I am way behind in posting summaries to the games, but I plan to catch up. On December 17 (I said I was behind), the Augusta Eagles lost 48-41 to the 2009 South Carolina State Homeschool Champions, the Upstate Eagles of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The game marked another important milestone for the Augusta Eagles as an improving defense gave up only 48 points, including only 16 in the first half, to a very strong team.
The Augusta Eagles outrebounded the Upstate Eagles 21-16 in the first half, leading to a 20-16 advantage at the break. Nathaniel Crown led the way in the first half with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Kip Custer chipped in with 4 rebounds and tough defense against the Upstate Eagles' post player, who was 8 inches taller than any Augusta Eagle player. The clips below show the stingy defense of the Augusta Eagles, whose team effort consistently stopped the Upstate Eagles from penetrating the lane. For all of the first half and most of the night, the Upstate Eagles were forced to settle for long jump shots. That is the good news for now (more to come later).
The bad news is that fatigue eventually set in and the Eagles, playing virtually the entire game with only 5 players, started to give up too many offensive rebounds in the second half and could never find the groove offensively. The Upstate Eagles secured 8 offensive rebounds in the second half and scored 28 "points in the paint" during that time period, compared to only 17 for the Augusta Eagles.
The strong defensive performance of the first half gave the Augusta Eagles reason to gain confidence. It also convinced the coaching staff that it is crucial to get better offensively and to involve more players in the rotation so all 5 players on the court at any given time are fresh and able to execute. The Eagles worked hard over the holidays to implement those ideas, and the results in the first three games of 2010 have been great.
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