SJEL Eagles boys win, girls fall

ST. JOHN - Over the weekend, the St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse (SJEL) boys and girls teams played the Colton Wildcats and Waitsburg Cardinals.

The Eagles boys went 2-0, defeating the Wildcats, 67-38, on Friday, Dec. 20, and the Cardinals, 71-58, on Saturday, Dec. 21. The SJEL girls fell to Colton, 62-12, on Friday and lost to Waitsburg, 44-23, on Saturday.

Eagles boys claw the competition

Against Colton, the Eagles boys took a one-point lead to end the first quarter, 15-14. SJEL slowly increased its lead in the second quarter, leading at halftime, 24-21. The third quarter is where the Eagles took control of the game, scoring 29 points and holding the Wildcats to two points. With SJEL scoring 14 in the fourth and Colton scoring 15, the Eagles got the 67-38 win.

Braiden Thomas led the Eagles with 23 points, hitting 11-of-18 field goals and sinking 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. Bear Brewer added 16 points from six field goals, three of them 3-pointers.

Against Waitsburg, SJEL flew to a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 34-23 by halftime. The Cardinals gained a few points back in the third quarter, scoring 24 to the Eagles' 21, but SJEL held strong in the fourth - scoring 16 points to Waitsburg's 11.

Brewer had an all-around game, tallying 33 points, nine assists, five steals and three rebounds. Avery Anderson scored 10 points and added four rebounds and a steal. Thomas and Blake Johnson each scored nine points for the Eagles with Thomas nabbing nine rebounds, two steals and an assist. Johnson had six rebounds and four assists.

Eagles girls fall

The SJEL girls dropped a Southeast 1B League matchup to the Colton Wildcats on Friday, Dec. 21. The Wildcats leaped to a 19-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 37-6 at halftime. SJEL scored six points in the third and none in the fourth while the Wildcats added 14 in the third and 11 in the fourth.

Loren Loomis led the Eagles with seven points in three field goals with Brianna Camp adding four points from one field goal and two free throws.

The Eagles then fell to the Waitsburg Cardinals on Saturday.

It was a close matchup for the first half with Waitsburg gaining a 9-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and leading 18-14 at halftime. The Cardinals notched 19 points in the third with the Eagles scoring four. In the final quarter, SJEL gained five points and Waitsburg added seven for the win against the Eagles.

Loomis led the Eagles with 10 points on four field goals and two free throws. Alexa Brewer added eight points, Kailyn Thomas scored three and Catalina Torres scored two.

The Eagles will bring in the new year with away games against the Valley Christian Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 2. The girls game starts at 4:30 p.m. and the boys will start at 6 p.m.