By: Maggie Wilks
The Cornerstone Christian Academy Eagles found success against Valley Fellowship, but things didn’t fall their way against Hope Christian and Tabernacle. Details of each game are below.
Cornerstone 74 –
Valley Fellowship 44
After a slow first quarter, the Eagles were trailing their regional opponent 10-13. The Fire’s leading scorer, Colon Erskine, was responsible for all thirteen points. Going into halftime, the Eagles allowed Erskine only one basket and capitalized offensively to take the lead 28-26. The Eagles’ offense ignited their own fire after halftime, sparked by leading scorer Matthew Ferguson. In the third quarter, the Eagles outscored the Fire 29-11 with Ferguson responsible for 18 of those points. After establishing a 57-37 lead going into the fourth, Ferguson exited the game with 42 points. In addition to Ferguson’s outstanding scoring, Bryce Dupree contributed 8, Eli Carter 6, Grady Camp 5, and Ethan Wooten 4.
Cornerstone 60 –
Hope Christian 94
After facing an early thirteen-point deficit in the first quarter, the Eagles were able to fight back and keep the game within 4 into the second of this non-conference game against the Hope Warriors. However, they were unable to find an answer for leading scorer David Smith’s five- deep threes. The Eagles went in at the half down 52-40. In the third, the Warriors outscored the Eagles 24-11 and increased their lead by 25.
Cornerstone 40 – Tabernacle 62
When Coach Carter was asked what he believed his team needed to do to improve their game, he responded, “They need to be able to play hard for four full quarters.” Although they suffered a loss, Carter commented that he believed this game was one they played for the whole four quarters. After remaining within 1 for the first quarter, the Eagles were unable to make the necessary adjustments to close out the Torches. The Torches led at the half 32-18 and continued outscoring the Eagles until the 62-40 final. The Eagle’s Matthew Ferguson put up 22 points against the Torches defense and Bryce Dupree scored 12. “The Torches are a great team. They have good 3-point shooters and an efficient offensive,” Carter said, “but I truly believe we fought and played hard in all four quarters, we just have to be able to finish and execute better in some areas.” Carter also stated that he believed the team played with more heart than ever and that was encouraging to see.