Wildcats best Eagles despite fearless performance

by Bill Althaus

Eli Herbert looked like he'd just run through a gauntlet as he emerged from the visitor's locker room Friday night at Blue Springs High School.

The junior guard, who is the No. 2 scorer in the Kansas City metro area, scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half of the Eagles' 62-55 loss to the Wildcats, and he paid the price as double-team defense, rugged man-to-man defense and a wildly enthusiastic home crowd made him earn every point.

As he walked over to greet his family, he was holding the book "Living Fearless," by Jamie Winship, which deals with faith and serenity in an ever-evolving world that presents one challenge after another.

"It's about living in true faith," Herbert said. "It's good for the soul. It got physical out there, but we played a physical game, too. We didn't play well when it counted, and that's disappointing."

Eagles coach Andy Herbert, who is Eli's father, talked about the physical style of play that often saw Eli in the middle of a scrum under the basket.

"It was a physical game," Coach Herbert said, after his team fell to 6-6. "We made some shots, missed some shots and didn't play very well defensively. Late in the game, No. 13 (Nyland White) hit a big 3-point basket that gave Blue Springs a 58-54 and that's what he does. He comes off their bench and hits big baskets - and we never really recovered."

Eli scored seven points in the first quarter as Grain Valley led 17-13 heading into quarter No. 2.
Eli added 10 points and the Eagles took a 32-20 lead into the half as the Wildcats zeroes in from long range and connected on some key shots in the paint.

"Herbert does such a great job with that little matchup zone and it takes away what you want to run offensively," Wildcats coach Adam Jones said.

"So you’ve really got to just play basketball against it. I thought in the first half we just kind of sat there and stared at it. And in the second half, we found out we were a little more patient into aggressiveness, if that makes sense. I like what we did against it, and it helps to make shots, for sure." 

Jones' son Barrett, hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and the Wildcats took a 45-44 lead into the final eight minutes of play.

"It was a physical game, but a fun game - a lot of excitement in our gym and both teams had a lot of fans to support them," said Barrett, who finished with four 3-pointers and a team-high 16 points.

"The gym was alive and both teams fed off their fans energy."

With 2:11 left in regulation, Coach Jones called for a four-corner offense that forced the Eagles to foul his players.

Malik Lewis, who finished with 15 points, hit his final four free throws to spoil any Grain Valley comeback effort.

"Blue Springs just outplayed us," Coach Herbert said. "I have never questioned the work ethic of our guys. We played hard, but we couldn't execute when we needed to - and I take the blame for that.

"I want us to learn something from every game, but I'm going to have to watch some film before I can tell you what we learned from tonight."

Grain Valley Eagle Eli Herbert (left) goes for a three-pointer against Blue Springs. The junior guard, who is the No. 2 scorer in the Kansas City metro area, scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half of the Eagles' 62-55 loss to the Wildcats, and he paid the price as double-team defense, rugged man-to-man defense and a wildly enthusiastic home crowd made him earn every point. Photo credit: Bill Althaus