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

WAKEFIELD = The Elyria Christian boys are currently ranked number three in Class 1A Division II and Tuesday evening at Wakefield played every bit like a state champion contender as they buried host Wakefield with a 40-point, 59-19 win.

With the victory, the Eagles are now 11-2 for the 2021-22 season and prep for another road trip on Friday when they travel to Goessel.

After taking a four-point, 12-8, lead by the end of the first quarter, the Eagles took command in the second quarter by out scoring Wakefield 20-3 to hold a 21-point advantage heading to the halftime break. Coming out of the break, Elyria scored 27 points to cruise in for the final 40-point victory.

“Wakefield battled us hard all game and never quit,” noted Eagle head coach Zach Goodrich. “Tonight, we had the opportunity to find a way to win when our three’s were not falling. It was good for the guys to have to find ways to get to the rim and score in the transition. We will need to be crisper and continue to look for the best shot each possession.”

The Eagle defense forced Wakefield into making 22 turnovers of which 18 came on Eagles stealing a pass.

Johnny Unruh and Caleb Laney had huge nights for Elyria as they led the team in scoring with 15 and 13 points, respectively while Unruh topped the team in rebounds and steals with six and five and Laney grabbed five steals while dishing out eight assists. The Eagles recorded 17 assists on 23 made shots.

Also reaching double digits for the Eagles were Josh Allen and Ben Unruh as they both finished with 10 points apiece.

Coach Goodrich concluded his reflections on the game by adding, “I was really proud of both Johnny (Unruh) and Caleb (Laney) tonight for making good decisions with the ball, hustling on both ends, and hitting some key shots and free throws. They were able to make things happen tonight when we had trouble finding the bottom of the net at times.”

SCORING:     1          2          3          4          FINAL

EAGLES          12       20       27       0          59      

Wakefield     8          3          8          0          19

TEAM STATS =       

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES = FG 23/49 (47%); 3-PTR 7/25 (28%); FT 6/8 (75%); AST 17; REB 27; TO 9; STLS 18; BLK 0; PF 8.

Wakefield = FG 8/28 (28%); 3-PTR 1/4 (25%); FT 2/6 (33%); AST 4; REB 22; TO 22; STLS 4; BLK 0; PF 5.

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (59 total points) = Johnny Unruh – 15 Caleb Laney – 13; Josh Allen – 10; Ben Unruh – 10; Keyan Wiggers – 8; Andrew Huxman – 3.

3-Pointers Made (7) = Laney, J. Unruh – 3; Huxman – 1.

Assists = Laney – 8; B. Unruh – 3; Huxman, Ty Romero – 2.

Rebounds = J. Unruh – 6; Allen, Romero – 4; Laney, B. Unruh, Huxman – 2.

Steals = Laney, J. Unruh – 5; B. Unruh, Romero, Huxman – 2.

Blocked Shots = None.