After 8 Weeks on the Road, Eagle Men Come Home for Conference Hoops Opener

An up and down preseason ended with a young Eagle men's basketball team hovering in the middle with a 9-9 record.

After eight weeks on the road, their first conference game as defending champions, Wednesday night at 5 p.m. vs. Lassen, will also be their first home game of the season.

All those away games would be challenging for a veteran team, and this Eagle team has no returning starters from last year.

Still, they won 6 of their 10 games in November and started December with an 84-80 overtime win against Reedley on the first day of the Annual James Clark Classic in Sacramento.

Then they lost for a second time to Las Positas, 91-77, which was no surprise against a team that is currently 14-0. That preceded a loss to another strong team, 11-5 Cosumnes River. But that loss stung a little more because of the margin of defeat, 91-40.

The Eagles were up and down and up again the following week at San Jose City's Coach Carr Classic. They opened with a 77-68 win over Hartnell, lost to host San Jose, 89-45, and won big over Monterey Peninsula, 96-69.

After a two-week break, they finished December with two losses at College of San Mateo, 67-60 against Ohlone and 91-67 against San Mateo.

Mostly it was good teams that beat the Eagles. San Jose is 12-4 and Ohlone 12-2. San Mateo, however, is 5-9 including three losses to teams the Eagles will play in what appears to be a strong Golden Valley Conference, Redwoods (twice) and Shasta.

Siskiyous head coach Kyle Heath says inconsistency and turnovers have been an issue, as well as a 24 percent shooting percentage on three-point attempts.

"Our young guys are getting experience and playing hard," Heath said. And while last year's team was 5-12 in the preseason before winning 9 of 10 to claim the GVC title, that Eagle lineup featured four sophomore starters and a freshman who did not return this year.

Two current freshmen are leading the Eagles in both scoring and rebounding so far. Forward Jacob Dallas and guard Jeremiah Collins are both averaging more than 15 points per game. Dallas has been grabbing 8.5 rebounds per game, Collins averages 5.5 rebounds and leads the team in steals.

Dallas is ranked No. 5 among GVC players in scoring and No. 3 in rebounding. Collins is No. 7 in scoring and No. 11 in rebounding.

Sophomore guard Josh Allen, who missed last season with an injury, is averaging 9.5 points and leads the team with 3.5 assists per game.

Freshman forward Davis Warren is averaging 6.5 points and more than 5 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Gavin McLean averages 5 points, while sophomore guard Matthew McEwen is averaging 4.5 points and is second on the team in steals.

Going into the season, Heath thought the Eagles would have more success scoring inside than they've had so far. And, looking ahead, he's stressing the importance of executing the basics, the small things that can make a big difference.

Heath still believes the key to success in the GVC is winning consistently at home and stealing some wins on the road. With 5 or 6 conference wins, he said the Eagles can stay in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.

Unlike last season, most GVC teams have had early success. Redwoods finished the preseason 13-5, Feather River 12-5, Butte 10-8, and Shasta 9-8. Lassen is 7-9 after starting the season 5-0.

"The GVC is legit," said Heath. "We want to get off on the right foot against Lassen before playing at Feather River and Redwoods, two of the tougher teams." Both those road games are on Saturdays (Jan. 11 and 18), starting at 1 p.m. The Eagles then return home to play Butte on Jan. 22.

"I told the guys there's no more back-to-backs," Heath said. "We're looking at conference like 10 one-game seasons over a month and a half."

By Steve Gerace