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PREP BASKETBALL: Eagles drop games at Walnut Grove
EHS WG
Despite their best efforts, the Eagles couldn't contain Walnut Grove's high powered attack Friday night. - photo by Garrett Pitts

WALNUT GROVE, Ga. — Both of Eastside’s basketball programs left Walnut Grove High School on the losing end Friday night. The Lady Eagles lost 69-32 to begin the night and the Eagles suffered a 68-48 defeat in game two. 

LADY EAGLES

For the Lady Eagles, the team continued a rough 2021-22 campaign. It was the Lady Warriors’ fast paced style that was too much to handle for all four quarters.

The sizable win for the Lady Warriors was nothing without their dominant defensive showing.

Walnut Grove was pressing on both sides of the court and doing their best to limit any space for the Eagles to pass and create shot opportunities.

The final two quarters belonged to Walnut Grove sophomore Cameria Reed, who caught fire and began to beat the Eagles almost single-handedly.

Going into the fourth quarter with a 48-28 lead, the Lady Warriors opened the final frame with a 21-point run, with Reed responsible for 12 of the points.

The first quarter was the closest the game was as both teams traded points early on, but the Lady Warriors just never let up as the game progressed. By halftime, the Lady Eagles trailed 34-18 and the rest was history. 

The Lady Eagles dropped to 1-9 after the loss, with a 0-4 record in the region. The Lady Eagles will look to get back on track as they will go on the road to face a struggling 2-12 Johnson Knights on Tuesday, Jan. 11.

EAGLES

So far this season, the boys basketball team has had many highs and lows on the court. Running into a hot Walnut Grove team was one of the last things the Eagles needed. 

The Warriors had won nine out of their last 10 games going into the matchup with the Eagles.

The Warriors and Eagles were matching points early into the game as both teams maintained both speed and physicality on both sides of the court.

But the Warriors separated themselves once the second quarter commenced.

Across the second and third quarters, Walnut Grove outscored Eastside 37-19. The separation was largely due to the Warriors’ bench that the Eagles couldn’t contend with. 

Walnut Grove’s Shawn Walker II helped the Warriors keep separation in the final two quarters as the senior forward was almost unstoppable at the rim for the Warriors.

The Eagles were getting many players involved but still could not keep the pace to overcome the Warriors lead. 

Sophomore Daylan Dixon led the Eagles in scoring with 16 as he was the only player on the Eagles to eclipse ten points in the game.

The Eagles fell to 7-7 after the loss.