The Magnolia Blue Eagles outscored the John Marshall Monarchs 19-7 in the second quarter to lift themselves to a convincing 54-36 win Jan. 20. at the Glen Dale fieldhouse.

The Blue Eagles had jumped out to a 12-7 lead after one period of play and made a 12-2 run late in the second period to give the Big Blue a 31-14 lead at the break.

Magnolia pushed its advantage to as high as 22 points before settling for a 19-point victory. By the end of the game, the Eagles big three – Mark Winters, Jared Blatt and Andy Huggins – outscored the Monarchs 46-36. The three had all but eight of the Eagles’ points on the night.

The Eagles started the game with a bang on both ends of the floor, as they outscored the Monarchs 12-7 in the first. In the second frame, they showed their muscle on both ends of the floor again, limiting the Monarchs to seven points, while putting up 19 markers of their own to take a 31-14 lead at the break.

Magnolia didn’t quite set the nets on fire in the second half, but neither did the Monarchs. The Eagles scored 23 and the Monarchs 22 points for the final 54-36 tally.

Winters scored a game-high 18 points and blocked three shots, while Blatt added 15 points and blocked five shots. Huggins earned a double-double with a dozen points and 11 boards, while blocking two Monarch shots.

Jayson Keller tallied a basket from beyond the arc, while Matt Sapp, Josh Yost and Derek Anderson each recorded two points. Sapp also added four steals and a blocked shot.

Magnolia 76,

River 58

The winds began to howl as the Magnolia Blue Eagles navigated R. L. Potts Gymnasium Jan. 23, after both their girls’ varsity and jayvee teams lost contests, as did the boys’ freshman team.

However, the Blue Eagle JV team prevailed 58-26 over their River counterparts and the varsity squad defeated the Pilots 76-58. Drew Simmons was the high scorer for the JVs with 10 markers.

The undefeated Blue Eagles started out in the Coaches Against Cancer game with a 19-12 lead after one period, thanks to a couple of baskets from beyond the arc by Matthew “Slick” Sapp and seven points by Mark “Special K” Winters.

However, neither team could put away the other, scoring only nine points each, to go into the locker room at 28-21, Magnolia on top.

The Pilots stayed within striking distance, thanks to four three point baskets, but the Eagles outshot the Pilots 18-15, assisted by a triple by Jayson Keller and three buckets by Jared Blatt.

In the fourth period, the Eagles picked up the pace a bit and scored 30 points, while the Pilots tossed in 22 markers.

Blatt tallied 10 points in the period for Magnolia, while seven other Eagles dented the scoreboard.

The Pilots’ Dylan Potts went off and tallied 11 points, including a three-point bucket to keep the score from getting out of hand.

Magnolia just wore down the Pilots in the fourth period. The Eagles were bigger and better on this night. Blatt yielded a team-high 20 points, while Winters tallied 14 markers. Sapp ripped the cords for 11 points, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. Josh Yost contributed eight points for Magnolia, while Keller and Andy Huggins netted seven points each. Jordan Moore was held to five points, while Traeh Keller and Nick Blatt added a deuce each.

The Eagles pulled down 47 rebounds that included 15 from Jared Blatt for a double-double. Jared also had two blocked shots, while the trio of Winters, Moore and Yost swatted away one apiece.

Potts led all scorers with 23 points, including a trio of baskets from beyond the arc. His Pilot teammate, Zac Wax, netted 13 points, while Tyler Jeffers and Jordan Potts added nine points each. Tucker Brown and Sam Ramsier were held to a couple of points each.

The Eagles look to keep their perfect season intact when they host Brooke Tuesday after press time and will travel to Weirton to tangle with Big Reds on Thursday, Jan. 28.

The Eagles also will host the first-ever Class AA Region I Basketball Challenge Jan. 30 in which all eight teams will compete at the HammerDome, with Magnolia taking on Ravenswood at 8 p.m.