WINGATE — The Bald Eagle Area boys’ basketball team came into its game against Central with an 0-3 record and struggling with consistency and inexperience.
The last thing the Eagles needed was to go cold against the traditionally tough Scarlet Dragons.
Yet that’s exactly what happened in Central’s 61-38 win Dec. 20 at BEA.
The two teams battled through an even first quarter, but then the lid fell on the basket for the Eagles. The Dragons outscored BEA 31-13 in the middle quarters and then eased out for their third win in four tries.
BEA fell to 0-4, but it was not without its chances to hang with Central. Time and again, layups or open jumpers bounced out, and the Eagles’ numerous turnovers and mistakes only compounded their problems.
“We had trouble with their zone,” BEA head coach Bill Butterworth said. “We had two players around the ball, but other than that nobody was getting to the right spots. We had the shooter out there, but with nobody else moving, it’s hard to score.
“We took some bad shots and had I don’t know how many turnovers — against a 2-3 zone. Can’t do that against a zone.”
After Central took a 13-12 lead going into the second quarter, the Dragons slowly pulled away. Tied at 19 four minutes into the quarter, forwards Jacob Muthler (18 points), Josh McKnight (13) and Kyle Dodson (12) spurred a 11-1 run that put the Dragons ahead 30-20 at the break.
BEA’s drought continued into the second half, and another run by Central — this time 14-2 — essentially put the game away as the fourth period began.
“Our second and third quarters were ice cold,” Butterworth said, “and they got a few breakdowns against our press and got a few layups and pulled away there.
“A 2-3 zone, you dribble at it, not away from it. We seemed to be going east and west instead of getting to the basket, making them collapse and making good, hard passes.
“If you’re going to lob passes, you’re going to struggle against zone defenses. A good team like that, that moves well, a lob pass, they’ll be there before you catch it.”
There were some bright spots for BEA. Junior guard Jordan Jones nailed four 3-pointers and scored 20 for the Eagles, and 6-foot-8 junior center Mark Eminhizer chipped in with eight points.
“Jones has been our mainstay offensively all four games,” Butterworth said, “and he’s been in double digits all four. Tonight, our big guy, Mark (Eminhizer) showed up. He finally showed a little bit of what he can do.”
But that was essentially it for BEA. Andrew Bucha hit a 3 and scored five points, but no one else had more than two points for the night.
Still, Butterworth is taking the long view and fighting off any overreaction after just four games.
“I sometimes get frustrated, but then I snap back,” he said. “This is a young group of kids, new system, and we have to take it one day at a time. Hopefully, things will start going our way a few times.
“I want them to get better, and I tell them I’m a competitor and I don’t like to lose. But I can suffer through it as long as we get better. That’s the main thing, that we want to improve every game. We are 0-4, not 0-11, and it’s not time to panic yet.”
BEA will look to bounce back when it travels to Huntingdon on Thursday, Dec. 22.
