Eatonville Cruisers Struggle on the Road Against Steilacoom and Franklin Pierce
The Eatonville Cruisers faced a tough road stretch last week, dropping both of their matchups against Steilacoom and Franklin Pierce. Despite strong efforts from multiple players, the Cruisers were unable to overcome early deficits in both games.
Eatonville opened the week on Tuesday, Jan. 28th on the road at Steilacoom, where they fell to the Sentinels, 55-36.
After a turnover on their opening possession, the Cruisers surrendered the first basket of the game. Michael Stogsdill quickly responded with a steal and a three-pointer to give Eatonville their only lead of the night at 3-2. However, Steilacoom answered with a 9-0 run and never looked back, leading 19-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Sentinels extended their lead with a 7-0 run in the second quarter, capitalizing on eight Eatonville turnovers. Despite a five-point effort from Lowell McWright and six points from Amari Samuel in the quarter, the Cruisers trailed 41-19 at halftime.
Eatonville’s defense showed improvement in the third quarter, forcing eight Steilacoom turnovers and holding them to just nine points. However, the Cruisers struggled to capitalize offensively, scoring only eight points themselves, which left them trailing 50-27 heading into the final period.
Eatonville outscored the Sentinels in the fourth quarter, led by three-pointers from McWright and Kai Rose, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
McWright led the Cruisers with 10 points, while Isaiah Whatley contributed a career-high seven points off the bench. Samuel added six points and five rebounds in the effort.
“There was a lot going wrong for us in that first half,” head coach Josh Bennett said. “The group that played most of the third quarter kept us in the game and did an amazing job at executing. As a coach, you love when your team responds to your challenges and when the kids are coachable.”
The Cruisers wrapped up their week with a tough matchup against Franklin Pierce on Friday Jan. 31st, suffering an 83-24 defeat.
Both teams opened the game by exchanging three-pointers, but Franklin Pierce quickly took control with a dominant 26-2 run, capitalizing on 13 Eatonville turnovers to take a commanding 27-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cardinals continued their relentless defensive pressure in the second quarter, forcing another 10 Eatonville turnovers while opening the period with a 21-3 run. The Cruisers managed 11 points in the frame, with McWright scoring six of them, but they trailed 53-16 at halftime.
Franklin Pierce maintained their dominance in the second half, outscoring Eatonville 30-8 over the final two quarters to secure the victory.
McWright and Colton Herbrand each finished with nine points for the Cruisers, while Whatley added four points. Nash Sherrard chipped in two points.
“Franklin Pierce is a matchup nightmare for us and really any team in our league,” Bennett said. “Their size and athleticism is something special. Coach Barbee has a great team, and I hope they make a run in the playoffs and represent the 2A SPSL league well.”
Despite the tough losses, Bennett expressed pride in his team’s effort.
“I am extremely proud of how hard our guys played,” he said. “That is the one thing with this group – no quit. No matter the opponent, they love playing hard and competing.”
Eatonville will close out their season with two final games next week. They will travel to Fife on Tuesday, Feb. 4, for a 7 p.m. tip-off before returning home for Senior Night on Friday, Feb. 7, against the Clover Park Timberwolves, also at 7 p.m. The senior recognition ceremony will take place right after the junior varsity game, which is scheduled to be played before the varsity game.
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