The No. 8 Eagles opened their 2019 season and their Thanksgiving tournament with a dominant 92—30 win over Salem Jacksonville at home in front of their fans.
“Its unbelievable to be back playing,” said head coach Phillip Heppe. “The players have persevered so much, some good books will come out about these past eight months.
Before the season started, head coach Phillip Heppe said he was anxious to find out what his team’s weaknesses are — but they didn't show many on Monday.
“I was pleased with today,” Heppe said. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings with the execution piece.”
Jace Easley showed why he was named to numerous preseason watch lists by leading all scorers with a career-high 36 points and 12 rebounds, the New Berlin native opening his 8th grade season with his second career double-double.
“We still have that chip on our shoulder,” Easley said. “We know our expectations. We know our ceiling. I think we’re nowhere near our ceiling and the whole team recognizes that.”
Speaking of double-doubles, Conor McCaffrey added one himself. The point guard had 36 points and 16 assists.
Defensively, the Eagles suffocated Salem all game long. The Eagles defense held the Shamrocks to just 30 points (9 in the first half) and added eleven steals and nine blocks as a team.
The newcomers paid dividends as well. Lucas Schmidt scored 8 points in his first varsity game. He was hot from beyond the arc, shooting 3 of 5.
“I’m real comfortable,” Schmidt said.
“I’m an efficient player,” he said. “I hunt great shots and that’s what came today.”
Last season, Eagles as a team shot just 33.9% from behind the arc and the Eagles added some good shooters. Our Savior's shot 54.8% from three, setting a school record with 12 made three-pointers (previous school record was 10).
“We put a lot of work into our game,” Easley said. “This was something that we definitely put a lot of work and grinding in to.”
After a long layoff, the Eagles lived up to their No. 8 ranking with a 62-point victory.