“It was an ugly win, but a good-ugly win,” said Larson. “It was a tough atmosphere, but I was proud of the way we just ground it out in the first half.”
A layup by the Sabres’ Titus Redmond with 4:19 remaining in the first period tied the score at 22-22. But the Eagles closed out the first half just as strong as they started the game. Ryan Johnsen knocked down a three-point basket near the one-minute mark, as Edgewood took a 29-24 lead into the intermission.
The Eagles shot only 33.3 percent in the first half, but improved that percentage to a 52.4 clip in the final period. Johnsen’s second three-pointer came minutes into the second half and gave Edgewood an 11-point lead. The Eagles went 4-of-13 from downtown, while Marian was 4-of-21. Edgewood also connected on 19-of-32 from the foul line in the second half.
Seth Cooper went 10-of-12 from the charity stripe and tallied a team-high 14 points. Johnsen added 13 points, and freshmen Jon Ciche and Chris DeMarco scored 11 each. Ciche also had six blocked shots on the defensive end. Charlie Averkamp had 10 points and 17 rebounds to add to his league-leading rebound total.
“We had a lot of guys step up in a lot of ways,” said Larson. “We rebounded and defended the best we have all year. It was a true team victory.”
Nick Vogt led the Sabres with a game-high 16 points followed by 11 points and eight rebounds from Jordan Van Ess. With the loss, the Sabres fall to 8-16 (4-9 LMC).