Ignoring a late substitution due to an injury, the Santa Rosa Christian Varsity Boys Basketball first string only played the first half of their game against the visiting Berean Baptist team. The scoreboard said why: guest 12, home 60 at half time. Final score was 29 and 69. Coach Stephen Peoples’ team added another win to a dominating record on the Eagles’ march toward next month’s Panhandle Christian Conference finals.
The Eagles’ defense kept pressure high early on limiting the Berean Kingsmen to a handful of field goals before the end of the first half. Coach Peoples said, “I thought the defense was great in the first half. We wanted to apply pressure, just like every game, and it worked out very well for us.”
As the conference championship looms closer, Coach Peoples watches his players for performance down the road. In addition to a good defense, the coach said, “I also liked the way Jon Brainard (#25) shot the ball. His shot looked smoother and we'll need that as the games get bigger.”
Brainard put 19 points on the board, with three buckets from outside the line. James Adams (#33) put a flurry of 2’s up, most in the second period, for a total of 16. Bryan Brainard (#14) rounded out the high scorers with 13 of his own, a mix of deuces, free throws, and a three.
Note Eli Manor (#2) was the knee injury who came in on the second half. He sank a three-pointer before the collision with a Berean player. Coach Peoples said he’s fine and will be back for the next game.
Coach Peoples put his second string in and put up the remaining 9 points while allowing 17. Peoples said, “The second string held their own during the second half. I thought they did a good job on the defensive boards. There's room to improve for all of us. And with us having three seniors, two of them starters, we'll definitely take advantage of the spring and summer and improve so that we can carry on the success of this year into next year.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Varsity basketball: Santa Rosa Christian wins again