Recap

Eagles season ends on a swoon

Saturday saw Eagles u18’s School of Excellence squad end their season with a tough defeat to the mighty Myerscough College. The Eagles came in to the contest struggling for their usual strength in depth with only two of their usual fleet of guards fully healthy. Counting the absences of Ncube and Heath to injury and Rizza to a scholarship trip; combined with the ongoing struggles for health for Linsley and Evbuomwan.

The first quarter started as predicted with Myerscough going hard to the offensive boards and finishing well around the basket on their way to a ten point lead. Despite the visitors’ early lead there was however a couple of highlights for Coach George’s youngsters as junior player Taylor got his first start of the season and Kade stepped up from the u16’s team to add depth to a much shortened Eagles roster. The Eagles slow start lead to a 15-25 1st quarter deficit.

In the second the Eagles were buoyed by the presence of Evbuomwan on the court, despite him clearly not being up to his usually heroic standards. However Myerscough continued to attack the offensive glass in merciless fashion; specifically Scotsman Low who, despite a technical foul which was heavily debated, managed to keep his head and consistently produce excellent finishes around the rim. The Eagles main threat in the 2nd quarter was Ridley who provided his usual sniper stylings firing away from deep throughout the contest.

The Eagles started the third trailing by 17, 31-48, after several trips to the line by both teams in a sloppily played first half both coaches and the fans in attendance were hoping for a turn around in the third, however it became apparent when Low was handed a curious unsportsmanlike foul early in the second half that the parade of free throw shooters on both sides would continue. This lead to Myerscough extending the lead further out, ending the third up by 32, 75-42, and with the game all but finished.

Another odd moment in the second half came when Evbuomwan was given an unsportsmanlike foul for a seemingly innocuous attempt to chase down a Myerscough breakaway. The Eagles played the 4th quarter much tighter and ended up only extending the deficit by 3 ending in a Myerscough victory, 57-92. The Eagles struggled to play with any sort of rhythm during a contest marred by 48 fouls between the teams in just 40 minutes.That combined with the scoring prowess of Low and Chima and the hot-shooting of McGlasson led Myerscough to an easy victory.

Despite the drubbing, however it appears as though the Eagles mid-season turnaround has seen them achieve their pre-season ambitions and establish a playoff spot, however the Eagles are left to sweat it out as Leeds City of Basketball Academy is in with a possible chance of qualifying if the Maths fall  their way.