From Eagle, the Mustangs and the Bishop Kelly Knights opened their seasons in a 5A vs. 4A Southern Idaho Conference match up.
Eagle jumped out quickly behind 2 quick 3-pointers from junior guard Jacob Talbot. Eagle would run the score to 10-2 before BK settled down.
The Knights used a combination of pressure man to man, a 1-2-2 zone press and some half court zone. Initially, it helped keep the Mustangs off balance and keep them in the game, though they trailed 26-18 at the half.
In the second half, Eagle began to gain more confidence. While BK always scrapped and never fell completely out of it, Eagle showed maturity and really started to let the game come to them. And with about 6 minutes to go, they started to find senior forward Braiden Shaw.
Shaw was held in check during the first half and early in the second half by the Knight’s Spencer King. But as the game wore on (and King got into foul trouble) Shaw was able to settle into the post and was basically unstoppable. Maybe the most impressive part of Shaw’s performance wasn’t his scoring or rebounding (he scored 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting in the key and grabbed 13 rebounds). It was his ability to make great passes that had the biggest impact. He had 5 assists and even more hockey assists. He can look over a defense and his feel for the game guides him where to move the ball.
The game ended with an Eagle win, 55-40.