Eagles remain unbeaten
Published 12:07 am Sunday, December 4, 2011
Porters Chapel got an unexpected challenge from visiting Russell Christian on Saturday.
The Eagles led by just four at the half, but used a tenacious defensive effort in the second half to win 63-48 and stay unbeaten.
The latest victory completed a 3-0 week for PCA (6-0) as it heads into a tough test Monday night at Trinity Episcopal in Natchez. Trinity beat PCA in the MAIS Class A tournament semifinals in Benton last February.
The Eagles got a big lift from point guard Peter Harris, who had five steals and helped fuel a decisive 13-2 run in the third quarter that turned a 36-32 lead into a 49-36 cushion. Harris said the Eagles are looking forward to Monday’s game at Trinity.
“They beat us 18 last season, but we are bigger, stronger and faster than last year,” Harris said. “Tonight, we faced a pretty good team, but we stepped up our game.”
PCA coach E.J. Creel said there are still areas where she would like to see improvement.
“We weren’t smart at times and that leads to some wasted hustle. But we did play very good at the right spot,” Creel said. “This is definitely one of the teams we’re going to see again.”
Once the Eagles got their defense right, they attacked on offense. Ted Brisco and Kawayne Gaston did most of the damage inside the lane. Brisco scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Gaston contributed 21 points and nine boards. Talbot Buys, who was back after missing two games to participate in the MAIS all-star football game, was stout on defense with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Russell Christian’s only other loss was to MHSAA member Clarkdale. The Warriors (5-2) got 14 points from Joseph Spurlock and 12 from Dylan Nolan.