By Kendall Patterson
Sports Editor
After making a run to the state tournament for the first time since 1958 and being the first team to make it to the state tournament since the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association started doing the current classification system, the Eagles fell in the first state game to the Ridgeway Roadrunners, 40-36.
The first half remained low scoring with neither team reaching ten points in a quarter.
At the end of the first the Eagles were down 8-5, but were able to decrease the margin to 13-12 at halftime.
When they got back on the court in the third they surged offensively and gained a ten-point lead, 29-19, completing 60% of thier field goals.
The largest lead the Eagles possessed was with 44 seconds left in the third quarter with a 12-point lead.
The Roadrunners respon-ded strong though with a lot of pressure defesively and scoring offensively which enabled them to outscore the Eagles 21-7 in the final quater that resulted in the Chester County loss, 36-40.
“I knew they were going to turn the pressure up and they did. There was a lot of physical play and we had just a few too many turnovers there at the end to close out the game,” said Eagles Head Coach Collin McPherson.
After closing out that game, Eagles Quadarius Gains and Michael Pirtle left the court for the last time as a Chester County Eagle. McPherson is proud of the two guys.
“I’m proud of Quardarius Gains. He is a great role model for the rest of the team, like I said, one of the hardest workers,” he said.
“Michael Pirtle, again, one of our best players, not being able to play tonight but another awesome kid that’s overcame a whole lot this year, and has been a great teammate to everybody,” he said.
Even though the Eagles did not bring home the gold, they defintely made their mark in the Chester County Eagles Basketball Program.
“Everybody knows who we are now and I’m just super proud of our guys and how they played,” McPherson said. “They went out there and played their hardest tonight. As a coach, that’s all that you can ask for.
