Layoff Proves Beneficial as Spalding Rolls to Victory

It’s been exactly 19 days since the last time the Spalding Golden Eagle’s Men’s Basketball team took the floor.  Most coaches would worry about a team getting cold, or complacent, or losing a sense of energy or momentum. Coach Gray did not have to worry about any of those on this night. In to town came the 7-3 Mt. Saint Joseph Lions and they were no match for the up tempo Golden Eagles.

The first half saw the Golden Eagles put on a shooting display as they torched their opponent for 47 points on 18-28 shooting from the field and a remarkable 6-8 from beyond the arc.  Dewhon Mcafee led all players with 16 first half points while Phillipe Moune gathered 4 rebounds and 7 points. The beginning of the game went back and forth with both teams getting open looks at the basket, however it was a circus shot that ignited the Golden Eagle fire. With Spalding down 6-5 Phillipe Moune found himself in the corner with time running out on the shot clock and his back to the basket. As the red lights were about to go off Moune threw up a shot as he was fading away out of bounds and made it to take the lead. After that the team went on to a 23-8 run mostly led by strong play from front court teammates, Dewhon Mcafee and Cody Cutsinger. Mt. St. Joseph made a small push to end the half but two key turnovers in the last minute led to two easy layups by Spalding and they went into half with a 47-27 lead.

“I was happy with our first half play,” Coach Gray commented. “We were able to use our quickness to get some open shots and anytime you can shoot as well as we did in that half, you have to be happy with it.” However, Coach Gray knew that in order to compete with a high caliber team you have to play a full game. “I knew they were going to come right back at us in the second half, I told our guys not to expect the same outcome because they are a very good team.”

While MSJ did the best they could fighting back, the Golden Eagle attack was relentless and too much to overcome. Steady play by the front court of Spalding secured the victory in the end as they were able to cause key turnovers and run the transition game which the Lions found very hard to defend. “That was a great win for us. They were a great team,” commented Gray. “That will be as a good of a team as anybody we play all year.”

 In the end Dewhon Mcafee led all scorers with 27 points while Cody Cutsinger score 17 on 7-13 shooting from the field. Michael Romes, for Mt. Saint Joseph’s recorded the lone double-double of the game as he scored a team high 26 points and pulled down 11 boards. The Golden Eagles went on to a 74-60 victory pushing their record to 4-6 overall.