MARIETTA – Randy Brady scored 18 points and Braden Sparks added 17 to help McEachern seal a 69-58 win over Evans to win its bracket of the Lemon Street Classic on Tuesday at Marietta Garden.
The Indians (8-2) won their seventh straight game and handed Evans (8-1) its first loss of the season.
“This was a pretty good win for us because it helped us come together as a team,” said Bobby Moore, who was also in double figures with 13 points. “We wanted to play hard defense and play together as a team so that we can get the ‘W.’”
McEachern set the tone early by attacking inside the paint. It made 12 of 22 shot attempts from inside and built a 36-17 lead at the break.
Brady did most of the attacking under the basket, scoring 13 of his points before halftime.
The Indians also took advantage of Evans’ struggles from beyond the arc. The Knights missed their first 13 attempts from long range in the first half before Joshton Mincey converted during the final minute.
“I thought we did a really good job on offense in getting the ball inside the paint,” McEachern coach Mike Thompson said. “(Evans was) shooting 3s and missing them, and that’s always a remedy of success for us. We knew eventually they would make 3s because they make a lot of them. They made 16 (against Norcross) last night, I think.”
Evans did start making 3s in the second half and started having success clogging the inside and forcing a few McEachern turnovers. The Knights put together a 13-4 run midway through the third quarter, with Devin Story accounting for seven of those points.
But McEachern took the momentum back when Cam McDowell stole the ball and fed a long pass to Sparks for the layup. Sparks also got fouled while making the shot and turned it into a three-point play.
That play helped spark a 9-0 McEachern run that also included a 3-pointer by Moore, and a layup by Moore with 2:10 left in the third put the Indians back in front by 20 points at 55-35.
Evans went on another run late in the fourth quarter to cut the Indians’ lead to nine points with roughly 2 minutes left to play. McDowell, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, made three of his last four free throws during the final minute to pull away.