Eagles Claim Chaplains Cup

Ankeny, IA -  The winner of this matchup would claim the Chaplains Cup, which was presented by the Iowa National Guard. 

The 1st half started out rough for both sides, as neither team scored until the 16 minute mark. Emmaus was the first team to wake up as they went on to shoot the lights out in the first half. The Eagles responded, but not enough to keep it close as Emmaus went into half leading 42-28 with the help of 18 first half points from Mitchell Marr. 

The beginning of the 2nd half was much like the 1st half as the Eagles continued to struggle. The head coach of the Eagles, Brian Fincham, called a timeout to try to rally the troops and wake his team up. Whatever he said lit a fire under the Eagles as they picked up the defensive pressure and sped the game up. This caused issues for Emmaus as they struggled to score and were forced into turnovers. With 7 minutes remaining, the Eagles took the lead 68-66 with free throws from Jared Pearson and in the final 7 minutes the Eagles stormed away and never looked back. Over the final 16 minutes of the 2nd half, the Eagles went on a 59-31 run to defeat Emmaus 91-79. 

The Eagles had 5 scorers in double figures including James Busenitz who pulled in the double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. This win snaps the Eagles 6 game losing streak and puts their record at 4-9 (2-3 in MCCC play). The Eagles next game is this Friday at 7pm CST against the Saints from Central Christian College of the Bible.