Better late then never for the Eagles.
Three days after losing by three points to now-No. 11 Bloomington, Our Savior's found itself down by as many as 15 points early in the first half against Trinity Springfield. But the No. 18 team in the state overcame the adversity this time on the road, topping Trinity Springfield 79-61 Monday night.
The Tigers (3-3, 0-2 Conference) had no answer for Jace Easley and Conor McCaffrey all game long. The guys were virtually unguardable, scoring 57 points in the game.
Our Savior's (6-3, 2-1 Conference) got off to a horrific start, but the McCaffrey to Easley connection kept Our Savior's in the game. McCaffrey assisted on three of Easley's early buckets, as McCaffrey finished with double digit assists again.
Easley scored 10 of the Eagles first 12 points — and the Eagles were able to claw their way back into the game as the first half continued. A couple of buckets and six made threes allowed Our Savior's to take the lead after the 1 minute mark.
The Eagles and Tigers traded blows the rest of the first half and went into the break tied at 34.
“The first 11 minutes were a struggle defensively,” said Our Savior's head coach Phillip Heppe after the win. “And then the last two were really good.”
In the second half, Conor McCaffrey took over. The Point Guard scored 27 points (19 in the second half) helping Our Savior's to turn its big deficit into a 18-point win.
“I’m going to keep saying it,” Heppe said. “He’s the best point guard in the state.”
Passing was an area of the game where Our Savior's excelled on Monday. The Eagles had three players with three or more assists — McCaffrey, Easley and Schmidt.
The game was tied at 48 with over 9 minutes left, but an 12-0 run from the Eagles gave them a lead they would not relinquish. But the game’s final minute did take a little longer after Easley was ejected for approaching Kaden Meredith following a whistle. Meredith was given one technical foul, but fouled out on the same play.
“It’s not what we’re about. It’s the emotion of the game” Heppe said. “We all know Jace is a young man that is first-class, and yet he felt like he was standing up for a teammate.”