It wasn’t pretty but the Goshen Eagles survived a tough home match against New Brockton, 51-46.

The Eagles (13-8, 3-2 in area play) continued the up and down play they’ve battled all season.

“We are still not where we need to be,” said Eagles head coach Ethan Carroll. “We can’t pull away from anybody. We start and our offense can be great. We scored 19 points in the first quarter and ended up with 51 points and those were all free throws in the fourth.”

The 19 points were the most put up in any quarter, but Carroll is looking for more consistent play out of his young basketball team.

“Our offense just goes non-existent at random times,” Carroll said. “We can’t put anybody away like that. We have a long way to go. We need to have some guys step up.”

Two players who did step for the Eagles were Michael Hollis and Zach Alford. Hollis finished the game with 18 points while Alford finished with 16, including the final six points that clinched the win.

“They have grown up tremendously,” Carroll said. “At the beginning of the year they didn’t work together very well and they didn’t understand each other’s game very much. Now that we have developed them to coexist with one another it has opened up our offense.”

Hollis and Alford combined to score 11 of the 19 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, fouls started to plague both teams, sending players to the free throw line throughout the remainder of the game.

Both teams battled back and forth in the third quarter and midway through the Gamecocks overtook the Eagles, carrying a 39-38 lead into the final quarter.

With just over 2:00 remaining and the game tied at 44, Alford scored his first two of his six points. The Gamecocks then were called for a charge, giving possession back to the Eagles. Alford went on to make four free throws to clinch the win.

No matter how sloppy the game was at times, Carroll was happy with how his team persevered.

“We have a no-quit mentality,” Carroll said. “We just have to work on the middle part. The second quarter has killed us all year. It hurts us to get stagnant like that.”

The Eagles will close out area play Friday evening when they travel to take on Zion Chapel.