The season opener for basketball took place at Loose Field House in Dallas where the Eagles won 73-20 against Thomas Jefferson High School.
Walter Smith started off the game, making four three-pointers in the first half. Justin Farris added to it, scoring 7 of 14 points in the first few minutes of the game causing the Eagles to take a 37-8 lead before half time. In the third period, Colby Wood scored 6 of his 8 total points along with Cole Collinsworth who scored 8 with 5 assists.
For the game against Marshall, Eagles took another win with a final score of 45-30. In the first period, the Eagles worked hard; Taegen Terry, Colby Wood, and Ryder Johnson each assisted greatly, ending in 23 points total after first. Although the scores slowed in second, Walter Smith hit two long shots along with Mason Rainey, who scored on a nice up and under move on the left block. At the end of second period, the Eagles held a lead of 33-21. The lead assisted in third where the Eagles scored only 12 points with 8 turnovers.
“We competed as fast and as connected on defense as I have ever seen this group perform,” Grotemat said. “The kids did a great job defending the basketball and an even better job of making rotations when defending passes, screens and cuts.”
During the opening minutes of their game against Huntington, the Eagles held strong;.Taegan Terry found Ryder Johnson on a run out in transition for a quick layup, and a few seconds later, Walter Smith came in for another transition layup, giving the Eagles a strong start. Holding a 20-10 score after first period, the Eagles then lost the lead as Huntington scored 19 points, leaving them at half time down 29-28. Starting off third period, the Eagles played strong, but were down by 5 at the beginning of fourth. Cole Collinsworth did especially well, helping the team with a pair of big buckets to keep the Eagles within reach along with a pair of foul shots as the teams traded leads. Amare Baptist provided his skills as a defensive specialist, giving a defensive spark during the Eagles’ late run. Although they worked hard, the Eagles finished with a final score of 63-68, still down by 5.
“The biggest adjustment from JV to varsity is just the significant amount of communication that needs to be said on the floor to help us win big games,” spotlight player Amare Baptist said. “I learned conversations on the floor will make us elite defensively, and just that communication just makes the flow of the game easier on me and my teammates.”
In the game against Whitehouse, Lindale took the win, ending with a score of 47-39. During the game, Cole Collinsworth helped the team several times, further extending their lead.
During the game against Sabine, the Eagles started the first period strong with a lead of 21-8, and followed through with that head start, and by intermission, Lindale had a score of 35 with Sabine falling behind at 21. In the end, the Eagles continued their lead and won with a final score of 75-38.
