01-06-07
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - Coach Greg Goodley was hoping that his Eldorado Eagles would rebound from a tough 53-41 loss Friday night at Carmi-White County in which they managed just eight points in the first half.

It just took a few minutes Saturday night at home against West Frankfort for Goodley to realize his club was ready to battle.

Getting balanced scoring and a swarming zone defense that limited Red Birds' center Isaiah Simelton to just 10 points, Eldorado jumped back into the win column with a 59-49 triumph at Duff-Kingston Gym.

Seven Eagle players got into action and all scored points to improve Eldorado's mark to 9-7 on the season.

Dallas Robinson and Cody Lane each scored 11 points from the backcourt while forward's Isaiah Cunningham and Jordan Williams added eight apiece.

"After last night's game there were some question marks in the kids' heads because we didn't shoot well and we didn't defend well," said Goodley. "But it was good to see that in our meetings this morning that they were open about fixing things and emotionally we got back on track. One thing we wrote on the board tonight was to 'play with emotion' and we did that."

Coming off of a SIRR Ohio win Friday night at Herrin, West Frankfort looked flat and confused on the offensive end as Coach Kevin Toney witnessed his team's record slip to 8-6 overall.

The loss overshadowed a stellar performance from West Frankfort guard Matt Brown, who connected on four 3-pointers in route to a game-best 21 markers.

However the biggest news of the night was the defense by Eldorado, especially the interior work.

West Frankfort connected on just 21-of-63 attempts and Brown's four trifectas were the only bombs dropped threw the hoop in 12 attempts from behind the arc.

His teams defensive effort - or lack of - on the night had West Frankfort head coach Kevin Toney unhappy after the contest.

"We didn't defend their penetrations at all; we didn't defend post entries at all; and we didn't defend their shooters at all," said Coach Toney. "Our kids have to understand that not everything is going to go perfectly for them. Foul trouble, sickness, injuries or somebody having an off night. The kids didn't respond tonight like we would like for them."

Brown hit two of his 3-pointer in the opening quarter to keep his club close.

His second such score knotted the game at 8-all with 2:57 to play.

Eldorado extended a first quarter ending lead of 14-12 with a conventional three-point play with under a minute gone in the second frame.

Alex Parker scored on a fast break while being fouled by West Frankfort's Jon Murphy. His made free throw gave Eldorado a 17-12 advantage.

But Brown responded with six more points in the second quarter.

He drained a trey from the right corner and also scored on a drive on the baseline while being hit by Cunningham. His conversion made it 19-18 Eldorado.

Mike Warren scored the Red Birds next five points to give his team a lead at the break.

Scoring in transition on a mid-range shot and later on a three-point play of his own, West Frankfort went to the lockerroom up 23-21.

"West Frankfort is a good team but I thought we defended them better tonight," added Goodley. "(Matt) Brown hit some three's early but as the game went on we did a good job on him. Last night we just stood around and didn't penetrate but coming out tonight focused and with energy was good to see."

The third quarter - and ultimately the remainder of the game - belonged to the hosts.

Eldorado scored 12 points in the first 3:27 of the second half, including three interior baskets by the 6-foot-5 junior Williams.

Guard Cody Creamer also scored on two separate penetration baskets and suddenly the Eagles led 33-28 with 4:33 to go in the quarter.

"You have to have good point guard play and good guard play or you're not going to win games," added Goodley. "But the positive tonight was the four kids that we rotated into the paint played well. Jordan Williams got extended minutes and he sparked us and Isaiah (Cunningham) has shown signs this year that he can take the ball to the basket but he has also played like a sophomore, too. But we know kids aren't going to play well every night."

West Frankfort's Warren - a 6-foot-2 senior center - had to leave the game in the third quarter after hitting his head on the floor while taking a charge in the lane.

Eldorado took command from that point on.

Parker scored again in transition and Robinson beat the buzzer with a 25-foot shot from near the top of the arc to give Eldorado a 45-37 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Cunningham gave Eldorado its first double-digit lead with a spinning score in the paint at 7:30 to go.

Coach Kevin Toney's crew made one final push - a 6-0 run with Brown scoring four of those points. His lay in on a steal and fast break cut the score down to 47-43.

However that was the end of the line for the Red Birds as they hit just 3-of-their-remaining-14 shots, including a 0-of-4 performance from behind the line.

Eldorado - after missing three-consecutive free throws in one-and-bonus situations - nailed its final six free throws in completing the chore.

Cunningham, Lane and Austin Bradley each hit two free throws in that late run.

Following Brown (21) and Simelton (10) no other WF player had double figures.

Eldorado hit on 21-of-43 shots from the field although just 2-of-11 from deep.

Other than the three missed free throws in the final quarter, Eldorado was very good from the line as they totaled 15-21 from the stripe.

West Frankfort managed few trips to the free throw line - 3-of-5 - and none in the final 14:53 of the game.

West Frankfort (49) – Wilburn 2 0 0-0 4, Jackanicz 2 0 0-0 4, Brown 4 4 1-1 21, Gutierrez 2 0 1-3 5, Simelton 5 0 0-0 10, Warren 2 0 1-1 5.
2FG-17, 3FG-4, FT-3-5, PF-19.
Eldorado (59) – Bradley 1 0 4-5 6, Creamer 2 0 4-4 8, Robinson 4 1 0-2 11, Lane 3 1 2-2 11, Williams 4 0 0-0 8, Cunningham 2 0 4-5 8, Parker 3 0 1-3 7.
2FG-19, 3FG-2, FT-15-21, PF-9.
Fouled Out – Jackanicz, West Frankfort.
Technical Fouls – None.