournament win over Delton-Kellogg. Now in their senior season, the group has their eyes set on a SAC-Central division title and a postseason tournament run.

Last night Galesburg-Augusta traveled to Decatur for a non-conference matchup against the (7-3) Raiders. The Rams held Decatur scoreless the first four minutes of the game by applying full-court pressure. Galesburg-Augusta’s lead was up to 10-2 prior to a 8-1 run by Decatur led by a pair of three-pointers from Jesse Baushke, which cut the deficit to 11-10 after one quarter.

Throughout the second quarter defensive pressure from the Rams kept Decatur in check, holding the Raiders to eight second quarter points. Senior forward Zach Eberstein continued his efficient start going 2-3 from the field for four points in the second quarter as the Rams took a 19-17 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was when Galesburg-Augusta began to pull away from Decatur. The Rams press continued to cause issues for Decatur leading to several steals and layups for senior guard Nick Mann. Less than halfway through the quarter, Galesburg-Augusta was in the midst of a 14-2 run which extended the lead to 33-19. Decatur had one more run to pull within eight points at 33-25, but the offensive struggles were too much to overcome.

In the final quarter, Decatur pulled back within nine points at 42-33 following another three-pointer from Jesse Baushke, but the Rams were not interested in surrendering a double-digit lead. Galesburg-Augusta received strong play from junior John Klimp in the fourth quarter as he added six points on 3-4 attempts, which Zach Eberstein also added six more points as the Rams came away with a 54-42 victory.

Leading the way for Galesburg-Augusta was Nick Mann with 23 points, while Zach Eberstein added 14 points, and John Klimp chipped in 8 points. Decatur was led by a pair of scorers in double-figures with Jesse Baushke finishing with 16 points and Landon Fisher scoring 12 points.

Galesburg-Augusta will be back in action tonight at Constantine and will finish the week at Delton-Kellogg on Friday. Decatur is off until Friday when they host Comstock in a conference matchup.