Eldorado tourney: Eagles flex muscles against NCOE, 69-39
No. 1 seeded Eldorado flexed its muscle against Norris City-Omaha-Enfield in the primetime slot Thursday night at the EHT as the Eagles flew past the Cardinals 69-39.
Eldorado wasted little time disposing of NCOE as the Eagles jumped out to a 21-12 lead, going 10-for-17 shooting and forcing the Cardinals into four turnovers, while limiting them to just 4-of-12 shooting.
EHS head coach Josh Bradley said at this point, it's no secret, that the Eagles' strength comes from its defensive game.
"We're long, we're quick and we rebound really well," Bradley said. "We run the floor pretty well, so if we defend, get in the passing lane and rebound, it helps our offense out and that's been the difference all year."
The Cardinals were able to make it a six-point, 21-15 game to start the second quarter as Brandon Skaggs got the deuce and abuse, but from there Eldorado took off, going on a 8-0 run to take a 29-15 lead with 4:32 to play after a Joe Mayberry bucket. Mayberry helped the Eagles increase their lead to 33-20 with another bucket at the 1:47 mark as Eldorado took a 39-20 lead into the locker room.
Eldorado was able to pad its cushion in the first half, forcing NCOE into 14 turnovers, 10 of which came in the second quarter as the Cardinals finished with 22 in the game.
"We went on a run early in the game to separate ourselves a little bit," Bradley added. "You know as many 3-pointer as NCOE shoots that they are going to make a couple. I thought our kids did a good job of keeping their composure, which is something we talked about, not letting it bother you and keep playing good defense.
"You don't want a young team that shoots a bunch of 3's get any kind of confidence on you. A few more of those go in and all of a sudden, you are in trouble. Those turnovers and defensive pressure in the second quarter allowed us to separate."
The long ball was not in NCOE's favor Thursday as the Cardinals shot 3-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half and made just three more in the second half.
Eldorado put four players in double figures, including a game-high 20 points from Mayberry, who came off the bench.
Ray May notched 16 for Eldorado, while Braden Attebury tacked on 13 and John Meredith had 11 points.
Skaggs led the Cardinals with 13 points, all of which came in the first half, including all eight of NOCE's points in the second quarter. Jeb Baumgart tacked on 10 for the Cardinals in the loss.
Jacob Traxler also had seven points for Eldorado, while Kale Oglesby finished with two points.
Gallatin County 39, Vienna 38
Gallatin County staved off becoming the second seeded team of the tournament to be knocked off in the first round by rallying to beat Vienna 39-38 Thursday night at the EHT.
Audie Goebel had a game-high 16 points for the Hawks and was helped out in double figure scoring by Robbie Prince who popped off 11 points.
Gallatin County outscored Vienna 20-13 in the final eight minutes to erase a 25-19 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Gallatin County gets a Dec. 1 rematch against Eldorado today, starting at 8:30 p.m.
Vienna will square off against NCOE in a consolation bracket game, starting at 11:30 a.m.
Eldorado 69, NCOE 39
Eldorado 21 18 28 02 - 69
NCOE 12 08 09 10 - 39
Eldorado: Meredith 5 1-1 11, Oglesby 1 0-0 2, May 8 0-0 16, Attebury 6 1-2 13, Traxler 3 1-3 7, Mayberry 9 0-0 20. Totals: 32 3-6 69.
NCOE: Brown 1 2-2 4, Healy 2 0-0 5, Riggs 1 0-0 3, Skaggs 4 3-3 13, Baumgart 4 0-1 10, O'Neal 0 4-4 4. Totals: 12 9-10 39
3-point FG: EHS 2 (Mayberry), NCOE 6 (Skaggs 2, Baumgart 2, Healy, Riggs); Fouls: EHS 11, NCOE 10.
Gallatin County 39, Vienna 38
Gallatin County 05 07 07 20 - 39
Vienna 07 09 09 13 - 38
Gallatin County: Goebel 5 2-6 16, Prince 4 3-6 11, Walters 2 2-2 6, Rushing 1 0-0 2, Hish 1 1-2 3, Reeder 0 1-2 1. Totals: 13 9-18 39.
Vienna: N. Dahncke 1 1-3 3, Breeden 0 1-2 1, Ross 1 4-4 6, Snell 2 3-4 7, Casey 3 0-0 6, Byrd 4 1-2 9, Hyde 3 0-0 6. Totals: 14 10-15 38.
3-point FG: GCHS 4 (Goebel), VHS 0; Fouls: GCHS 14, VHS 17.