It was a light week for the Eagles with only one game on the docket, but East Marion made the most of it and provided some clarity on what’s in store for the stretch run.
East Marion (5-13, 2-3) picked up its first Region 8-2A victory on its home court Jan. 14 over Collins to wash the bad taste out following a pair of heartbreaking losses the week before.
During the first half, Collins made six threes and had the game tied 25-25 going into halftime besides being seemingly outplayed in every facet by East Marion. While the Tigers staying in the game strictly because of their 3-point shooting could’ve been demoralizing for the Eagles, they shook it off and controlled the action during the second half to win 62-51.
“It’s very encouraging. I’m proud of the way we stayed the course,” head coach Calvin Brown said. “We stayed on the grind this time and didn’t get too far out of character. We spread it around.
“I was really proud of Caleb (Rawls). He wasn’t having the best scoring night and was on the bad end of some block/charge calls — three to be exact — but he ended up getting 21 rebounds. That’s what great players do; they do whatever they need to do to help the team win.”
Rawls was limited to just nine points, which was the first time this season he had been held under double digits, despite shooting 4-of-5 (80%) from the field.
Cameron Walker picked up the scoring slack with the second-most points of his career, notching 20 points on 57% shooting. Carlos Stubbs also had an uptick in offensive production with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. To round out the offense Christopher “Deuce” Johnson nearly had a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.
Brown said the scoring efforts of Stubbs and Johnson are needed on a game-to-game basis going forward.
“That was kind of a snapshot of what we think we’ll look like when we’re at our best,” he said. “When they’re able to bring that on any given night and bring a couple other guys along, I think we have a pretty good shot to win the district and sneak back into the statewide picture.”
Prior to the game Brown had said he needed his team to understand that it wasn’t going to win by continuing to shoot a bunch of 3-pointers, evidenced by a 1-of-16 showing in its Jan. 10 loss to St. Patrick. The Eagles trimmed some of the fat against Collins, making 3-of-9 with Walker going 3-of-7 himself.
Following the win, though, Brown said it isn’t necessarily the amount of threes but more so about the type of threes the Eagles take.
“When we set each other up to take them, I want them to shoot them without hesitation. I can understand that,” he said. “But if we’re able to get to the basket or if we’re able to get to the free throw line, I would prefer that. I hope we’re starting to understand that. When it’s a three off the first pass, a contested three or a three of the dribble, that’s not healthy for us. If we can draw in the defense and set each other up, we shoot them a lot better.”
Brown said while he’s hopeful the win over Collins broke the seal after gut-wrenching losses to North Forrest and St. Patrick, he knows what happens over the final four games of the regular season really doesn’t matter all that much because the district will still be decided in the Region 8-2A tournament.
“Our focus is just getting better and being at our best for that second week in February,” he said.
East Marion played Collins in a rematch Tuesday night on the road, but results were unavailable at press time.
The Eagles will return home Friday to play host to Perry Central, who beat East Marion in December 47-46.
UPDATE: East Marion beat Collins 58-47 on the road Tuesday night.
Pictured Above: East Marion's Caleb Rawls throws down a powerful dunk. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
