The Magnolia Blue Eagles out rebounded the Tyler Consolidated Silver Knights 53-18, while racing out to a commanding 18-2 advantage to open the game Dec. 29 and went on to defeat their sectional rival 81-49 in the MHS HammerDome.

“The rebounding was a story in itself. Teams are going to have trouble matching up with us because we hit the boards hard,” said Magnolia Head Coach Dave Tallman.

Following the initial 18-2 scoring spurt, the Blue led 22-4 after eight minutes, platooning eight players to lead 42-25 at intermission.

Last week’s hero, Mark Winters, drilled a three pointer to open the third and tallied nine more points to put the Blue up 71-39 before starting the final period.

“Our defense did an outstanding job and I can’t say enough about Mark Winters’ defensive effort, too,” Tallman continued. “I try to get across to him is that he doesn’t have to do as much as he has in the past, because he is surrounded by a very good supporting cast.”

The biggest portion of the fourth period was played by substitutes. Blue Eagle first-year player Derek Anderson was 4-4 from the line and Nick Blatt sealed the deal with an inside deuce to end the game.

The heart and sole of the club, Jared Blatt, along with Winters, paced the star-studded Eagles with 14 points, while Matt Sapp followed with a dozen markers, including three baskets from beyond the arc. Sapp also led the Eagles with six assists and eight rebounds.

Others who contributed included Josh Yost and Jordan Moore, each putting up nine points, including a three pointer. Yost also had five rebounds, two steals, and blocked one Silver Knight shot. Traeh Keller and Andy Huggins scored seven and six points, respectively, while Jayson Keller netted four points. Anderson swished all four of his points at the line. As a team, Magnolia garnered 53 rebounds, dished off 27 assists, blocked six shots, hijacked four basketballs, and made 24-27 shots from the charity stripe.

Aaron Estep paced the Silver Knights with 12 points, including three triples, while Zach Minger and Alex Jones added 10 and nine points, respectively, in a losing effort.

The junior varsity game took two overtime periods to complete, but, in the end, it was Magnolia that secured a 48-46 victory. Nick Blatt paced the Big Blue in a jayvee start with 12 points.