Eagles Basketball vs. Southeastern Baptist (L 39-60)

After their first matchup was settled by one point, the Chargers and Eagles faced off again in the NCCAA South Region. After a tightly contested first half, and the Eagles holding the lead for the entirety of the half, confidence was high entering the second half. Unfortunately, the second half did not exemplify the Eagles’ first-half confidence, and at the end of 40 minutes, the Eagles suffered a 21-point loss to the SBC Chargers.
 
After the first possession led to a steal and layup for the Eagles, the standard was set, and the Eagles were ready for their South Region game. After the Chargers’ first 8 possessions accomplished zero points and three turnovers the defensive focus was evident. Unfortunately, amidst those defensive stands, the Eagles could only find 6 points in the first five minutes of the game. With their matchup in December ending with a score of 44-46, this game seemed to be following that script as a low-scoring, defensive-focused game. With the Eagles first-half lead growing as large as 7 points, the half ended with the Eagles out front 25-24 with one-half of basketball remaining.
 
The second half looked similar in style at the beginning, with neither team scoring for the first two minutes, after the Eagles second half lead grew as large as 5 points they commanded the lead for more than 31 minutes of this game. Unfortunately, due to a 21-1 run to end the game the Chargers took over the final 8 minutes and ran away with their second win of the season over the Eagles. With seven turnovers in the final 8 minutes and 24 total in the game, the Eagles’ ball-security struggles ultimately led to their defeat. With no player scoring double digits and no player recording more than 2 made FGs the offensive struggles proved to be too great as the Eagles lost their 15^th game of the season by a final score of 39-60. Although the team suffered the loss, the performance of the night came from the Maranatha transfer Goodnews Akonafua… while only playing 10 minutes, Akonafua was able to grab six rebounds while swatting 5 shots away… placing himself in the All-Time Record books as #3 on the list for most blocks in a single game!
 
Between the two games, the Eagles outscored the Warriors 178-62. The Eagles combined for 56% FG, 71% FT, and 41% 3PT as a team. With the bench getting a large chunk of playing time, 90 of the 178 points came from the Eagles bench. With these team performances, the Eagles improve to a 4-10 and 2-0 in 2024!