Eagles Defeat St. John's Prep to Advance to Round 2 of the Playoffs!

East Central hosted St. John's Prep in round 1 of the playoffs Thursday night.

This was the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Eagles had last played 2 weeks ago, they came into this game rested and prepared. But that time off seemed to play a factor early on. Both teams struggled early on to settle into their own rhythm and it looked like we were in for a defensive battle. But just after the halfway mark of the 1st, the Eagles lead only by 2. Shortly after, the Eagles were able to get their offense rolling. Their were able to drain 5 three's before half and start to pull away. The Johnnies were able to answer with a few three's of their own, but East Central's offense continued to play at a high level. They would go into the halftime break leading 34-21.

The Eagles started the 2nd half exactly were the left off in the 1st, the offense just couldn't be stopped. It wasn't long until their were out to a 20 point lead and their defense had a stronghold on points at the other end. St. John's would manage to slow the Eagles offense for a short time, and they were able to find a spark and managed to close their gap. Their hopes of a comeback were dashed though, as the Eagle defense made some big stops which they quickly turned into points at their end. East Central didn't need to score as much as the game wore towards its close. They held onto the ball longer on offense trying to drain the clock, and soon they came out victorious 74-49.

The Eagles move on to play on Saturday at a familiar spot, at Hinckley-Finlayson. Where they'll also play a opponent they know well, Braham. They split their season series but now its win or go home. That game starts at 1:45pm on Saturday.

Scoring

East Central:

Xavior LeTexier 28

Ben Carlin 13

Brayden Olson 9

Gradyn Swenson 8

Levi Kosbab 5

Thomas Kam 4

Cam Oetterer 3

Ramsey Keranen and Cody Robinson 2