Austin Eagles Are Regional Champions For The First Time Since 2002

The Austin Eagles boys basketball team traveled to Charlestown on Saturday, March 14, to face off against the Forest Park Rangers for a Class 2A Regional Championship. The Rangers hit a three-pointer to open the game, but then Tracen Roush and Braxton Barger hit back-to-back three-pointers, and the Eagles continued to score, going on a 10-0 run to lead the game 10-3. The Rangers then ended the first quarter on an 8-2 run, but the Eagles still led 15-13. The Eagles would have a great second quarter, as they would use a huge 6-0 run to take a 32-17 lead with 1:59 left to play in the first half, and would be led by Micha Mohler, who would hit back-to-back three pointers. The Eagles shot lights out in the first half, shooting 52% from the field and 61% from the three-point line. The Eagles would also have 12 points off turnovers.

Meanwhile, Forest Park shot only 25% from the field and 30% from the three-point line. Forest Park would score seven quick points to start the second half, but the Eagles responded with four of their own. Coach Brent Jameson still wanted a timeout after his Eagles only led 39-24 with 6:00 to play in the third quarter. Mohler had a huge steal that led to a layup, giving the Eagles a 41-26 lead after their 18-point lead had shrunk to just 13. The Eagles would have a strong finish to the third quarter, milking the clock and leading 43-28 to start the fourth quarter. Forest Park would, however, outscore the Eagles 11-8, but the Eagles still shot 45% from the field compared to Forest Park’s 32%. The Eagles would go up by 20 points with 3:30 to play, leading the Rangers 50-30.

The Rangers had a hard time scoring under the pressure defense the Eagles played, as they airballed three shots in a row and struggled to get to the basket. However, the case was different for the Eagles, as they were hitting three-pointers left and right and getting to the basket with ease. The Rangers even tried a full-court press in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles sliced that up like a piece of cheesecake and continued to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line. The Eagles had control from the moment they took a 6-3 lead and never looked back, defeating the Rangers, 64-42, to claim their first regional championship since 2002.

Here is the interview I had with coach Brent Jameson:

Aaron: Brent, I want to start by talking about your defense. You forced 16 turnovers and held them to just 31% from the field. Do you care to comment on that?

Brent: “Well, obviously, we knew that we had to get a body on Kamdon Partenheimer, as he is a really good player. He made some shots early, but overall, I think we did a good job with that. During the week, my players came up to me and said, “Is there a video on our game plan?” I told them I just made our game plan in my office. It is definitely one of those things that keeps you up at night because there is no blueprint for it, but I share that because I am just so proud of how these boys went out and executed our game plan.”

Aaron: Coach, your offense was unreal tonight, as you shot 50% from the field and had 13 assists on 20 made baskets. Do you care to comment on that?

Brent: “My entire takeaway from today is that it was a total team effort. You know, guys got heads, and we fed them the ball. We joked after the game and said, if we want teams to talk about something, we want them to talk about Austin. Like, you better shoot like Austin if you are going to win this game. Again, it was a total team effort, and those guys were unbelievable today.” Here is the scoring for the Eagles:

Braxton Barger 13, Tyller Collins 2, Micha Mohler 16, Tracen Roush 23, and Carter Hunley 10.

Due to our deadlines and when games were played on Saturday, March 14, check for picture highlights on our Facebook page The Scott Clark Washington County Herald Newspapers and The Outlook under our photo albums and check our newsfeed for for locations, times & opponents for the Semi-State on March 21.