Eagles Down Crowley’s Ridge 86-76

The Rhema Eagles extended their winning streak to five games after defeating the Crowley’s Ridge Pioneers 86-76 at the Ninowski Recreation Center on Saturday. After starting the season 2-12, the Eagles have won six of their last seven games to improve to 8-13 for the year.

During the Eagles’ five-game winning streak, crashing the boards has been a major key to their success. Over the previous four games, Rhema outrebounded its opponents 202-136.

In Saturday’s victory, the Eagles collected 18 more rebounds (51-33) than the Pioneers, which led to an 11-point differential (17-6) in second-chance points.

Rhema’s freshman point guard Brody Christian set his season-high in points for the third-consecutive game, scoring 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting (62 percent). Freshman shooting guard Kasey Byrd also had 22 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore forward Caylan Andre notched his team-high fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 15 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Sophomore center Josh White added 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting (75 percent) and six rebounds.

The Eagles return to action Tuesday when they travel to Haviland, Kansas, to take on the Barclay Bears. In their first meeting, the Eagles started their current five-game winning streak with an 80-70 victory over Barclay. Game time is 7:00 p.m.