Antwan Jones
The McEachern Indians looked to defend homecourt against the Pebblebrook Falcons on Senior Night. The last time these two teams played was January 15th where they split the doubleheader. The girls’ varsity for McEachern defeated Pebblebrook 79-48, while the boys’ varsity for Pebblebrook beat McEachern 75-69. The rematch was for the top spot in Region 2-7A.
It was announced during the Senior Night presentation that this would McEachern head coach Mike Thompson’s final season. The loved and respected coach said he would be retiring after a long coaching career, including more than a decade coaching the Indians.
The girl’s kicked off the doubleheader at 6PM.
McEachern started the first quarter hot from the field. They hit shots from all over the court. McEachern’s ball movement was the main reason they jumped out to an early lead on Pebblebrook. McEachern ended the first quarter with a buzzer-beater layup. Pebblebrook trailed 26-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The Falcons struggled on offense as they scored only six points in the second quarter. The Indians pressured the ball on defense, which confused the Falcons on offense. The Indians increased their lead to 22-points as the score was 39-17 at the end of the first half.
McEachern continued to dominate Pebblebrook as they pulled away in the second half. Pebblebrook failed to match the scoring output of McEachern. McEachern sealed a home victory with the game being out of reach with the final score of 62-33.
The Indians extended their win streak to four games and improved their record to 11-4. Pebblebrook falls to 5-14.
The boy’s game was much more exciting as it came down to the wire. The rematch was highly anticipated as McEachern looked to get revenge after losing to Pebblebrook a couple of weeks earlier.
The Indians struck first to start the game with a fastbreak dunk by star guard Chance Moore. Pebblebroook retaliated as they jumped out to an early double-digit lead midway through the first quarter. Chance Moore was McEachern’s offense in the first quarter, scoring seven of the teams fourteen points in the quarter. Pebblebrook had the lead at the end of the first quarter, 18-14.
The level of intensity picked up in the second quarter from both sides. The Falcons locked in defensively, making it difficult for the Indians to score inside the paint. The Falcons offense came easy in the second as they moved the ball around to find open shooters. The Indians trailed 35-27 at the end of the first half.
Pebblebrook knocked down open shots to increase their lead to 11 points in the opening minutes of the second half. McEachern did not go away as they battled back to take the lead by the end of the third quarter. The game’s momentum shifted in favor of the Indians as they outscored the Falcons 21-11 in the third quarter. McEachern led 48-46 to start the final quarter.
Pebblebrook picked up the pressure on the defense as they started the fourth in a full-court press. The offenses traded baskets in the quarter as both teams made tough shots.
Pebblebrook caught fire from downtown as they hit three consecutive 3-point shots halfway through the fourth. Pebblebrook’s point guard was hit with a critical technical foul late in the fourth quarter after a made contested layup. McEachern hit one of two free throws at the line that gave them a 62-21 lead with only a couple of minutes left in the game.
Andre Young, the guard from Pebblebrook, hit a pull-up jump shot to regain the Falcons’ lead in the last 30 seconds of the game. McEachern’s star guard Chance Moore retaliated on the following sequence with a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Indians 66-65 lead in the game’s final seconds. The Falcons had one more opportunity to win the game, but the Indians secured the win with a blocked shot.
Pebblebrook’s scoring leaders—Danny Stubbs (18 points) and Andre Young (19 points)—weren’t enough to overcome McEachern and Chance Moore’s 32 points and game-winning shot that sealed the victory for the Indians.
Coach Thompson was thrilled but realistic after the emotional win. “This puts us right back in the hunt to lead the region,” he said. “I’d like to go out winning the region, but Pebblebrook is a great team. They’re probably the most talented team in the region.”
“Our team fights back and won’t quit,” he continued. “We didn’t play great tonight, but we’re passionate and play hard and we played well enough. When so many good athletes get into a confined space like this, emotions can sometimes take over and shots get missed. Sometimes that gets us in trouble, but the ball went our way tonight.”