No game in the LSA Conference is a gimme, which is why each conference victory is so important. Sometimes, those wins are prettier than others. This wasn’t one of those wins.
The Eagles (7-3, 3-1 Conference) did just enough to grind out a 59-50 triumph over the visiting Trinity Edwardsville Eagles (5-4, 0-2 Conference) on Thursday.
For the second straight game, a cold start (0-6 FGs) and a slew of turnovers (6) plagued Our Savior's in the first half. The offense didn't get going until Logan Allen touched the floor — alongside Conor McCaffrey and Jace Easley. He was one of just three Eagles with a positive +/- at +7 in the first half, despite the offense turning it over six times.
Jace Easley led the way for Our Savior's in the first half, pacing the offense with 13 points. Our Savior's finally took the lead under four minutes left in the half, and a late-half 8-0 run helped Our Savior's carry a two-point lead into the break.
For the second straight contest, Easley's second-half performance (17 points) is what put away the ballgame. At one point, the preseason all-state member scored 13-of-16 for Our Savior's.
It was another sluggish start out of the half for the Eagles with just eight points in the first four minutes of the second. They struggled to connect from three, an area where Our Savior's ranks among the highest in the state.
A second-half key was getting Conor McCaffrey going. Especially since Our Savior's was just 2-of-15 from beyond the three-point line about halfway through the second half. McCaffrey scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half and added 10 rebounds to secure his ninth double-double of the season.
A 14-0 run from Our Savior's with just over five minutes to go put just enough room between the Eagles and Edwardsville to close this one for good, 59-50.