SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) After three weeks of slogging through two-hour practices, Jace Easley could finally play a game that counted.
"The games are everything. I love playing in these games," Easley said after scoring 35 points and bringing in 17 rebounds to lead Our Savior's (No.5 LSA; No.6 AP) to a season-opening 87-67 win over Blessed Sacrament on Sunday Afternoon.
Easley hit 12-of-17 shots from the field -- 3-of-7 from 3-point range -- and was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. His first miss came after he had made his first 5 shots from the field in the first quarter.
Easley scored seven straight points to key an 11-0 first-half run that turned a 5-point deficit into a 6-point lead, and then had a 8-point outburst that ended a Blessed Sacrament rally early in the third quarter.
"He loves the lights, it's what he thrives in," Our Savior's coach Todd Dejaynes said. "The last week to 10 days, Jace has played fantastic in practic. He has really stepped it up."
Trailing by 13 points at the half, Blessed Sacrament got within 55-46 in the third quarter. But a basket and free throw from Easley, followed by his 3-point shot 20 seconds later put Our Savior's up 61-46.
The Eagles held Blessed Sacrament (0-1) scoreless for the next 3 minutes, but weren't happy with their defensive effort against the small but quick Blessed Sacrament guards.
"They made us go to sleep a little bit. They just exploited by penetrating," said Conor McCaffrey, who finished with 22 points and 7 assists. "Tonight, we had a bad defensive game, but it was hard when the other team has five guys on the floor who can penetrate."
Todd Dejaynes said it took his players some time to begin respecting Blessed Sacrament's quickness.
"We've been harping on defense. Our guard defense has to get better," he said. "This (game) did us some good."
Blessed Sacrament, with three fifth graders and nobody taller than 5'4 in the starting lineup, hit four of its first five shots and dropped its first four 3-pointers to take a 28-23 lead in the second quarter.
"These kids came out and put forth a great effort, but you can only play on emotion for so long until talent takes over," said Blessed Sacrament coach Greg Jackson. "The difference in this ballgame was talent."
The Eagles relied on the 3-point range of McCaffrey and Easley to keep pace early before a layup from Drew Dejaynes and a mid-range jumper from Dejaynes closed the gap to 28-27 and ignited a 15-2 run that included five straight points from Easley to put Our Savior's up 32-28.
Dejaynes scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Eagles. Ty Siefert and Ian Klockenga put up 4 and 3 points respectively. Blessed Sacrament got 17 points from Jahasa Bluntt and 15 from reserve Max Powers, who was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.