Eagles hold off late Falcons charge

Despite a turnover with 3.5 seconds left and a one point lead, Eagles coach Andy Jahnsen wasn’t too upset.

Spencer Taggart drives the ball up the court.

Spencer Taggart drives the ball up the court.

“I was just glad they had to in-bound the ball at mid-court,” Jahnsen said.

The Blair Oaks Falcons inbounded the ball and never got a shot off, giving the Eagles a hard-earned 68-67 win and their second Tri-County Tournament Championship before a capacity crowd at the Hallsville gym.

The Eagles started the game on fire, racing to a 23-11 first quarter lead behind Sam Stichnote. The lanky sophomore shredded the Falcons zone and along with a trio of 3-pointers from Maguire Scheer and Zane Safely, the Eagles made it look easy.

However, the Falcons went on a 19-12 second quarter run to pull within 5 at 35-30 at halftime.

“We knew this would be a game of runs,” Jahnsen said. “They were unbeaten, we’re unbeaten – we are both good teams.”

The Eagles nursed the lead through the third period, holding a 54-47 edge, then seemed to try to put the game away as Stichnote, Garrett Goodnight and Scheer scored, lifting the Eagles to a 13 point lead with 4:41 left.

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By Bruce Wallace