After starting their seasons with a loss over Thanksgiving Break, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams of Eastside came back with a vengeance on Tuesday against Riverdale.

Boys

The game couldn’t have started any better for Eastside. Capitalizing off turnovers and finding the open man against Riverdale’s zone defense lifted the Eagles to a 19-0 lead with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Eagles threw multiple defensive sets at Riverdale in the early period and the Raiders had no answer. Riverdale managed to create some offense and build some momentum heading into the second period down 22-8.

Riverdale pulled within eight points in the second quarter but that would be as close as they’d get for the rest of the game as the Eagles controlled the contest, winning 63-49.

Isaiah Miller led the Eagles with 17 points, followed by 15 for JJ Saxton and 11 for Marquise Sims.

Girls

Like their male counterparts, the Lady Eagles jumped on Riverdale early and often leading 17-8 after the first quarter. However, the Lady Raiders made a run in the second quarter as they came crashing back to tie the game at 26 by making some threes and beating Eastside’s defense.

The Lady Eagles finished the second period on a 9-3 run. After halftime Eastside’s defense came back to the forefront of the game and they used it to keep a commanding lead.

The Lady Eagles’ defense pressure Riverdale the entire second half, hounding ball handlers and forcing turnovers to turn them into easy points.

Janelle Cook led the Lady Eagles in points with 22, Tierra Brown poured in 13 points and Raynesha Clay added nine.