EIDSON-When in search of a District championship, there are games that you can't afford to overlook. You may be heavily favored, but business has to be taken care of.

That's exactly what faced the Cosby Eagles (13-3, 4-0) when they ventured into the backcountry of Hawkins County on Thursday night to face District 2A foe Clinch (0-7, 0-4). And, the Eagles took care of business, dispatching the Wildcats 56-25 for their ninth straight victory, and, more importantly, still perfect atop the District 2A regular season standings.

The Lady Eagles were scheduled to take on the Lady Wildcats. However, illness depleted the Lady Wildcat numbers to the point they couldn't put five players on the court. As a result, the Lady Eagles got the night off.

The Eagles took it to the Wildcats early and often taking a 20-3 first quarter lead. Senior forward Seth Wyatt was working hard in the paint for three baskets en-route to a game-high 16 points on the night. Jake Ledford and Andrew Adams found the range from beyond the arc, each getting three-pointers and each scoring two-pointers as well. Corey Conard and Robert Herzog got one basket each to account for the Eagles' scoring over the first eight minutes.

The Eagles put up 19 over the second eight minutes to put the game away, and led 39-7 at the half. Ledford canned another three-pointer and added a free throw while Wyatt got two more baskets, Conard and Adams a basket each, Brand Gates with two baskets, Nick Baxter with a two and Jake Green with a free throw to account for the second quarter scoring.

The Eagles toned things back a bit over the final two quarters. In the third, Wyatt finished his scoring with three baskets while Conard added two more buckets and Green hit a shot from beyond the arc to give the Eagles a 52-15 lead at the end of three.

Down the stretch, the Eagles hit only two baskets, one from Tanner Phillips and the other from Green to give the Eagles 31-point victory, 56-25.

COSBY (56): Seth Wyatt 16, Jake Ledford 9, Corey Conard 8, Andrew Adams 7, Jake Green 6, Brandon Gates 4, Nick Baxter 2, Robert Herzog 2, Tanner Phillips 2.

CLINCH (25): Dylan Seal 12, Ethan Murrell 4, Matt Lamb 4, Dylan Lamb 3, Fred Kammer 2.

 

JUNIOR EAGLES ROLL

The night's only other contest had the Cosby and Clinch boy's junior varsity squads having at it, at least through the first two quarters.

The junior Eagles were slow to start, and the Wildcats took advantage, leading 7-4 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles woke up, however, to take a 15-13 lead into the locker room, and then expanded their lead to 22 at 36-14 to finish off the third quarter. The Eagles then cruised home with the 35-point victory, 51-16.

COSBY (51): Drew Schreder 16, Timmy Smelcer 9, Dylan Rone 6, Zach Daruna 6, Jacob Baxter 4, Tate Parton 4, Luke Lemons 2, Cory Valentine 2, Tanner Phillips 2.

CLINCH (16): Conrad Mabe 7, Jame Buchanan 3, Tyler Barger 3, Trevor Lamb 2, Fred Kammer 1.

 

UP NEXT

The Eagles and Lady Eagles face perhaps the toughest week of their season this far in the coming week.

On Monday, February 1, Cosby travels to Hancock County for games that were postponed on December 18. Girl's JV will start the evening off at 5 p.m., followed by girl's varsity at 6:30 p.m. and boy's varsity at around 8 p.m. The Eagles and Lady Eagles swept Hancock when they got together at Cosby on January 22, but the Indians and Lady Indians are looking forward to the rematch on their home turf.

On Tuesday, February 2, the Eagles and Lady Eagles will be hosting District 2A foe J. Frank White, which were postponed a second time this past Saturday, January 30. Boy's varsity will tip things off at 5 p.m. Stay tuned, however, as these games may be moved to Wednesday, February 3. Meanwhile, Cosby's scheduled games with Unaka on Tuesday, February 2, have been cancelled, and will not be rescheduled.

On Friday, February 5, the Eagles and Lady Eagles return home for a tough District 2A rematch with Washburn. Girl's JV will start things off at 5 p.m., followed by girl's varsity at 6:30 p.m. and boy's varsity at around 8 p.m. The first time the Eagles and Pirates got together at Washburn on January 15, the Eagles pulled out a victory in the closing seconds. Both varsity games will be broadcast live on WLIK, AM-1270, with Brian Evans providing the play-by-play.

And, on Saturday, February 6, the Eagles and Lady Eagles are back on the road at former District 3A foe Greenback in games that were postponed back on January 9. There are four games on the schedule featuring both girl's and boy's junior varsity and girl's and boy's varsity starting at around 3 p.m.