It was truly a “team” effort for the Evangel Christian Eagles during their All A Classic quarterfinal game against the Todd County Central Rebels. Ten different players found the scoring column as the Eagles rolled past the Rebels 67-36 to advance on to Saturday’s semifinals. Evangel scored the first 8 points of the game and never was seriously threatened after that on their way to the win.
With Evangel’s size in the paint and the quickness of their guards out front, nothing came easily for Todd County Central on the offensive end. Those offensive struggles put additional pressure on the defense, which at times played well against the much bigger Eagles. However, Evangel’s size and speed would eventually take their toll.
Despite giving up the first eight points of the game, the Rebels had to feel good where they were when the first quarter ended. They had played even with the Eagles over the rest of the quarter and trailed 16-8 heading into the second quarter. Preston Moore had five points for the Rebels in the first eight minutes.
The Rebels were still within eight points at 19-11 when Evangel delivered the knockout blow for the night. Over the next three minutes of the second quarter, the Eagles would outscore the Rebels 10-0 to run their lead out to 29-11. That was a shot that Todd Central would not be able to recover from. When the half ended, the Rebels were down 32-14.
While the snow was falling outside the arena, the shots were not falling for the Rebels on the inside. Todd County Central ended the opening half shooting just 4-17. Ball security was aslo a problem, as the Rebels turned the ball over ten times in the opening half. Add in that big man Jamison Glass was held scoreless over the first sixteen minutes, and it was the “perfect storm” that would sink the Rebels’ hopes of advancing on to Saturday.
Evangel Christian was able to keep the pressure on as the second half got underway, oftentimes forcing the Rebels into tough shots, when they could manage to get a look at a shot at all. The Rebels would go 3 for 11 in the third as the Eagles pushed the lead out to 47-20 heading into the final quarter.
To the Rebels credit, they kept battling until the final horn, forcing the Eagles into mistakes over the final quarter of the game and giving Todd Central their best quarter of the game, putting up 16 points over the final 8 minutes. Also, to the credit of the Rebels’ fans, they were as loud and vocal during the final quarter as they had been in the first quarter in appreciation for the “never quit” effort their team displayed until the horn sounded to end the game and the Rebels’ appearance in the 2022 All A Classic.
Jamison Glass led the Rebels with 10 points, all of them coming in the second half. He also had 6 rebounds. Preston Moore added 8 points for the Rebels.
Evangel was paced by Kyran Tilley with 11 points. Dawson Black and Johnny Djema finished with 9 points each. Prized college prospect Cyr Malonga ended up with 7 points and 2 rebounds for the Eagles.
Todd Central falls to 16-5 with the loss. The Rebels are set to get back to action Monday night on the road at McLean County.
