Culver IN. The Eagles took on 3A No 3 Mishawaka Marian at Fleet Gymnasium on Tuesday in one of the marquee matchups of the north for class 3A. The Eagles regained senior Colin Chupp, who was absent from the weekend contests with COVID, but they lose head coach Mark Galloway due to COVID.
           
The game started with a quick 11-0 run by the Knights as they took control of the game early. Daley Stein finally put Culver on the board with a strong finish inside, and Cooper Farrall made it two more shortly after. Fola Fayemi had another bucket to make it 11-6 toward the end of the quarter, as well as helping to regain some momentum for Culver. A late two-point bucket by Mishawaka made the score at the end of the first 13-6.
           
Mishawaka kept their foot on the gas in the second, going on a 10-4 run early to extend their lead to 13. Farrall and Stein were the two scorers for the Eagles, each with a two-point shot. Senior Amir Gates hit Culver's first three against the stingy 2-3 zone with a bank shot midway through the quarter. A pair of free throws from Stein and a three from Farrall got the lead to just five, but two scores to end the half from Mishawaka made it 28-18 at half.
           
Mishawaka started hot again scoring five straight before Farrall got Culver's first basket of the half. Marian quickly hit two threes however, to keep the momentum. Jokubas Skurdenis got his first points on the night with a quick drive in the lane, but Marian quickly responded again with two more made shots. Chupp hit a two-point shot for his first points since winter break and Culver got a stop defensively to put themselves in a position to start to chip at the lead once again. The Eagles couldn't get by the tough defense, though, and the quarter would end with a 47-24 lead for Mishawaka.
           
The Eagles started hot in the fourth quarter as Farrall had seven straight points. After a Marian three, Gates converted on an and-one attempt and Skurdenis got two points from in the lane, and he would add another point from the free throw line in the quarter. Andrew Macheca got in on the action, hitting a three from the corner, and Thomas Collins got his first points of the game with a two-point shot late in the game. Despite having their highest scoring quarter, the lead was too big for Culver to overcome and they picked up their third loss of the year.
           
Culver's next contest will be Saturday in the 2022 CMA Winter Classic, a four-team tournament which will see Culver hosting Fort Wayne Canterburry, Lake Forest Academy, and Gary Lighthouse. Culver will play Canterbury at 10:00, followed by Lake Forest and Gary Lighthouse. The third place game will take place at 4:00 and the championship game will tip off at 6:00.