Luverne in Friday game

By ROBERT SMITH

Staff Writer

Jan. 27, 2001 10 PM

LUVERNE – If Friday night’s game against Luverne was considered a dress rehearsal for the rest of the season, the Goshen Eagles are more than ready to take center stage in 2A basketball in the state of Alabama.

The fourth ranked Eagles showed the packed house at Tiger Gym why they are one of the title contenders for next month’s state tournament as they crushed Luverne 72-41 to extended their current winning streak to six games.

With the win, the Eagles (13-2, 6-1 2A Area 2 action) set up a huge showdown Tuesday night against Red Level (17-2, 6-1) in a

game that will decide the regular season area championship and home court advantage in next month’s area tournament. The Tigers upended the Eagles at Goshen 79-75 in overtime on Jan. 2 at Goshen.

In the first quarter, the Eagles went on a 11-2 run to take a 13-4 lead with two minutes remaining in the period thanks to junior Averick Rogers nailing a pair of three pointers.

Despite the nine point lead, the Eagles were plagued by early foul trouble as several players picked up three early personals. As a result, the Tigers (7-12) hung tough throughout most of first half as they trailed just 27-19 with 1:15 remaining in the first half.

Following a timeout, GHS head coach Major Lane made a quick adjustment as the Eagles switched from an aggressive man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone as they tried to weather the storm. As a result, the gamble paid off as the Eagles were able to force the Tigers into several outside shots. Goshen was finally to get the inside to senior Jamar Tucker as he scored six of the final nine points of the half.

Leading 36-21 at the half, the Eagles continued their momentum surge in the third quarter as they shutout the Tigers throughout the period until James McCreary hit a shot at the buzzer to help Luverne avoid the goosegg. Senior Darius Flowers hit three three-pointers in the period to key the 21 unanswered point surge.

In the fourth quarter, Goshen extended its lead to as much as 40 points as Lane substituted liberally to give the Eagles

a season sweep over the arch rival Tigers.

Lane said the Eagles ability to force Luverne into numerous bad shots from the perimeter proved to be the difference in the outcome.

"We just became more conservative going from one defense to another," Lane said. "We felt like they couldn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter and we went to a 2-3 zone. We got into early foul trouble and felt like the zone was we had to do best. Fortunately, we hurt them inside pushing the ball up the floor and got some easy baskets."

However, there was very little celebrating in the locker room following the game as the Eagles were already focusing on their Tuesday night showdown at Red Level.

"Hopefully we can continue to do what we’re doing with the (regular season) area championship coming up Tuesday in Red Level," Lane said. "You always want to play at home. We can win it on the road, but if we have to it will not be easy. We want to secure the home court and we know what it takes to get

to where we want to go."

Tucker led the Eagles with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Flowers had 18 points hitting four of five three pointers. Rogers finished scoring 13 points and eight rebounds. Kendaris Pelton fought through foul trouble for most of the evening to finish with seven points and seven rebounds.

Gevonne Cooper led the Tigers with 14 points, while McCreary finished with 12 points and Brad Crittenden scored 11 points in a losing cause.

Another thing that helped the Eagles was outstanding free throw shooting and rebounding.

Goshen shot 15-of-20 from the foul line for 75 percent while grabbing 28 boards in the process.

Luverne (girls) 32 Goshen 31

In a game filled with a little of everything including some questionable officiating, the Lady Eagles dropped a 32-31 decision to the Lady Tigers Friday night.

It was a physical contest that saw both teams bump and grind in the paint throughout the evening. However, it was the Lady Eagles who came out on the short end of the stick against LHS.

Trailing 5-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Eagles (5-9) finally got rolling as they went on a 13-3 run to end the opening half on a strong note taking a 16-8 lead into intermission.

In the third quarter, the Lady Eagles went to a four corners in a attempt to stay out of foul trouble as a result of several touch fouls called against them in the first half. However, the move by GHS head coach Charlie Winchester backfired as the Lady Tigers (3-15) stayed in the game as they trailed only 16-11 going into the final stanza.

The Lady Tigers continued their momentum into the fourth quarter as they complete a 13-0 run to take a 19-16 lead with 6:45 left in the game. The run was capped by a free throw and made shot off a missed rebound by Jessica Barber.

Goshen rallied to tie the game until Luverne’s Margret Mash keyed a 5-0 run hitting a field goal and a pair of free throws to give LHS a 28-23 lead. The Lady Eagles cut the deficit to one point, but could never grab the advanatage in the closing seconds as the Lady Tigers held on for the win.

Mash led the Lady Tigers with 13 points despite scoring only one free throw, while Chavona Harris finished scoring eight points and Andrea Vadaro had six points in the winning effort.

Nikki Williams led a balanced attack with eight points, while Ashley Miniard finished with six points and Hope Wheeler had five points in a losing cause.

Tipoff for Tuesday’s game at Red Level is set for 5 p.m.