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On Friday night at Santa Fe College, the Eastside Rams faced the Gainesville Hurricanes in a boy’s basketball tilt. The Rams (13-4) were coming off a loss to North Marion while the Hurricanes (14-5) entered the game riding a four-game winning streak.
For the last six times the two teams met, the Gainesville Hurricanes owned the Eastside Rams. Entering this match up, the odds once again seemed to be in Gainesville’s favor. However, Eastside took all its frustration out on Gainesville in dominating fashion.
Domination from the start
From the beginning, the Rams flexed their muscles and showed they were not the same team as before. Their ball movement was crisp and their defense was staggering. This led to a 22-10 first quarter for them. The Rams eventually raced out to a 30-10 lead, indicating that they were not intimated by a six-game losing streak at the hands of the Hurricanes.
A big reason the Rams were up by a lot was because of their three-point shooting. Senior guard Jimmy Johnson connected on four three-pointers in the first half. He was the hot hand, and whenever Eastside needed someone to deliver, Johnson was always there. He finished the game with 18 points.
Stout defense
As mentioned before, the Rams played great defense. They blocked shots, forced the Hurricanes to make mistakes and kept taking momentum away.
Eastside playing smothering defense on Gainesville. Big reason why the Rams are ahead by so much. pic.twitter.com/Rw3Co9c43O
— David Street (@dstreet177) January 20, 2018
Eastside wins 73-53
All of Eastside’s efforts led to a 73-53 win over the Hurricanes. It was a complete team effort for the Rams who showed resiliency in snapping a six-game skid.
What the winning coach said
After the game, Eastside head coach Herman “Pop” Williams gave his thoughts on the game.
What’s next?
Eastside will travel to Starke Saturday to take on the Bradford Tornadoes at 7:30. Gainesville will travel to Ocala next Tuesday to take on the Forest Wildcats at 7:30.
