Prep Hoops: Eagles find footing in second half to knock off Foxes
Not every painting Picasso did was a masterpiece.
Eldorado took solace in the fact that despite not playing their best basketball, they escaped McLeansboro with a 41-33 win over Hamilton County Friday night on the road in Black Diamond Conference action.
Eldorado head coach Josh Bradley said it wasn’t for a lack of effort, noting that his squad ran the offensive sets it wanted and got the shots he wanted, but for one reason or another, they just didn’t fall.
“I would be disappointed if we were turning the ball over and not getting good shots, but we got every shot we wanted in every offensive set we ran, the shots just didn’t go in. Some nights that happens, you have to keep your confidence and take the shot and hope that eventually they fall.”
After struggling off the bus to the tune of a 13-7 first quarter lead for the Eagles and a 20-14 advantage at halftime, where Eldorado shot 1-of-8 from the foul line, EHS found their footing in the second half.
Ethan Partridge didn’t score in the first half, but did provide 12 second half points, 10 of which came in the final eight minutes when Eldorado outscored the Foxes 16-12.
“He couldn’t get anything to fall,” Bradley said of Partridge. “Earlier, all of his shots were there and that’s what we talked about at halftime. We had to keep the confidence up, keep shooting. He came out in the third still kind of flat, we took him out, talked to him and from there he went a little bit harder and a little more aggressive inside and was able to finish.”
Ray May, who had a big 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to give the Eagles a 25-21 lead going into the fourth, also finished in double figures for Eldorado with 10 points.
Jacob Traxler added eight points for Eldorado, while Braden Attebury finished with five points. Kale Oglesby tossed in four points, while Max Kasiar came off the bench for two first quarter points.
Oakley Dial had a team-high 11 points for Hamilton County
Eldorado returns to action Friday on the road at Fairfield, who along with the Eagles are both currently 5-1 in the Black Diamond Conference race.
The Mules are one of two teams to beat Eldorado this season, that victory coming back in December at Duff-Kingston Gymnasium, when the Mules pulled off a 41-40 win.
<em>Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register and Eldorado Daily Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.</em>
Eldorado 13 07 05 16 — 41
Hamilton County 07 07 07 12 — 33
Eldorado: Oglesby 1 2-3 4, Meredith 0 0-0 0, Partridge 4 4-5 12, Attebury 2 1-2 5, Traxler 4 0-1 8, Kasiar 1 0-2 2, May 4 0-5 10. Totals: 16 7-19 41.
Hamilton County: Rapp 3 0-1 7, Dial 3 4-4 11, Rubenacker 1 2-2 4, Von Abbama 1 0-0 2, E. Rapp 4 1-2 9. Totals: 12 7-9 33
3-point FG: EHS 2 (May 2), HCHS (Dial 2). Fouls: EHS 12, HCHS 17.