The Goshen Eagles opened up area play against the Samson Tigers on Thursday night in Goshen.

The Lady Eagles began the night with a 49-43 loss to Samson. The Goshen boys closed out the evening with a 52-42 win over the Tigers.

The varsity boys never trailed in their win. They used a suffocating defense to get off to a strong start and never looked back.

“I think they hustled hard and played good defense,” said Eagle head coach Daniell Powell. “I was very proud with the guys for how they played defense.”

The Goshen Eagles stormed out of the gates on Thursday evening and scored the game’s first 11 points. The Tigers scored their first point on a free throw to bring their deficit back to within 10. Samson didn’t connect on their first field goal until there was under a minute remaining in the opening quarter.

“When you win by 10 and you’re up by 10 in the first few minutes, that was the game,” Powell said. “Them coming out with a good start was the reason why we won the game.”

The Eagles went into the second quarter leading 17-4. After allowing the first four points of the quarter, the Eagles answered with an 8-0 run and increased their lead to 17 at 25-8. They went into the locker room at halftime leading 27-17.

The second half began a lot like the first half did. The Eagles went on a 9-2 run to begin the third quarter. By quarter’s end, the Eagles held an 11-point lead 36-25.

The Tigers got back to within 10 with 6:15 remaining in the game, but a 6-0 Eagle run pushed the Goshen lead back to a more comfortable margin.

RaQuan Martin led the Eagles with 14 points, while Dante Dawson had eight and Dakari Pelton had seven.

With the win, the Eagles were able to get area play started on the right foot.

“We have to come out and set the tone in the area,” Powell said. “We have to grab the bull by the horns and make sure that we are the top team in the area. This is a big time win for us tonight. It sets the tone in the area. We just have to keep on winning.”

The Lady Eagles’ six-point loss to the Tigers leaves them 0-1 in the area and 3-6 overall.

“I think we rose to the occasion,” said head coach Fred Lowery. “We showed up and played. I really think we played the best game we have played all season. We were in the game until the end, we have to do the little things.”

Senior Bree Griffin finished the game with 31 points.

“She is a player,” Lowery said. “They sent two players towards her and she still scored. She is a playmaker and that is what playmakers do. I am proud of the team effort; I just hate that we lost it down the stretch.”

The Eagles will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Zion Chapel in their second area game of the season.