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The Eagles fall late in nail biter against River Valley

Photo by Tim Weight
By Kenny Varner

WINGATE – They fought to the bitter end!

Monday night the Bald Eagle Area boys basketball team hosted River Valley in the opening round of the District 6 playoffs.

For three and a half quarters the Eagles were able to cling to the lead against the Panthers.

But River Valley made a late run and was able to outlast a last second shot attempt by the Eagles to take home the 49-48 victory.

Despite the loss, the Eagles were led by Blaze Angellotti who finished with 13 points and Teammate Camron Watkins posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“ I thought we played a great first half. In the second half I thought we were a little bit out of sorts in some of the decisions we made. They put some pressure on us. It was a tough one to lose,” said Bald Eagle Atea coach Kris Glunt. “It was a tough one to finish one because I thought we played one of our best first halfs of the season.”

In the fourth, Bald Eagle held onto a slim 38-35 lead.

Cameron Reaugh closed the game to just a field goal as he hit 1-of-2 from the line.

With 6:08 left, Rocco Bartolini tied the contest going a perfect 2-for-2.

The two would battle to the final seconds with the Eagles trailing 45-44 with under 2-minutes left.

As the clock hit 1:32, Bald Eagle took back the lead on a clutch jumper by Angellotti.

Seconds later, Braden Staats went to the line after being hacked. He was perfect from the line, giving the Panthers a slim 47-46.

Bald Eagle battled right back when Watkins scored two from his time at the charity stripe, making it a 48-47 advantage.

But River Valley’s Andrew Baker was able to a basket underneath, taking back the lead in the final seconds.

The Eagles had the last chance to take back the lead but the last shot bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Bald Eagle came out hot offensively, posting 15 in the first quarter.

It’s defense was just a potent, allowing only nine points.

The Eagles’ Tyler Serb got the scoring started when he hit a triple just a minute in.

Angellotti followed hitting 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, making it a 4-0 lead.

The Panthers made it a 1-point contest when Dom Speal, who finished with 10, got the ball and scored on a triple from beyond the 3-point line.

Offensively, the Eagles started to heat up as it went on an 11-3 run to take a 15-4 lead with 1:38 left in the opening period.

River Valley ended the period on a 5-0 run, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 15-9.

Bald Eagle built up the lead by a point in the second half, the Eagles led by 28-16.

“I told the guys afterwards that this does not define our season. It stinks to have it end this way,” said Glunt. “But we’ve had a lot of great moments. We made a lot of progress. We’ve had some big wins. Today was a tough one to lose, especially in the matter we lost. But I’m proud the guys they put a lot of work in. The one thing I respect about these guys is they come in everyday ready to play.”

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