Eagles boost win streak to five

(Robert Vendettoli/Boulder City Review) Scooting his defender out of the way, Boulder City High School junior Ethan Speaker finishes his layup strong against Sunrise Mountain on Monday, Jan. 27. The Eagles won the game 60-43.

Boulder City High School boys basketball team won a trio of games during its recent slate of play.

Advancing to 14-9 on the season and 7-1 in 3A Sunrise play, the Eagles defeated Somerset Academy Sky Pointe 64-33 on Jan. 22, SLAM Academy 67-64 on Friday, Jan. 24, and Sunrise Mountain 60-43 on Monday, Jan. 27, bringing their winning steak to five games.

“The team played really well this week,” head coach John Balistere said. “We played a really solid SLAM team and came away with a win. Everyone is working hard and things are starting to click for us.”

Picking up a huge victory over Sunrise Mountain, which came into ball game with only one loss this season, the Eagles used a 34-21 second-half run to rout the Miners.

“I thought we had a five-minute stretch in the second half where we looked really good,” Balistere said. “We definitely need to build off that. This was a great road win for us.”

Leading the charge was junior Ethan Speaker, who scored a game-high 30 points with 21 rebounds, routinely fighting through double teams to lead the Eagles to victory.

Adding a scoring punch against the Miners was junior Matt Morton, who scored 17 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Gavin Balistere scored 6 points, with four rebounds and three assists.

Playing exceptionally well during the three-game stint, Gavin Balistere added 12 points and three steals against SLAM Academy and 8 points and four rebounds against Sky Pointe. Sophomore Gavin Douglas also flashed promise against Sky Pointe, tying a season-high with 9 points.

Speaker scored 33 points with five rebounds against Sky Pointe and 32 points with 14 rebounds against SLAM Academy. Morton scored 4 points with eight assists against Sky Pointe and 14 points with 10 rebounds and four assists against SLAM Academy.

Currently in a first-place tie with Chaparral, tonight’s home game against the Cowboys is a must-win for the Eagles.

“This game is huge for us,” John Balistere said. “The first time around, I don’t think we played very well. We made a lot of mental mistakes. I’m confident that they’ll see a different group this time; we’ll be more prepared. We know we control our own destiny right now in the league standings, so hopefully we’re able to put together four good quarters.”

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.