EATON — On a historic night for National Trail boys basketball (7-6), the Blazers defeated the hosting Eaton Eagles (1-13, 0-7 SWBL) 79-50.
During this game, Trail senior Cameron Harrison surpassed Twin Valley South’s Mark Erslan as Preble County’s all-time leading scorer in boys high school basketball, finishing the game with 1,595 career points. Erslan’s previous record of 1,583 points had stood since 1988. The Register-Herald will have more on this accomplishment soon.
The game began with the teams trading early baskets, tied 6-6, but the Blazers would outscore the Eagles 19-4 over the remainder of the quarter, raining down six 3-pointers (as well as a 3-point play) in the opening minutes.
The Blazers added to their lead in the second quarter, eventually taking a 38-17 lead before entering halftime up 38-21.
The Eagles showed signs of life early in the second half as senior Trevor Long scored Eaton’s first eight points, later cutting the deficit to just 11 points at 42-31.
Looking to squash any chance of a comeback, however, Trail scored five unanswered and would close the quarter out on a 14-5 run, nine of which came from Cameron Harrison.
Cameron’s 3-pointer jump started Trail’s run, but Trail coach Mike Harrison said it was a team effort to rally after Eaton’s run.
“We’re coming off for three straight losses, and that’s why we’re probably a little more excited about this win, because I thought we played well, both games this weekend when we get five guys all moving, all playing together,” he said. “And sure, [Cameron]’s the one who hit the three, but I think it was the ball movement and getting some things back the way it’s supposed to be.”
The Blazers continued adding to the score in the fourth, and a one-handed dunk from senior Tyler Weathington to make it 71-42 put an exclamation point on the eventual 79-50 win.
The win for Trail came after three straight losses, two of them by one possession. Coach Harrison said he believes Saturday’s win was a step in the right direction.
“Certainly getting a win after all those losses is going to help that momentum moving forward,” he said. “I don’t think we could have withstood another good game where we just come out on the wrong, which has happened several times this year.”
The Eagles were 22-of-53 (41.5 percent) from the field and just 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from three-point range.
“I thought defensively we played better than we have been,” Coach Harrison said. “We did a nice job at least making things difficult. The [Trevor] Long kid is a pretty nice player. [Breyden] Boston’s a handful inside and I thought we at least made them have to work for what they got, so I’m proud of them.
Cameron Harrison led Trail with 26 points, followed by Weathington with 14 points and junior Wyatt House with 11 points. Senior Jacob Ray, junior Michael Leal and junior Ethan Murphy each added six points.
“I was glad we put it all together,” Coach Harrison said. “I was very excited at the energy and excitement that kids had for each other.”
For the Eagles, junior Breyden Boston led with 13 points, followed by Long with 12. Senior Cameron Lewis added eight points as juniors Christian Reyna, Clayton Kiracofe and freshman Ramy Ahmed each scored five points. Junior Brady Davis also tossed in a bucket.
Eaton was scheduled to host Franklin on Tuesday, Jan. 26 and travel to Bellbrook on Friday, Jan. 29. Trail was scheduled to host Versailles on Tuesday, Jan. 26 before traveling to Ansonia on Friday, Jan. 29.
