Trap game? What trap game? The No. 5 Springfield Our Savior's Eagles (16-5; 12-3 Conference) extended their winning streak to seven with a decisive, drama-free 84-53 victory Thursday night at Concordia.
The Cougars entered this contest without the services of co-captain Jamison Fisher, who suffered a fractured finger earlier in the week.
Neither side was able to get in rhythm early, with five lead changes in first 8+ minutes. The Eagles grabbed a 23-19 lead midway through the half, thanks in large part to Logan Allen. Allen notched seven early points — including four foul shots — two assists and a steal in the first 6minutes.
Our Savior's gained a bit of breathing room, leading 30-23 at the under-4 minutes, and extended the lead to 15 by halftime.
The Eagles picked up where they left off, scoring eight points in 1:10 to start the second half and stretch the lead to 46-23. After a flurry of fast-break points and a barrage of layups, Our Savior's led by as many as 36 before turning to non-rotational bench players
Jace Easley strengthened his case for Conference Player of the Year by registering his second triple-double this season (23 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) — only the fourth such performance in school history.
“When Jace rebounds like that, we’re electric offensively, because his defense turns into offense for us,” said head coach Jace Easley postgame.
Thursday also began a stretch of five road games in Our Saviors’ final six regular season contests, including roadies against ranked foes New Berlin, Christ Lutheran and Bethel Morton.
“Who cares? Line ‘em up,” Heppe said. “I’m so tired of talking about scheduling; it doesn’t matter who we play, this league’s a monster. I don’t care. Let’s go.”