Off to a rough start

This archived article was written by: DJ HIll

The Eagles men’s basketball team continues to struggle as they lost five of six games over the last three weekends. The Eagles would lose two of the fives games by a combined score of three points and were competitive in every game, but still would come out on bottom. 
Starting the string of games, the Eagles played the 23rd ranked team, Arizona Western, on Nov. 18 for their season home opener. They would headed into the locker room at half down by two points, 33-31, but Arizona Western eventually pulled away late in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 48-34.
Although the team lost, they had four players score in double figures. Quinn Peters lead the team with 18 points, four rebounds, five assists and two blocks and steals to go along with playing 39 of the 40 minutes in the game.
Next, the men would play Treasure Valley Community College on Nov. 19, with the game coming down to the final possession, in which the Eagles would drop the game 79-78.
In his season debut, sophomore guard Koel Cutler lead the team in scoring that night with 14 points off the bench in 16 minutes. Cutler would hit a game-tying three with 20 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough as Treasure Valley would eventually end up on top, thanks to a last second shot. 
The following weekend, the Eagles traveled to Rock Springs, Wyo., to take on Western Wyoming Community College on Nov. 25. The game would be close after one half with the Eagle down by five, but they could not close the gap as they would fall 74-64.
The team was lead by Roman Mcknight and Alex Morell, who each had 12 points in the loss.
On the following day, Nov. 26, the Eagles faced Laramie County Community College. Although the team would lose 80-61, there were a few bright spots. Sophomore Cam Bailey ended the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds; Mcknight added 10 points and four rebounds and Morrell would contribute eight points with eight rebounds.
Back to their home court on Dec. 2, the Eagles would pick up their first win and snap a six-game-losing streak with a 124-90 win over Impact Academy. The team would get great contributions from every guy on the team that night. They had seven players in double figures.
The leading scorer was Mcknight with 17 points in 16 minutes, Andy Isokphei added 15 points and eight rebounds, freshmen guard Hyrum Weller added 14 points and seven rebounds, Morrell had 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, Cam Bailey added 11 points while Jantzen Allphin scored 11 points, Cutler added 10 points in the win. Single-digit scorers included Richard Worsham and Kristipas Totoris with nine points and Milan Surlic eight. Although not scoring in the game, freshmen guard Nico Schapochnik added 11 assists.
The next night, Dec. 3, the Eagles lost an over time heart stopper in their final game of the six-game span 83-81 to Utah Empire. Bailey and Cutler led the team in total points scored. Bailey ended the game with a team high 23 points and 17 rebounds while Cutler finished with 22 points to go along with six rebounds.
The team ends their preseason schedule in Ephraim, Utah, playing two final games against Planet Athlete on Dec. 9 and 10 before the players go home for Christmas break. The Eagles begin conference play against the defending national champs, Salt Lake City Community College on Jan. 5. They are ranked fifth in the National Junior College Athletic Association polls this week.