It was not a surprise that the Eagles boys and girls basketball teams won their championships in Saturday’s Southern Boone Classic title games. After all, the Eagles were the No. 1 seed in both brackets.
Emma Anderson, left, and Riley Scheer celebrate with Eagles cheerleaders as they collect the team trophies.
However, teenagers can be somewhat unpredictable, and the Classic is known to be a tough tournament – which explains why the Eagles had not won both the boys and girls titles in the same year since 1987 Classic.
But the 2017 senior class of athletes at Southern Boone has set all kinds of new standards and the basketball teams have been at the forefront.
The Eagles girls, having won two district titles and was a Final Four team a year ago, used the clutch shooting of a sophomore to overcome a Fatima rally for their second straight Classic title by a 43-34 score.
The Eagles boys rallied from a 3-point deficit with the above- the-rim play and scoring of a sophomore of their own to beat Fulton 49-47.
A capacity crowd filled the Southern Boone gym and local fans roared as the girls, then the boys, hoisted the trophy with the large, gold basketball on a pedestal.
“It’s a great day to be an Eagle,” said boys team assistant coach and Activities Director Pat Lacy.
Eagles players said their longtime teammates and closeness, with the backing of the community, were a part of what makes them a winning team.
But the Eagles are not only made up of teammates from their grade school days.
Both the boys and girls teams have key players who have joined the team recently.
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