Boys basketball: Oh brother, LaMoille defeats DePue

LAMOILLE – Chance and Trae Blumhorst used to play some knock-down, drag-out basketball games in the barn at their family home on the outskirts of Mendota.

Their father, Brian, said it was not uncommon for the games to end with some fisticuffs.

Now they’re taking those battles to the high school courts for the first time.

In their first meeting as head coaches, billed as the “Battle of the Brothers” at LaMoille’s Dean R. Madsen Gymnasium, Chance’s Lions defeated Trae’s DePue Little Giants 51-46 in a Little Ten Conference game.

“I don’t think we would expect anything different,” Chance said. “It was one for the ages. First one here at home as coach, and of course it has to be against my little brother and has to have theatrics.

“If you ever seen us play in the barn, this is par for the course.”

Trae Blumhorst said it was a fun but emotional night.

“It’s a special opportunity for sure. Part of me doesn’t like the whole thing because I’m one of my brother’s biggest fans. I want LaMoille to win as much as possible because he’s the coach,” he said. “But just being across from him, it was very, very special. Having my parents and all my family in the stands, it was very cool. We’re going to have a lot more matches, but that was the first.”

LaMoille senior Eli Keighin was the man of the hour for the Lions. He made 11 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, 6 of 8 in the waning seconds to ice the game. None was more important than the second on a DePue technical foul with 6.5 seconds left to break a 46-all tie.

“I didn’t want to miss,” Keighin said. “I knew all the guys were depending on me. I work on free throws every day before practice, after practice. It was routine.”

He finished with a game-high 26 points for the Lions (3-4), who made 22 of 40 free throws on the night.

“The kid works his tail off. Kid works a part-time job, and I don’t think he’s missed a workout,” Chance Blumhorst said. “For him to be the one to ice it, it just tells the story of who he’s been since the day I met him.”

For DePue (1-6), Pancho Moreno had 15 points and Oscar Lopez added 11.

Keighin said it was a fun night all around.

“It was cool to participate in,” he said. “It was an incredible atmosphere. We had everybody come out for the game. Everybody supporting us, both sides. It was just incredible.”

Chance said he tried to avoid contact with his brother during the game, but it was hard.

“We have the kind of relationship where we laugh too much,” he said. “We’re the kind of kids in school, it doesn’t matter what’s going to happen because we’re going to laugh about it. There were a couple times we’d have a word under our breath to each other. It was something I’ll never forget.”

Trae Blumhorst said their mother, Patti, was probably the most nervous of anyone.

There was excitement at every turn in the game.

Logan Dober hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lions a 24-20 lead at halftime. Moreno returned the favor for DePue with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Little Giants up 33-31 at the end of the third quarter.

The game was full of pregame pageantry.

Ethel Blumhorst, the coaches’ grandmother who came decked out with an official grandmother’s game day shirt, presented the game ball to the officials.

The other coach Blumhorst in the house, Brian, did a ceremonial jump ball. While he has helped both sons in practice, he played it right down the middle, straddling the half-court line with one foot on each side.

DePue won the girls game 49-15. Lupita Hurtado (21) and Veronica Fitzgerald (18) combined for 39 points for DePue (3-5). For LaMoiile, Grace Kelly had nine points and Nataleigh Wamhoff added eight points.