BOYS BASKETBALL: Falcons finish Crab Turkey Tourney without a win
Elverado's boys finished up at the 17th Annual Crab Orchard Turkey Tournament on Saturday, dropping to 0-5 with a 75-50 loss to Hardin County. The Falcons fell 70-49 to the hands of Joppa on Friday night.
A 23-10 first quarter for Hardin County - and a 4-for-17 showing at the free throw line for the Falcons - spelled doom for EHS on Saturday.
"We were down 13 after the first quarter, after missing out on a couple rebounds that resulted in easy stick backs for Hardin County," said Elverado head coach Jacob Emling. "We played them pretty well even the rest of the game. I thought defensively we looked a little better tonight, we are starting to get to spots quicker and playing better defense."
Alec Valerius led three Falcons in double figures with 15 points against the Cougars. Sage Sarensen added 14 points, Aquantez Penn had 11, Avery Caraker 5, Jadyn Christian 3 and Kevin Bruce 2.
The Falcons trailed 45-38 and were within striking distance entering the fourth quarter against the Rangers on Friday night, but were outscored 25-11 in the final frame.
"We gave up a lot of cheap buckets in the zone early and the kids did a pretty good job of adjusting to keep us in the ballgame," Emling said. "Joppa was able to wear us down throughout the game and they made some big shots in the fourth quarter. The best thing about the last couple games is that we have given our selves a chance to be in the ballgame."
Penn led the Falcons against Joppa with 18 points, Sarensen had 16, Bruce 5, and Valerius, Christian and Caraker each finished with 3.
"I'm glad we get to have a day of practice now before we play Marissa on Tuesday night," Emling said. "It's hard to make adjustments on the fly, playing 5 games in 6 days without a day to practice and adjust with what we are trying to do. The kids continue to play hard, you can't doubt their efforts."
The Falcons take on Marissa in their home opener on Tuesday at EHS, with junior varsity tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.