| Felix Casperi takes it strong to the hole against Laramie County |
The Eagles added to their winning streak with a 72-63 win over Laramie County last Wednesday night. But then they ran into trouble over the weekend in Colorado as they lost 68-83 to the Northeastern Plainsmen. They followed that up with a second loss on Saturday dropping one to Northwest Wyoming 65-70.
Their record stands at 5-5 on the season.
On Friday CEU got into trouble quickly. Shooting only 32 percent, they could only manage 23 first half points. The Eagles went into the locker room with a 12 point deficit.
However, they picked things up in the second half as their shooting improved to 50 percent but still they could not overcome an even hotter shooting team as the Plainsmen hit over 60 percent of their shots. Missing over 50 percent of their shots from the line also didn’t help the struggling Eagles make up any ground.
Darington Hobson led the team with 18 points. Kal Bay and Rafael Moreira each had 12. Hobson also led the team in rebounds with 12.
On Saturday night the Eagles came out stronger in the first half. They shot 42 percent and were only down by six at the break. CEU hit 10 three point shots on the night. They kept the long game of NWCC quiet as they could only hit two. But it was NWCC’s inside game that took it to CEU and edged them out in the end with a five point win.
Stephen Franklin scored 18 on the night. Felix Casperi added 12 and Colby Vranes contributed 10 for the Eagles.
Moreira worked the boards for nine rebounds. Franklin pulled in seven. The team also was better from the line, hitting 15 of 20 on Saturday.
Coach Chris Craig is still working hard with his young team to try and get them to play his system. Even after the win on Thursday he was a bit frustrated. “They played well, but there were moments….you know, sometimes these young kids just don’t always follow the system and it shows.”
Craig is in his first year as head coach of the Eagles and is one of the youngest college coaches in the nation. He knows it is important to establish a solid program and he has been tough.
Four players have left the program since the beginning of the year. Athletic Director Dave Paur explained that it was because they just didn’t want to play within the system. Two left on their own and two were asked to leave. As Paur pointed out, Coach Craig needs to set the tone this season if the program is to be successful and respected. The players who have stayed are there to play and play hard.
The Eagles will have home games both this Tuesday and Friday. The Friday night game is an all-star match-up and will begin at 7 p.m. at the BDAC. After that they will head to Scottsdale, Ariz. for an after Christmas tournament.