Eads Boys Have Huge Weekend in Conference Action
January 31, 2003
It has taken five visits to Cheraw’s Wolverine den since the Eads Eagles have been able to gain the upper hand in what always proves to be aggressive and highly electric match ups between Eads and Cheraw.
However, Eads, despite two technical fouls, undid Cheraw in the den on Friday night staging a 72-61 upset in 1A boy’s basketball. They went on to fight off a strong fourth quarter attack by the always dangerous Granada Bobcats getting the edge on Saturday night, 69-62, and extending their overall record to 11-1 and 3-1 in conference action.
Cheraw did not have an answer for the effective inside-outside game of Eads and could not control senior Ryan Trosper’s aggressive attack on the boards and offensively in the paint. Trosper would be phenomenal, particularly in the first half getting 11 of his 21 points with nice assists from his guards and put backs on tremendous second efforts. With Trosper working the inside, the Gilmore guard trio would handle the perimeter with decent shooting beginning with Steven Gilmore’s first quarter deuce and a trey and ending with leadership shots from senior Gilmore, Keyvis. By halftime of a very volatile and fast-paced game Eads, who never trailed in the contest, was up by a mere two buckets, 31-27.
Eads would win the whole thing in the final minutes of the third period.
Early in the quarter, Cheraw was threatening with 5:56 to go when senior Josh Swanson nailed a three ball bringing his team to within three points, 33-30. Eagle point guard Marcus Gilmore would answer with his own three and from that point on Cheraw started to panic throwing up a number of bad shots. But it was the final two minutes of the third quarter that put the game in Eads’ hands starting with a sweet little spin move and dish off by Keyvis Gilmore to Trosper putting Eads up 43-38. Five bad shots later by Cheraw and a Keyvis jumper, a Steven Gilmore put back, a Marcus Gilmore post bucket, and another Steven Gilmore three ball and Cheraw went to the sidelines shaking their heads and finding themselves all of a sudden in a big hole, 51-38 to start the final period. The game would come down to shooting in the fourth quarter. Both teams have players who have been gym rats their whole lives and it showed as Cheraw tried valiantly from the outside perimeter with former Eads player Tyson Vigil hitting a three ball and teammate Andrew Froese hitting two more. But Cheraw’s deficit was too big to overcome and they were forced to foul to get the ball. Eads would suffer some end-of-the-game jitters as young Marcus Gilmore would get called for a technical foul after a tremendous sideline collision and Eads would miss their first six free throw attempts. However, the senior leadership from Eads came through as Trosper, Casey Gibbs, and Keyvis Gilmore all began hitting their charity shots pulling the noose ever tighter around the Wolverine’s necks. In the final minute Eads didn’t miss a charity shot and their defense would force still more desperation shots from the Wolverines, effectively ending the game. This was Cheraw’s, who is ranked first in 1A polls, first loss in a conference where Eads, Cheraw, McClave, and Kit Carson are all in a tight battle for conference seeding.
Trosper would be outstanding with his third-in-a-row double-double hitting for 21 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. The Gilmore trio would all come in for Eads in double figures with Steven hitting for 16, Keyvis adding 15, and Marcus contributing 12 more.
Eads would have another scrap on their hands on Saturday night in Eads when the ever-dangerous Granada Bobcats and veteran Coach Manual Gonzales came to town. Eads would control every aspect of the game, except the final period when the Bobcat’s found two players, Mark Grasmick and Carlos Balderrama, who nearly shot themselves into a huge upset over Eads.
Behind Steven Gilmore’s find first half performance before leaving the bulk of the second half to yet another ankle roll, Eads would lead the Bobcats going into the lockers at half, 29-22. During that first half the inside game from Trosper was fairly quiet only adding four points for Eads, but the outside perimeter was money for the Eagles with Levi Kraft nailing a three-ball and a deuce and Marcus Gilmore adding a couple of jumpers. Eads would have a huge third period and just as the night before, it would be the third that proved the deciding factor in the contest. It would be all Keyvis Gilmore in the second half who had been stone-cold in the first half but came back with a vengeance hitting three long balls and a host of charity shots to spark Eads. Trosper, too, got into the action in the third and fourth period and was particularly effective on the boards for Eads. By the end of a tremendous third quarter Eads was in control 51-36. However, one can never count out Gonzales and the Bobcats who bring to the court a fine tradition of basketball. The Bobcats would hit four three-balls in the final stanza and before Eads could find Grasmick he had nailed 10 points within two minutes of the contest. Eads found they needed to adjust defensively in order to find the Granada shooters and it took a strongly worded time out by head Coach Shawn Randel to get the game in control. Granada would get no closer than the final score, 69-62.
In this contest Keyvis Gilmore would have 23 points, all coming in the second half, while Trosper had yet another double-double night hitting for 16 points and pulling down a whopping 17 boards. Steven Gilmore would again be in double figures with 15.
In JV action Eads would split, with both games being decided by mere points, at times struggling to find a way to finish off their opponents.
It would Cheraw over Eads 33-27 with Dain Barnett hitting for 11 points.
In the Granada contest, Eads would hold off a nice Bobcat team, 40-35, with Miles Philpy leading the way with 17 points.
The Eagles now face a non-conference weekend hosting an ever-improving Wiley Panther team on Thursday beginning with the JV action at 4 PM. They will be idle on Friday but will go back into action in Limon where they will meet up with 2A’s number two team, Merino, with JV action starting at 2 p.m.