On Friday, January 20th, we hosted Faith Christian School in five basketball games starting at 3:30 with middle school boys and ending at 7:30 with Varsity boys. Saying it was a successful day would be an understatement. The Eagles won 4 out of the 5 games, coming short in the JV boy’s game by just a couple baskets. All Senior winter athletes were presented before the girls’ game and then the Varsity competitions were started.

Varsity Girls

The RMA varsity girls had been thinking about this game since the bitter taste FCS left in their mouth after a heartbreaking 2 point loss at Faith Christian early in the season. As soon as the ball went up and the game had started it was no secret that the RMA girls meant business. Right off the bat, the tone of the game was fast and intense. The gym was full and neither team wanted to lose to their cross town rival. It was close the whole game, the Eagles went into half-time with a 1 point lead and came back out fighting even harder than before. They pulled away in the 3rd quarter, with spectacular defensive play, a few steals, and key offensive plays. All of the sudden, for the first time in the game, the Eagles had a 5 point lead. The Eagles maintained a lead for the rest of the game and came out with a 36-30 victory over FCS. The Lady Eagles were led by Julia High with 23 points followed by Rachel Scott Dunn with 5 points and 11 rebounds, Ashley Wright with 4 points and 10 rebounds, and Casey Jones and Bhavisha Gulabri who both added 2 points. It was a great effort from the entire Eagle’s team and a sweet way for the four seniors on the team to go out.

Varsity Boys

The boys’ game was not much different from the girls in the level of intensity and hustle. It’s safe to say everybody on the court gave it everything they had. The game was close the entire time. The Patriots were only down by 3 in the 4th quarter and they were rallying to make a comeback. That is until they were called for 3 technical fouls, two on players and one on the coach. The Patriots were simply mentally losing it. The free throws shot by AJ Mitchell gave the Eagles a slightly larger lead and basically shut the Patriots down. The game ended in an exciting 65-58 victory for the Eagles. This game made the seniors on the RMA team 7-0 against FCS, finishing their career with an undefeated varsity record. AJ Mitchell led the Eagles with 20 points, followed by Jay Crandall with 17, Josh Legaj with 6, Isaiah Thomas with 5, Trey Smelcer and Jarett Snipes with 4 each, 3 by both Rob Turnage and Christopher Rabil, Will Pruden with 2, and Bailey Beddingfield with 1. This big win for the boys’ team gives them just the momentum they needed to finish out the regular season and compete in the conference tournament.