Tuesday was a day strictly for basketball, as the Esko High School gym was packed with teams from around the state playing in the Esko Alliance Coaches Challenge.

The first game of the day was the Hermantown girl’s basketball team against Bloomington Kennedy, 65-60 in a game that took double overtime to decide. The loss puts Hermantown at 2-8 on the season.

Next up on the slate was Esko girl’s basketball taking on Foley, and despite the tight score throughout most of the game, Esko caught fire late and pulled away with a 65-41, putting them above .500.

Game three featured Duluth Marshall who squared up against East Central. Despite Duluth Marshall building up a hefty lead in the first half, a hot shooting half from East Central put them right back in the game, but the Hilltoppers were able to come out with the win, 73-68, improving to 4-2. Of note, Junior Brooks Johnson had 40 points in the win.

Lastly, Esko boy’s took their home court in an absolute blowout of a game, as they beat Hinckley-Finlayson 93-39, improving to 4-1 and setting up a big time matchup with Duluth Marshall on Wednesday.