COVINGTON, Ga. — The Eastside faithful watched on Tuesday night as the Eagles completed the sweep over Cedar Shoals in a Region 8-AAAA matchup.

Head coach Gladys King and the Lady Eagles fought off a scrappy Lady Jaguars team 49-39 before the Eastside boys won in a highly contested game 57-51.

Lady Eagles pull away late to grab fourth consecutive win

Eastside’s girls team stayed in their winning ways Tuesday with a 49-39 win over Cedar Shoals.

The first meeting between these two teams in December was also close, with Eastside earning a 36-32 win.

In the first half, both teams traded points back-and-forth.

Shooting was the story for the Lady Jaguars early as Cedar Shoals converted on multiple three-pointers. Cedar Shoals’ Kameron Brown shot a trio of threes in the first half on her way to leading the team in points.

Multiple Lady Eagles contributed in the first half, but it was the performance of Ari Carter that had King raving following the game.

King credited Carter for her efforts on both sides of the ball as the sophomore has proven to add a physical presence in the Lady Eagle lineup.

The teams entered halftime neck-and-neck with Eastside holding a narrow 26-24 advantage.

When it came time for adjustments, defense was the focus, according to King.

“I told them at halftime that if the defense didn’t pick up, I was going to have to make changes to the lineup and I did that for the first six minutes of the [second half],” King said. “I put in two young players that I know get after it at practice and they got after it out here tonight.”

While King received strong defensive efforts from some of her younger players, senior Morgan Sandema produced a strong offensive second half. 

Sandema’s 10 points in the final two quarters led the Lady Eagles as they finally found the separation they were looking for all game.

Turning strong defense into more offensive opportunities is exactly what King was hoping to see coming out of the break.

“We picked up our defense,” King said. “Just making stops, not trading baskets. [We] started to make free throws and some of our layups. We haven’t gotten perfect, but we are getting there.”

Senior Jaylin Williams led the team in scoring with 15. Sandema and Carter followed with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Lady Eagles closed out their 49-39 win to move to 11-6 on the season and 5-2 in Region 8-AAAA. Currently, Eastside sits in third place in the region standings.

Next up, the Lady Eagles will take on the Flowery Branch Lady Falcons on the road Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.

Elite fourth quarter performance pushes Eastside past Cedar Shoals

The boys game between Eastside and Cedar Shoals was close throughout, but a strong fourth quarter gave life to the Eagles and their fans on their way to a 57-51 victory over the 12-win Jaguars.

The teams entered the final quarter with Eastside holding a 35-34 lead courtesy of a last second slam dunk by junior Kendall Bryant.

With most of Cedar Shoals’ fourth quarter points coming by way of free throws, Eastside was in need of a strong offensive effort to keep pace and grab the lead.

It got just that in the form of senior Marion Eubanks Jr., who seemed to make the right plays at all the right times. 

After falling into foul trouble in the first half, Eubanks’ performance in the second half is exactly what head coach Dorrian Randolph wanted out of the senior.

“He is a very intense player. At halftime I had to get on him,” Randolph said “‘Hey we count on you, we need you. You can’t have the stupid fouls, you have to be disciplined. I need you to be the player I know you can be, and I need you to have that attitude that you have on the football field where nobody can stop me.’ He was able to do that. He settled down.”

After trading the lead back-and-forth, Eubanks gave Eastside room with an uncontested three to lead 43-39 — a lead that the Eagles never relinquished.

With under two minutes to go and with a four-point lead, Eubanks made what Randolph considered to be the play of the game. As the Jaguars attempted to go inside for a score to cut the lead, Eubanks drew a charging foul to give the possession right back to the Eagles with the lead.

“That charge, out of everything, was the biggest thing that he did,” Randolph said. “Taking that charge when they were making a comeback was the biggest play he made all night.”

Heads up defensive plays in the final minute allowed for Eastside to earn the 57-51 win after a wild final frame.

“The fourth quarter was a game changer,” Randolph said. “Defensively, we have a goal of 12 points a quarter. 48 total and they scored 51, most of it on free throws. We have to work on being more disciplined but it was a game changer. The energy from the guys turned up the defensive intensity, we were able to execute on steals.” 

The game was tight from the very start.

The two teams were within four points of each other at the end of each quarter besides the final one. 

With defense being the story, Randolph expressed how his team leans into that and thrives off it. In fact, Randolph and the coaching staff keep a sheet where they tally small defensive plays that can make a difference in the game.

“We pride ourselves on deflections and steals,” Randolph said. “We have multiple guys that had six or seven [deflections or steals]. That is what our defense is about, it is not about man or zone. Give Cedar credit, they were getting downhill when we were in man. Coach [I] had to swallow his pride and go to zone, but our man principles still applied. We still needed the energy, the effort, move on the ball, active hands and as you can see the sheet reflects that.

“The toughness, the deflections, the steals, the diving on the floor — that’s who we are.”

Another positive for Eastside on Tuesday was the return of junior Josiah Johnson, who missed the past two games due to injury.

Johnson was all over the court in his first game back as the junior moved the ball around well and ended up second on the team in scoring.

Following the game, Randolph spoke about what the junior brings to his lineup.

“He’s a leader,” Randolph said. “He gets downhill. He gets into the guys when he has to. He is a true leader as an 11th grader. The statistics say that when he doesn't play, we lose. It was great to have him back because we won.”

Eubanks led the Eagles with 18 points in the win while Johnson followed with 10.

The win is a welcomed sight for the Eagles, who lost five of their past six games.

Now at 10-9 and 4-3 in Region 8-AAAA play, Easistdie sits at fourth place in the standings.

Randolph and the Eagles will go on the road to take on the Flowery Branch Falcons Friday, Jan. 17 at 8:30 p.m.