Cougar varsity hoops fall to Pride on the road

Two El Dorado High School boys basketball players scored in double digits during Friday’s Sierra Valley Conference game against Bradshaw Christian High School’s squad. The Cougars, from the beginning of the game until the final buzzer, put in every ounce of energy against Bradshaw. That included battling for offensive rebounds inside the paint and defensive rebounds after missing their shots. But Bradshaw jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, which led to a 68-43 win over El Dorado (3-9 in the SVC, 6-20 overall) inside The Pride’s gym in Sacramento. Bradshaw (8-4 in the SVC, 15-10) started the first quarter with a 19-10 run over the Cougars. Then the second quarter came around, where the balance of scoring was almost even; Bradshaw outscored El Dorado 11-10. That added up to a 30-20 halftime score. “Overall, I felt like our fight was there in the second half,” said El Dorado head coach Christopher Engelage, “but, at the end of the day, you have to make shots and value each possession and we didn’t do that.” The Cougars made only seven of 25 shots from the field and only six of 15 from the free throw line. In addition, El Dorado only had three assists and was guilty of 13 turnovers. “It felt like a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” Engelage said. Bradshaw moved the ball around and it showed. The Pride had 13 assists, plus 36 rebounds. Those numbers contributed to scoring in the second half, as Bradshaw outscored El Dorado by a 39-22 margin. “I don’t want to diminish what Bradshaw did,” Engelage said. “They played a phenomenal game. (Bradshaw head coach JJ Mina) has done an amazing job in his first season leading them and this game showed his team was ready to compete at a high level.” Ben Beasley led El Dorado in scoring 11 points. Elliot Barnes, a sophomore, followed with 10 points. Other Cougar scorers were Ryan McCarty with nine points, Kade McCullough seven, Wes Morrasy four and Corey Meierotto two. Sam Amezcua was one of four Pride players who scored in double digits, finishing the game with 17 points. Swazy Lewis followed with 15 points, Carson Fitzpatrick 11 and Bishop Porter 10. Two of the Cougars’ SVC wins this season have come against Rosemont twice, and once against Galt High. Liberty Ranch of Galt sits alone in first place in the SVC at 12-0. Upcoming games El Dorado played its final home game of the regular season against Amador on Feb. 10.