Eastern escapes Waterford with 50-48 win
By: Evan Johnson
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WATERFORD, Ohio (WOUB) – The Eastern Eagles (9-7, 4-2) traveled to Waterford (6-8, 4-8) for a TVC Hocking battle. After getting into a large deficit the Wildcats brought it back within one possession in the final seconds. They missed the final shot and Eastern hung on for a 50-48 win.
Eastern was coming off of a victory at Trimble and looked to continue their road trip with another TVC Hocking win. Waterford was also coming off of a win and was looking to extend their win streak to four. These two teams faced off earlier in the season, with Eastern claiming victory 56-42.
The Eagles started fast getting out to a quick 7-0 lead. After a timeout by Waterford, the Wildcat defense started it settle in and forced several missed shots. But the offense could not buy a bucket. Even when they had the open space, they could never knock the shot down.
Eastern’s Colton Lloyd was spectacular in the first quarter scoring nine points to give his team a 16-11 lead.
In the second quarter the Eagles defense was lockdown, grabbing two blocks and forcing two other turnovers in the first three minutes of the quarter. The defensive possessions led to points as Eastern jumped to a double-digit lead.
After only allowing Waterford to two made field goals in the second quarter, the Eagles led 28-17 at halftime. Colton Lloyd still dominated as he had 16 points.
Coming out of the half it was all Wildcats; they immediately went on a 10-point run to bring the lead within one. Waterford ran a full court press that was very successful at forcing turnovers and allowing them to get buckets in transition.
Throughout the rest of the third quarter each team kept trading scores. It was a fast-paced battle with both teams looking to score in transition. Even with Waterford closing the gap, Eastern still led 37-34 after the third period.
In the final quarter, the play started to get sloppy, they went from trading scores to trading turnovers. Both squads looked to be out of sync. In the final two minutes Waterford’s Finn Pinnock hit a huge three to bring the score within two.
With possession of the ball and 13 seconds on the clock, the Wildcats looked to take the final shot. But they turned it over with six seconds left and they sent Eastern to the line. The Eagles missed both shots, giving Waterford the final shot again. The half-court heave was short and Eastern held on for a 50-48 victory.
Waterford will play on back-to-back days, as they face St. Joseph Central on Saturday.
Eastern will also play back-to-back days when they look for revenge against Caldwell on Saturday.