Taking over a team that finished just 7-14 last winter, Eudora High boys basketball coach Kyle Deterding figured it might take some time for his new charges to find a comfort level with his system.

Apparently, the Cardinals are a quick study.

Eudora is off to a 3-0 start, with all three victories coming on the Cardinals’ home floor during a perfect run last week through their season-opening tourney, the 2005 Cardinal Invitational.

After knocking off Belton (Mo.) in last Monday’s opening round, Eudora took care of Frontier League rival Baldwin in Tuesday’s semifinals.

What was supposed to be a one-day break before the championship game became a three-day rest when snow and cold temperatures postponed the final round. Undaunted, the Cardinals rallied to beat Kansas City Piper, 49-48, on Saturday.

Defense has been the story so far, with Eudora holding its three opponents to just 46.7 points per game.

Offensively, senior Rodney Spillman has been the lone standout, tossing in 15.3 ppg. However, five more Cardinals are averaging at least 5.3 ppg.

¢ No letdown for Chieftains: Tonganoxie girls basketball coach Randy Kraft had concerns entering the 2005-06 season after losing four senior starters from a team that advanced to last year’s Class 4A state semifinals.

Thus far, the Chieftains have lived up to that lofty legacy, racing to a 4-0 start that included three victories away from home.

The reasons behind the strong start are simple. Tonganoxie is averaging 60.8 ppg, while holding its opponents to just 35.8 ppg.

The lone returning starter, junior Ali Pistora, has picked up where she left off last winter. She leads all area scorers at 16.0 ppg, one of three Chieftains scoring in double digits on a nightly basis. The others are Elizabeth Baska (12.5 ppg) and Rachel Bogard (11.8 ppg).

¢ Band of brothers: Baldwin High’s third-place showing at last weekend’s prestigious Eudora Tournament of Champions was due in large part to two sets of brothers who suit up for the Bulldogs.

Freshman Alan Callahan (103 pounds) and sophomore Kevin Callahan (125) each won their weight class Saturday, while senior Josiah Mason (152) and sophomore Gabe Mason (160) finished first and fifth, respectively. Those four accounted for 139.5 of Baldwin’s 232 team points.

The quartet also is a combined 43-1 this season.