Eastern Holds Off Western 64-62 in SOC Opener

Article presented by Tomlinson Insurance Agency …

It’s a common occurrence in tight contests. If the team trailing has possession, they’ll take a time out to discuss strategy for a final shot. Happens all the time.

In Friday’s cross county battle at Eastern High School, it was a tough break for the Western Indians. The boys from Latham had rallied from a 10-point deficit and put themselves in position for the win.  

Down 64-60, Drew Haggy was fouled on a three-point attempt with just over 16-seconds remaining. Haggy hit the first two free throws, but missed the third. Kam Janes got the rebound for Western and set the offense in motion. Seeing his club struggling as time was dwindling away, Doug Williams called time with 10.3 seconds left. Just as he was awarded the time-out Landon Owens nailed a three pointer. The shot which would’ve put the Indians on top was waved off.

In the situation, it was the right call.

Out of the break, Western was unable to find the bottom of the basket again and Eastern held on for a 64-42 victory.

Eastern’s Ethan Leist was empathetic with the call. “As a coach, you see your team in a tough situation – the ball kinda rolls out there, he (Owens) catches it, makes the shot… there’s no way you know that’s gonna happen. But you can’t blame Doug for taking that time out. It’s just an unfortunate circumstance. I’ve done that multiple times. It happens.”

As with most close games, the statistical line is similar between the teams. The Indians had 19 turnovers to Eastern’s 18. Western had the advantage on the boards 31-18. The Eagles hit 5 to Western 4 field goals from beyond the arc while Western made 18 to Eastern’s 17 field goals and from the charity stripe, the Indians edged Eastern, 15-14.

The Eagles improved to 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the SOC II with the win. They’re back to conference action at South Gallia Tuesday. Meanwhile, the 4-3 Indians are on the floor at Leesburg Fairfield Saturday night and at Oak Hill Tuesday.

The teams were tied at 13 after the first period. The Eagles had led by as many as six points in the second quarter before Western forced a 30-30 tie at the half. In the third, the Indians had taken a six-point lead before Eastern went on a 12-0 swing for a 54-48 lead through three quarters. Tucker Leist broke the tie with a three-pointer and Boston Webb dropped in two more threes. Cade Leist hit another just before the third came to a close.

In the final period, the Eagles Declan Davis sank a pair of free throws to widen the spread to 58-48 with 6-minutes left. That’s when Western began to whittle away at the Eagles’ lead setting the stage for the game’s wild ending.

Western closed on a 14-6 run down the stretch to put themselves in position for the go ahead shot.

Janes (pictured) led all scorers with 29-points for Western while Eastern was led by Davis’ 21-points.

SCORING:

WESTERN (62) – Kam Janes, 29; Drew Haggy, 13; Landon Owens, 7; Alex Silivan, 7; Samuel Cattaneo, 5; Foster Davis, 3, Tyler Kerns, 0.

EASTERN (64) – Declan Davis, 21; Boston Webb, 13; Tucker Leist, 11; Cade Leist, 10; Carson Peters, 5; Aiden Werner, 2; Isaac Weaver, 2; Wyatt Richardson, 0; Christian Smith, 0.