By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

GOESSEL – When you play consistent basketball you have a tendacy to win many games and the Elyria Christian boys played four quarters of consistent basketball on Friday to score a 12-point, 52-40, win over Goessel in the Bluebird Classic.

The win puts the Eagles in the tournaments championship game against Canton/Galva on Saturday.

“Tonight, our guys showed great fight and determination,” noted Eagle head coach Zach Goodrich. “Goessel battled us for a full 32 minutes with tough physical play. At times we were not strong with the ball, but I felt like especially in the fourth quarter that we toughened up a bit. Our free throws were consistent down the stretch which was extremely helpful.”

In a tight first quarter, Elyria came out ahead by three at 15-12 before putting three more points onto their cushion of a lead in the second quarter and take a 27-21 advantage into the halftime break.

Continuing to play consistent ball, the Eagles scored 13 and 12 points in the final two quarter while holding Goessel to just nine and ten, giving the Eagles the final 12-point win.

The Eagles were very consistent in their shooting as they connected on 47% of their shots from the field, including the making of 43% of their three-point attempts while hitting on an above average 80% on their 15 shots from the free throw line. Shooting numbers like that always help when you still turn the ball over 17 times and make 17 personal fouls.

Eagle freshman, Ty Romero, led the team in scoring with 17 points, helped much by three three-pointers. Sophomore Johnny Unruh also reached double digits in the scorebook with 11 while Caleb Laney had seven.

Romero and Johnny Unruh both made three steals on defense as the Eagle had the quick hands in making a total of 11 steals in the game.

Senior Keyan Wiggers led the team in the paint by pulling down nine rebounds.

Coach Goodrich concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “We have some talented freshman this year who I think have great potential. They will learn how to compete and demonstrate toughness the older and experienced they get. But I felt like three freshman tonight, Ty Romero, Andrew Huxman, and Landon Schneider, all played a vital role in our win. Ty is a great shooter and I was happy for him that he saw some shots go in tonight as he has the capability of hitting a couple of threes each game.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR “AREA TEAM”?

The Elyria boys are now 2-1 on the season and will battle Canton/Galva on Saturday for the championship of the Goessel Bluebird Classic tournament.

ELYRIA EAGLES BOYS vs. Goessel at the Bluebird Classic

SCORING:        1          2          3          4          FINAL

EAGLES            15        12        13        12        52       

Goessel           12        9          9          10        40       

TEAM STATS:              EAGLES            Goessel          

Shooting                     17/36 (47%)    N/A

3-Pointers                   6/14 (43%)      N/A

Free Throws                12/15 (80%)    N/A

Rebounds (Off/Def)    26 (5/17)         N/A

Assists                         9                      N/A

Turnovers                   17                    N/A

Steals                          11                    N/A

Blocked Shots             3                      N/A

Personal Fouls            17                    N/A

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (52 Total Points): Ty Romero – 17; Johnny Unruh – 11; Caleb Laney – 7; Keyan Wiggers – 6; Ben Unruh – 5; Josh Allen – 4; Andrew Huxman – 2.

Three-Pointers Made (6): Ty Romero – 3; Johnny Unruh – 2; Caleb Laney – 1.

Rebound Leaders: Keyan Wiggers – 9; Ben Unruh, Josh Allen – 3.

Assist Leader: Caleb Laney – 3; Ben Unruh, Josh Allen – 2.

Leader in Steals: Ty Romero, Johnny Unruh – 3; Caleb Laney – 2.

Leader in Blocked Shots: Keyan Wiggers, Andrew Huxman, Ty Romero – 1.