Upsetting former Vienna Eagle head basketball coach Mike Beeman and the top-seeded Tipton Cardinals, Greg Koetting’s Eagles earned a spot in the Tipton Tournament championship game Saturday night opposite Smithton’s Tigers.

Falling behind 20-8 after one quarter, Vienna simply couldn’t dig themselves out of the early hole before settling for second place in the tournament following a 75-64 loss to the Tigers.

“We put ourselves in the hole early with nine first-quarter turnovers,” Koetting said.

Caid Stockstill led three Eagles in double figures with a team-high 18 points. Trey Snodgrass and Ethan Weeks each added 10 points to join Stockstill in double-digit scoring.

Nathan Kleffner just missed making it four Eagles in double figures scoring nine points.

Zach Schwartze netted six points to go along with four each from Tyler Collins and Dawson Wansing.

AJae Schell rounded out the Vienna scoring with three fourth-quarter points.

Schwartze and Weeks shared team-high honors in the rebounding department with seven each against the Tigers.

Stockstill also dished out a team-high seven assists and recorded four steals.

After beating Chamois for the second time in a week, Vienna earned a shot at the top-seeded Tipton Cardinals and former Vienna Eagle head basketball coach Mike Beeman in the championship semifinals.

Leading 33-29 at halftime, the Eagles held on to that lead throughout the second half of their 62-52 upset victory over the host Cardinals.

“This was a big win over the top seed in the tournament which is coached by Vienna’s previous coach Mike Beeman,” Koetting said.

Stockstill again led in Vienna in scoring with a team-high 15 points.

Schwartze was close behind in double figures with 14 points.

Sutton Hauck narrowly missed making it a trio of Eagles in double figures with nine markers against Tipton.

Kleffner netted seven points to go along with five points each from Schell and Weeks.

Trey Snodgrass rounded out the Vienna scoring against Tipton with a first-quarter bucket for two points.

In the rebounding department, Hauck and Schwartze shared team-high honors for VHS with seven.

Stockstill added five rebounds and a team-high five assists to go with his 15 points.

First-round action at Tipton saw a familiar foe for the Eagles in Chamois’ Pirates.

Edging Chamois 47-46 in their home and season opener the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Koetting’s Eagles went for their second win over the Pirates in a week.

Taking a 25-18 halftime lead, Vienna made the lead stand en route to a 48-40 opening-round victory.

“This was a nice win over a well-coached team that we beat by one the previous week at home,” Koetting said.

Schwartze stepped up for Vienna with a team-high double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Kleffner also reached double figures for the Eagles with 11 points in their second meeting against Chamois in the span of a week.

Vienna was also without the services of Stockstill who was attending his grandfather’s funeral in Texas.

Last night (Tuesday), the Eagles hit the road once again to Jefferson City facing Calvary Lutheran’s Lions. A final score was not available at press time and the game will be recapped in next week’s Advocate.