Sports Writer

GOSHEN – Sophomore forward Kendaris Pelton scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the third ranked Goshen High School Eagles destroyed the Elba Tigers 86-29 on Senior Night at Eagle Gym Tuesday.

With the win, Goshen claimed its 10th consecutive victory as the Eagles (18-2) prepare for the upcoming Class 2A Area 2 Boys Basketball Tournament which starts Saturday night in Goshen. The Eagles will face the winner of Thursday night’s play-in game between Georgiana (8-12) and Highland Home Saturday at approximately 6:30 p.m.

Leading 7-4 two minutes into the game, the Eagles turned up the intensity on the full court press as they went on a 13-4 spurt to take a 20-8 lead going into the second period. Senior Jamar Tucker got off to a sensational start scoring 12 of his game total 18 points in the opening stanza. Tucker also finished the game with seven rebounds for the Eagles.

After Elba led off the second quarter with a field goal by Marcus Henderson, the Tigers hit a long six minute drought without scoring a single point thanks to some outstanding perimeter defense by Goshen’s guards against Elba’s outmanned backcourt. As a result, the Eagles scored 17 unanswered points to extend their lead to 40-12 at intermission. In an attempt to get Elba out of its 1-2-2 zone, Pelton hit four three pointers in the first half to pace the Eagles as the Tigers hit just five field goals in first 16 minutes of play.

In the third quarter, Goshen continued to force the issue against the Tigers (12-10) as they continued to rotate players at every position wearing Elba down as the Eagles enjoyed a 48 point lead at the end of third quarter. At one point, the Eagles led by as much as 61 points before settling for the 59 point verdict.

Goshen head basketball coach Major Lane said the Eagles stayed in the attack mode throughout the game.

"We wanted to push the ball, trap and run

the floor," Lane said. "I knew their guards were suspect, so we kept putting pressure on their guards. We kept changing defenses and fortunately for us they didn’t adjust. We dictated to them by not letting Elba get us into a half court game."

Other individual statistics included Averick Rogers scoring 16 points, while senior Jeremy Berry scored 12 points and had three rebounds in the winning effort. For the game, Goshen grabbed 27 rebounds while hitting 6-of-12 free throw attempts. After hitting no three pointers Saturday night, the Eagles returned to true form beyond the arc hitting nine pointers in the contest.

John Mitchell was the lone Elba player in double figures with 10 points in a losing cause.

Elba (girls) 41 Goshen 24

Yonnie Bludsworth scored 11 points to lead a balanced attack as the number six ranked Elba Lady Tigers (20-5) came from behind to defeat the Goshen Lady Eagles 41-24 in local girls high school basketball action Tuesday night.

Tyeka Jackson led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 10 points in a losing cause.

After getting off to a 5-4 start, the Lady Eagles (5-13) have dropped nine consecutive games as they head into the Class 2A Area 2 Girls Basketball Tournament. Goshen will face No. 10 ranked Red Level (19-3) in the first round at Highland Home. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m.