Eagles finish strong
Published 3:00 am Thursday, January 14, 2016
The Goshen Eagles saw multiple big leads dissipate in Tuesday night’s game against New Brockton, but the Eagles pushed forward secured a 61-54 win.
The Eagles (11-7) raced out to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter thanks to an up-tempo offense.
“We had the right amount of energy, and we pushed the floor when we needed to,” said Eagles head coach Ethan Carroll. “We were able to score through contact.”
Youth and inconsistency caught up with the Eagles in the second period, as the Gamecocks trimmed the lead to six points.
After the half, the Eagles easy layups from Mike Hollis and Zach Alford pushed the Eagles’ lead back to double digits heading into the fourth quarter.
The Gamecocks were able to knock down three straight three-pointers in the fourth quarter to bring New Brockton to within four points.
“We panicked a little bit,” Carroll said. “New Brockton did a really good job at picking up the pressure on us and making some of our other players carry the load.”
Late in the fourth quarter, sophomore Iyan Hinkle deflected a Gamecocks pass that lead to an easy layup by Hollis with a possible and-one opportunity, securing the win for the Eagles.
Hollis lead the Eagles in scoring with 22 points while Alford finished with 17. Freshman Caleb Dawson finished with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles will host Elba on Friday at 7:30 p.m.