Beaver Eastern overcomes deficit, stuns Reedsville Eastern to advance
By: Mia Sammons
Posted on:
JACKSON, Ohio (WOUB) – The Reedsville Eastern Eagles traveled to Jackson High School to play the Beaver Eastern Eagles for the ultimate Eagle’s match-up. Both teams were hoping to make it out of this game and into the Ohio University Convocation Center for the district finals. After four hard fought quarters, Beaver Eastern squeaked away with the win, beating the Reedsville Eagles 66 to 62.
Reedsville Eastern came out playing with a fire under them to start off the first quarter. The Reedsville Eagles end goal for the season was to make it to the Convocation Center for a game, and this was their chance. Making it out of the district semi-finals would mean completing this goal and beating number one seeded Beaver Eastern as the number eight seed.
The Reedsville Eagles made a statement in the first quarter by scoring 18 consecutive points. Reedsville Eastern was not only playing lights out on offense, but they were also playing lock down defense. Beaver Eastern did not score until there were only 3 minutes left in the first. The one big shot for Beaver Eastern was Tucker Heist buzzer beating three to close out the first quarter. Reedsville Eastern leads, 23 to 11. Moving into the second quarter, Eagles fans from both sides of the gym were riled up. The nervous energy of this match-up and the looming district final game at stake combined to create an intense atmosphere in the Jackson gym.
The Beaver Eagles started to find their footing in the second quarter, putting more points on the board. As Beaver Eastern’s speed of play increased, Reedsville Eastern struggled to keep up. This change of pace was a huge shift from the first quarter when the Beaver Eagles struggled to match the Reedsville Eagles intensity. Fortunately for the Reedsville Eagles, their big lead from the first quarter gave them a cushion for this quarter and they went into halftime up 29 to 26.
In the third quarter, Reedsville Eastern created a gap in their lead. Reedsville Eagle’s settled back into the rhythm they started with. The whole team capitalized on their offensive plays, hustling to get rebounds and gaining second-chance buckets. Gavin Murphy had 26 points with just 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Reedsville Eastern led 54 to 44 after the third quarter.
Going into the fourth quarter, both teams felt the weight of knowing that a lot can change in eight minutes. The Beaver Eagles double and triple teamed the Reedsville Eagles, forcing turnovers and gaining breakaways. These fast break opportunities got the Beaver Eagles fans on their feet. Beaver Eastern used this atmosphere to fuel them to close the 10-point deficit. The Eagles were barely holding onto a 61 to 59 lead with 30 seconds left in the game. The last few seconds were the turning point of this game.
Coach Greg Lloyd said, “I thought we came out on fire and then kind of let that fire go out.”
The Beaver Eagles stayed calm and put 7 more points on the board. Beaver Eastern beat the Reedsville Eagles 66 to 62 and will be moving on to play in the district finals on Sunday.