Sports
Sharp Facemyer Leads Eagles Past Southern
By: Zach Paquette
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Physicality and aggression were felt from the opening tip in the rivalry matchup Friday night.
Eastern came into this game looking to avenge the 27-point loss to Chesapeake they suffered on Tuesday and came out ready to go. The Eagles, shooting 48 percent from the field and 5-7 from behind the arc in the first half jumped out to a 40-31 lead thanks to an 18-5 run to end the half, including a Ryan Dill 3-pointer as time expired.
Isaiah Fish led the Eagles’ offense, attacking the rim any chance he got. He scored all nine of his points in the first half, helping to guide Eastern in its early goings. Ryan Dill and Sharp Facemyer each added eight points in the first half as well.
In the second half, Garrett Barringer extended Eastern’s lead to 14 on a 3-point play. Desperation kicked in for the Tornadoes as they began running the full-court press against the Eagles midway through the 3rd.
Eastern’s heads were spinning as Southern cut the Eagles’ lead to 55-49 with 5:51 left in the game. Trey McNickle, Jensen Anderson, and Brayden Cunningham all led the Tornadoes in scoring as they all were in double figures. However, the Tornadoes were unable to capitalize on Eastern foul trouble midway through the fourth.
Facemyer stepped up his game in the second half, scoring 13 of his 21 points, including 9-12 from the free throw line down the stretch. His efforts on both sides of the ball led the Eagles tonight as they went on to win it 70-59.
“We just worked hard and played hard on the defensive end and that is what got us the win tonight,” Facemyer said after the game.
With the win, the Eagles move to 2-1 on the year and 1-0 in the TVC-Hocking. They’ll look to ride their momentum into next week as they host South Gallia on Tuesday.