After a lengthy holiday break, the Goshen Eagles knocked off the Ariton Purple Cats 46-30 on Thursday evening in Goshen.

The win for the Eagles improves their record on the season to 6-5.

“They played a lot of good defense tonight,” said Eagle head coach Daniell Powell. “They buckled down and shut down the paint.”

It was Goshen’s first game since December 18. The Eagles were well-rested during their win on Thursday night.

“I think the rest was needed to get some rest from basketball,” Powell said. “When we came back to practice everyone was focused. I think it refreshed us and made us a better basketball team.”

Dakari Pelton led the way for the Eagles on Thursday night by scoring 16 points with three assists, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

“He had a great game,” Powell said. “He showed great leadership on the court. He slowed the game down when it needed to be slowed down. He attacked when he needed to attack. Overall, it was a great game by him.”

Pelton scored his first six points in the opening quarter, helping the Eagles go into the second quarter leading 11-9.

Dante Dawson led the way for the Eagles in the second quarter. He scored four of the Eagles’ eight points and the Eagles and Purple Cats went into the locker room at halftime tied at 19.

Tre Dix and Dawson came out hitting three-pointers in the third quarter and by quarter’s end the Eagles were back up front 31-26.

The defense stole the show for the Eagles in the fourth quarter. The Eagle defense held the Purple Cats to just four fourth-quarter points. Pelton shut the door when he scored his final six points.

RaQuan Martin finished with 13 points in the win. He had five blocked shots and four rebounds.

The Lady Patriots got the 2019 portion of their schedule started with a 50-47 loss to the Purple Cats.

Bree Griffin led the way with 15 points in the loss. Ella Baker also finished in double figures with 10 points. JaMecia Berry and Briona Burden each had seven points, while Harmony Robinson had six.

The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Highland Home in a game that was originally scheduled for earlier in the season.