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LYNDHURST, Ohio– St. Edward entered Sunday afternoon playing its third game in three consecutive days. Daniel Young Jr. came up clutch at the free throw line down the stretch, proving to be too much for the Eagles to come back from in game four of the third annual Chet Mason Invitational.
The Raiders ended up defeating the Eagles 77-71, ending the Eagles’ 9-0 start to the season.
“It feels really good,” Head coach Danny Young said. “It shows the kids where they can be if they continue to work hard, stay together and do the little things to make us a better team.”
FINAL: Shaker 77, St. Eds 71.
The Eagles suffer their first loss of the season.
Shaker improves to 4-1. @sports_kee @raidersofshaker pic.twitter.com/KtM3utCWWk— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 24, 2021
Young Jr. ended the night with 33 points, including knocking down 14 of 18 free throws. Shaker outscored St. Edward 29-21 in the fourth quarter as both teams weren’t able to stay away from the free-throw line.
“He puts a lot of work in for these moments,” Young said. “Being the coach’s son can be very challenging at times but I tell him it’s not challenging if you put the work in.”
No lead felt safe throughout the night. The game was tied at 36 apiece entering halftime. The Raiders were able to open up the third quarter strong, gaining a five-point lead following a layup from Young Jr.
Daniel Young with a tough bucket for the Raiders, pushing their lead to 41-36 early in the second half. pic.twitter.com/j1GZZtVV6f
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 24, 2021
The Eagles had an answer down the stretch. Big plays defensively led to open looks from guys like Shane Macalla and Zyion Freer-Brown and the Eagles found themselves with a two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Zyion Freer-Brown gives the Eagles the lead again, 48-46 closing out the 3rd Q. pic.twitter.com/DF7WnyXFo6
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) January 24, 2021
For most of the fourth quarter, Shaker held a three-point lead. Senior forward Jahdae Walker and Young Jr. were able to eventually put the game out of reach from the free throw line. In fact, they connected on 13 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
The Eagles had a hard time capitalizing on the offensive end as Macalla led the way with nine fourth quarter points for St. Edward.
It’s only fitting Young Jr. ended the game knocking down free throws, something he practices on a daily basis, shooting nearly 300 free throws every day.
“This is a statement,” the junior guard said. “We can compete with anybody in the state, it’s a great win against arguably the best team in the state.”
The Raiders had four players score in double figures Sunday afternoon. Jahdae Walker ended with 15 along with Tareeq Roper and Cody Head rounding out the scoring with 11 points apiece.
For the Eagles, Macalla led the way with a team-high 17 points. Michael Bova contributed with 12 points along with Freer-Brown and Zolton Nagy’s 11 and 10 points respectively.
For Eric Flannery and his team, Sunday afternoon was a bit different after securing back-to-back wins to start the weekend. He felt like his players weren’t locked in the same way they’ve been accustomed to earlier in the year. and with the loss, comes a learning curve.
“I just don’t think we were ready to go today,” Flannery said. “We kind of looked lethargic and we looked like we didn’t want to be here. If we don’t show up to play, anybody can beat us on any given day and that’s what happened today.
“You always find out way more about your team after a loss so we’re going to find out a lot about who we are going forward.”
