Varsity boys basketball defeats Eastside College Prep 64-53 in first league win

Jadan+McDermott+%2810%29+tries+to+shoot+against+an+opposing+player+attempting+to+score+as+both+of+their+teammates+watch.+The+other+team+was+really+strong+and+athletic%2C+and+I+think+that+was+the+biggest+challenge+of+the+game%2C+team+member+Jordan+Goheen+%2811%29+said+of+the+level+of+play+in+the+game.

Rose Guan

Jadan McDermott (10) tries to shoot against an opposing player attempting to score as both of their teammates watch. “The other team was really strong and athletic, and I think that was the biggest challenge of the game,” team member Jordan Goheen (11) said of the level of play in the game.

by Rose Guan, Reporter

Varsity boys basketball won 64-53 against Eastside College Preparatory School at the Blackford campus at 6:30 p.m. today, in the team’s second league home game this season.

The Eagles led all four quarters, finishing the first quarter with a score of 21 to their opponents’ 11 and entering halftime at 32-27. In the third quarter, they scored 16 points to 14 from the Panthers, and the team ended the game by scoring another 16 points to Eastside College Prep’s 12. The victory brings the boys’ league record to 1-3.

Junior Jordan Goheen, power forward and center, described how the game felt to him in the context of the league season.

“The intensity was really high, and [the game] was really physical,” Jordan said. “I felt that, as a team, we did really well. We came together after three hard losses and fought out a good win. After those first three losses, we kind of gave ourselves a harder chance of getting to the top, but I still think that it’s possible to win.”

Elijah Edgehill (12), a team co-captain, discussed the strategies that he believed helped the team to victory.

“Defense wins games. We held still on the defense, and that’s how we managed to win the game tonight,” Elijah said. “There were a couple times when we were down and things weren’t looking up, but our coach motivated us [and] told us to keep working hard.”

Butch Keller, the head boys basketball coach and head of Upper School, explained his opinion on the team’s performance as a whole this year.

“If we’re going to continue to be successful, we have to raise our game that much more,” Keller said. “I’m very, very pleased with our effort—not so pleased with execution, but I’d rather have the effort than the execution. Now it’s my job as the coach to put the two together. We had a chance to give up and we didn’t; we kept fighting back, so I’m just totally pleased with that.”

The team’s next game is another league match against Woodside Priory School at the Blackford campus at 6:30 p.m. The boys’ league season started on Jan. 5 and will continue until Feb. 19.