East Prairie digs in defensively for road win over Chaffee

CHAFFEE - Some clutch stops defensively and some big buckets on the other end led the East Prairie Eagles to a 59-52 win over the Chaffee Red Devils on Tuesday.

The Eagles jumped out to a 10-6 lead after the first quarter of play and the lead could have been much more if it weren’t for missed layups around the rim.

“I don’t know how many shots we missed,” Eagles coach Gary Scott said. “If we could have just made four or five of those we would have been in better shape but it’s still early in the season. We’ll start making those.”

East Prairie’s offense came alive in the second quarter as Connor Marcum got going scoring 15 of his 17 first half points.

“He hit some big shots in that first half,” Scott said. “They took him out of his game in the second half by face guarding him but I felt he played a heck of a game.”

Despite the fact East Prairie got going offensively in the second quarter, so did the Red Devils.

Leading the charge for Chaffee was Blake Yarbro who scored 9 of his 24 points in the second quarter.

“His work ethic for the last couple years has really improved,” Chaffee coach Josh Govreau said. “I’m glad to see him have success.”

Scott said Yarbro posed a problem for his group all night long.

“We knew that if he caught the ball on the block we were going to be in trouble,” Scott said. “All night long we couldn’t stop him. He did a great job.”

With the Red Devils trailing 30-23 at the half, they showed some pushback, cutting the lead to two early in the third quarter.

“They kept fighting and kept playing,” Govreau said. “We just have to find the little ways to win games.”

With Chaffee rallying and gaining momentum, the Eagles were clinging to a 41-37 lead entering the fourth quarter.

When it mattered most, East Prairie showed up with timely stops and big buckets on the offensive end.

“I thought we did a good job (down the stretch),” Scott said. “We withstood the storm and overall, not a bad job.”

Near the halfway mark of the fourth quarter, Chaffee’s Peyton Vaughn drilled a three to cut the Eagles’ lead to just six.

However, on the ensuing possession Noah Johnson answered with a big bucket from 15-feet to push the lead back to 8.

“Every time we come in here it’s a battle,” Scott said. “We knew it could be a little difficult to score.”

Chaffee wouldn’t go away quietly as it forced timely turnovers defensively but the Red Devils just couldn’t quite get over the hump offensively to tie the game.

“We kept having our chances,” Govreau said. “We cut it to 3, we cut it to 4, we just couldn’t make those big plays down the stretch to win.”

Following up Yarbro’s 24-point night for Chaffee was Levi McKinnie with a 12-point evening.

After a 17-point first half, Marcum finished with a game-high 26 points to lead the Eagles.

Also scoring in double figures was Noah Johnson with 10 points.

Chaffee (1-3) looks to snap a three-game losing skid at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, when the Red Devils host Bloomfield at Chaffee High School.

“I think the kids understand how close we are to being good,” Govreau said. “Hopefully we keep playing hard and fix the little things.”

East Prairie (4-0) puts its four-game winning streak on the line at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, when the Eagles host Hayti at East Prairie High School.

Hayti and East Prairie met on Nov. 28 where the Eagles walked away with a 66-65 win.

“It’s going to be up-and-down,” Scott said. “They’re a full court press team so it should be fun. Hopefully this time we don’t turn the ball over as much and we can keep it going.”