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

GOESSEL – In a tough and physical battle on the road Friday, the Elyria Christian boys out lasted Goessel to score a six-point, 44-38 win.

“We know it’s always going to be a tough and physical game when we travel to Goessel,” pointed out Eagle head coach Zach Goodrich. “They have their boys playing hard and with a lot of effort which made us work the entire game to put the ball in the hole.”

The Eagles held a slim, two-point, 9-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter and led by just three at 19-16 going into the intermission. Elyria kept up their consistency through the final two quarters, outscoring Goessel 13-11 in the third and 12-11 in the fourth to make the final six-point victory.

Both teams shot around 40% from the field with the Eagles holding a distinct edge at the charity stripe where they made 14-of-19 while Goessel only connected on 2-of-10.

While nine Eagles put points in the scorebook, only Keyan Wiggers reached double digits with 12 while both Johnny and Ben Unruh he chipped in with six and Andrew Huxman had five.

Huxman did a yeoman’s job directing the Eagle offense as he dished out seven assists while making four steals on defense.

Coach Goodrich finished his reflections on the game by saying, “It was a team effort as all nine guys that played scored. These guys have played some good ball up until this point, but we’re striving to find that great level that I think they are capable of reaching.”

With the victory, the Eagles stand at 12-2 for the season as they prep to play host to Herington on Tuesday before going on the road Friday to battle with Little River.

SCORING:     1          2          3          4          FINAL

EAGLES          9          10       13       12       44

Goessel          7          9          11       11       38

TEAM STATS =

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES = FG 14/34 (41%); 3-PTR 2/10 (20%); FT 14/19 (74%); AST 13; REBS 26; TO 11; STLS 7; BLK 1; PF 16.

Goessel = FG 15/43 (35%); 3-PTR 6/15 (40%); FT 2/10 (20%); AST 9; REBS 29; TO 8; STLS 6; BLK 5; PF 18.

ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL SCORING/STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (44 total points) = Keyan Wiggers – 12; Johnny Unruh – 6; Ben Unruh – 6; Andrew Huxman – 5; Josh Allen – 4; Landon Schneider – 4; Ty Romero – 3; Caleb Laney – 2; Silas Redenbaugh – 2.

3-Pointers Made (2) = J. Unruh – 2.

Assists (13) = Andrew Huxman – 7; B. Unruh – 2.

Rebounds (26) = Wiggers, B. Unruh – 5; Allen, Schneider, Huxman – 3; Redenbaugh – 2.

Steals (7) = Huxman – 4; Wiggers – 2.

Blocked Shots (1) = Wiggers – 1.