Eastern defeats Waterford for first sectional title since 2013
By: Reggie Neal
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REEDSVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — With a win against Belpre on Tuesday, 8 seed Eastern comes into their first playoff game against the 9th seed Waterford Wildcats on a 5-game winning streak. Eastern has been playing their best basketball as of late and are looking to take advantage of that in this match up. They would go on to prove that they belong, beating Waterford 59-46.
Waterford scored straight from the tip, quickly picking up a 4-0 lead. If Eastern wanted to go far in the playoffs they would need some role players to step up.
Junior Guard Derrick Barnes did exactly that. Getting two early steals that brought them back into the game.
Barnes would finish with 22 points, 5 steals, 3 assists and shot 5/7 from beyond the arc. This is a major step up for Barnes, providing both offensively and defensively. He was a major key to winning this game.
Both teams played sound defense. Eastern was still trying the run and gun offense, whereas Waterford made it a focus to slow it down.
Eastern kept a lead for the whole game. Going into half time they led Waterford 23-18.
The second half of play was a lot more productive offensively for Eastern. The Eagles ran more plays and spread the ball out.
Senior Gavin Murphy stepped up in the paint out rebounding for Eastern. Which is the main reason why they kept the lead.
Waterford just couldn’t score fast enough in their possessions and fell behind 45-31 going into the fourth.
The Wildcats showed some signs of life with some lates threes but ultimately couldn’t score consistently.
Eastern on the other hand was scoring in a variety of ways. Getting almost everyone involved. They stayed patient on defense avoiding fouls. And kept adding to the lead.
Waterford couldn’t turn on the heat and fell short. Eastern adds another win to the streak and is looking to take on the 1 seeded Beaver Eastern Eagles in the next round of the playoffs.