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Dacula able to cage Eagles on the hardwood
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DACULA - On Friday, the Eastside boys and girls basketball teams were swept by host Dacula in region action.

For the boys it was never really close as they lost 57-37. The Eagles (5-3 overall, 1-2 Region 8-AAAA, Sub-region B) were hoping to start another five-game winning streak like they had to begin the year. However, they ran into a hot Falcons team that would never allow Eastside get into the game.

The Falcons (8-0, 3-0) started on a 14-0 run, and finished the first up by 12. They then outscored the Eagles 14-2 in the second quarter, entering halftime up 33-9. Eastside was never able to establish an offensive run, and the Falcons went on to claim the victory.

"I was real proud of the effort our boys played with in this game," acknowledged Eastside head coach Michael Gerald. "They played hard the whole game. I give all the credit to Dacula; I knew they were a good team and it would be tough coming in here and try to beat them.

"They did a great job of executing; they knew where they wanted to get the ball and they did."

Artis Clanton dropped 13 points to lead Eastside. Anderico Bailey and Neal Latimore each chipped in six.

Meanwhile, Dacula was led by Brian Cole who scored a game-high 20 points. Justin Rush added 18, while Trent Kammerer scored nine points.

For the girls, the Lady Eagles (1-4, 0-3) also found themselves on the losing end, 74-48.

Eastside had a tough task on hand as the team was pitted against a relentless Dacula (3-5, 2-2) squad. The Lady Falcons jumped out to a 13-4 run to open the game. The Lady Eagles could not hold onto the ball in the first half, resulting in a 41-13 deficit at halftime.

It looked as if the Lady Eagles weren't going to be able to bounce back, but they came out with an intensity level that the Lady Falcons could not match, outscoring them 21-17 in the third.

Eastside was able to get it as low as 13 in the fourth, but the Lady Falcons just had too much for the younger team to handle. However, the Lady Eagles were able to outscore Dacula 35-33 during the second half. They also did this by starting four freshmen, using multiple young players throughout the game.

"This was the best half of basketball our girls have played up to this point," said Eastside head coach Jason Grooms. "I was really proud of how our girls came out ready to play in the second half (by) controlling the game."