Eagle Cagers Split in Opening Weekend

By Betsy Barnett

December 10, 2004

This year’s Eagle basketball team has a mixture of experience and some outstanding young talent. It will be up to head coach Shawn Randel, in his third year at the helm, to mold this unlikely group into yet another winning unit. In the opening weekend of the 2004-05 basketball season the Eagles grabbed a well-earned win over the Fowler Grizzlies, 56-39, in Eads on Friday evening, but struggled with Kansas officiating in Sharon Springs on Saturday night losing, 62-41, on the road.

The Eagle seniors Dain Barnett and Marcus Gilmore are no strangers to the state tournament as they have been there every year since their freshman year and were a part of the 2003 championship team and the 2004 runner-up group. This year, however, Eads will have to depend on the two seniors and a field of very young players as they start two freshmen in Kenan Gooden and Demetrius Gilmore. Post players Adam Saffer, a junior, and Trice Watts and Jacob Buck, sophomores, will also play important roles for Randel. The rest of the varsity includes one more senior T.J. Watts, back after sitting out a year, and two more freshmen in Drew Koch and Wes Richardson.

Just as last year, the Eagles will be known for their run and gun explosiveness and outstanding outside shooting. The pace was ferocious on Friday night in Eads as the Eagles wore out the Grizzlies from Fowler with their pressing and offensive attack. Eads managed double digits in all four quarters and was paced by five long balls from Barnett, Buck, D. Gilmore, and Gooden. The freshman duo of Gilmore and Gooden led the team with 17 and 12 points respectively while Buck showed some impressive shooting abilities hitting for 14 points. Barnett led on the boards grabbing 10 and chipping in seven points.

The Eagles looked a little tired on Saturday night in Sharon Springs and struggled to adjust to very particular officiating in Kansas. After the first quarter the score was tied 11 apiece and the Eagles managed to stay pace with a very athletic and big Wildcat team trailing by a bucket at halftime, 22-20, with Gooden controlling the game for Eads from the point-guard position. However, the Eagles were in a huge hole in the foul department and had given up five points in the second quarter to free throws as they entered the double bonus early into the second. The foul problems for Eads got serious at the end of the third quarter as Eads stayed pace with Sharon Springs, 34-32, behind scoring from Gooden and a trey by Barnett. But it was the fourth quarter that proved the final demise for Eads as the foul dam broke loose for Eads and the Wildcats flooded the charity line throughout the fourth hitting 9 of 13 freebies and forcing Eads out of their game as both Saffer and Watts fouled out early and Barnett and Buck had to play conservatively with four apiece throughout the fourth quarter. Sharon Springs would outscore Eads 28-9 in the final period to seal up the win. The Eagles ended the contest with 23 fouls to the Wildcat’s 10 and only shot three free throws in the entire contest. Gooden led the way for Eads with 20 points while Barnett chipped in three treys for nine points and D. Gilmore added seven more.

In JV play Eads dropped both games over the weekend losing 8-17 to Fowler and 27-31 to Sharon Springs. In the Sharon Springs contest Wes Richardson carried the weight of the Eagle attack hitting for 13 points. Eads now travels to Pueblo for one varsity contest on Friday night and then will host Walsh on Saturday night in an important warm up contest before the annual Lamar Holiday Tournament in two weeks.