BETHALTO – Civic Memorial hosted the Triad Knights boys’ basketball team for their Senior Night game on Friday night. Fans got to see a hotly contested matchup that saw the home team, the Eagles, losing to the Knights by a final score of 56-41. Despite the 15-point difference, the game was competitive until the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were leading the Knights after the first quarter and only trailed by a score of 37-34 going into the fourth and final quarter. The game and scoreline did not become heavily tilted for the Knights until the final quarter.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
“I feel like we played 30 of 32 minutes," Eagles' head coach Jared Reynolds said. “I thought we played great for the majority of the game. The seniors came out and showed a lot of heart.”
Neither team had noticeable size or talent differences.
“We weren’t able to knock down shots," Coach Reynolds said. "We rely on guys like Adam Ogdon, Lucas Naugle, and DJ Dutton to be able to come in and knock down threes. They are sophomores & freshmen and they kind of showed their age tonight. They (Triad) were able to come out and knock down a couple early – we were able to keep up early, but we weren’t able to make the big shots towards the end.”
The final point totals are below:
Civic Memorial:
Sam Buckley – 19 points
Manny Silva – 6 points
Dathan Greene – 9 points
Melvin Hodge – 2 points
Lucas Naugle – 3 points
Adam Ogden – 2 points
Triad:
Drew Winslow – 16 points
Jake Stewart – 7 points
Gabe Giacoletto – 1 points
Aydin Hitt – 13 points
Mcgrady Noyes – 12 points
Owen Droy – 7 points
While the game’s score was forgettable, the atmosphere was not for seniors Aslan Henderson, and Melvin Hodge was unforgettable. “We had a big crowd for senior night, we had all the fans here, we had the junior Eagles said, Reynolds. “The fans here are huge. The student section is amazing. It’s fun when the fans come out to support their hometown Eagles. Our players lost their voices trying to communicate with their teammates.”
“The message to the guys was we did not play a full game," Coach Reynolds said when asked what he told his team after tonight’s loss. “We have a couple of long bus rides when we go to Columbia and Waterloo next week. For now, we need to regroup, take a day off tomorrow, and come in on Sunday to practice and focus on playing against teams from Columbia and Waterloo that had beat us by a good margin earlier in the season.”
As for what the Eagles can improve on moving forward to their next game, head coach Reynolds says, “Pressure the ball. Pressure the ball on defense. Once we can get the ball in front of us, we have a 6-11 player (Sam Buckley) that is going to protect the rim. One thing we can improve on is ball pressure. “
The Eagles have a four-game road stretch before returning to their home gym. Over the week, Reynolds and his team will play the Columbia Eagles, Waterloo Bulldogs, Roxana Shells, and Highland Bulldogs. To catch their home game, please visit Civic Memorial’s gymnasium on February 12 as they take on the Rochester Rockets.
More like this:
