Eagles hoops

The SoBoCo Eagles boys basketball team felt confident they could out-play the bigger Battle High Spartans on Thursday and they raced to an 8-0 lead behind Maguire Scheer. But right behind that came foul trouble for top scorer Sam Stichnote. Banished to the bench for most of the first half, Stichnote and coach Andy Jahnsen watched that Spartans take control in the first quarter and grabs an 18-16 lead.

                     Sophomore, Sam Stichnote drives the ball for two.

But in a game of momentum changes, the Eagles got a 10-2 run late in the third quarter spurred by Stichnote and the Eagles defense and held the lead for a 68-62 win.

However, Jahnsen and the Eagles got outstanding play from the SoBoCo bench and Scheer banged home 21 points in the first half as the Eagles hung with the Spartans and held a 33-31 lead at halftime. Scheer was the Eagles offense in the first half, hitting a trio of 3-point shots and going 6-for-6 from the free throw line as he began to drive the lane in the second quarter.

“We knew it would be a game of runs,” Jahnsen said after the game. “We got some great minutes from Kolton Schupp, Nic Ditter and Clay Jeffrey and we made a good run in the second quarter.”

The Eagles were down by 8 at 29-21 with 3:52 left in the quarter, but Scheer’s free throws and defense by Schupp, and Spencer Taggart brought the Eagles back. With the Eagles down 28-29, Taggart stole the ball near mid-court, and used a behind-the-back dribble to maneuver past two Spartans defenders and feed

Garrett Goodnight for a layup in a play that brought the Eagles crowd to its feet and give SoBoCo its first lead since the first two minutes of the game.

Stichnote took over in the third quarter, hitting layups and short jumpers, scoring four straight baskets for the Eagles. But the Spartans were hitting from the 3-point line and held a slim lead until the Eagles went on their 10-2 scoring spree.

Stichnote and Taggart maintained the Eagles lead, stretching it to 9 at 58-49 and hitting free throws at the end for the 68-62 win.

The Eagles play at Fatima Friday night return home next Friday to host the California Pintos.

• The Eagles girls played at Fatima on Thursday and kept moved their unbeaten string to five games with a 74-46 win over the Comets. The Eagles play at home on Tuesday against Tri-County Conference opponent California.