Sheffield’s Connor Finch led in scoring with 15 points with Leihden Wotorson right behind with 14, while Youngsville’s Blake Myers dropped 16 and Koby Hendrickson 14.

Sheffield head coach Jordan Copley was happy to be back even, but acknowledged Youngsville’s effort and performance has shown there is plenty to work on.

“He should be proud of Youngsville and what they did today,” said Jordan Copley of the Eagles and their head coach Lonny Moore. “They took things away that we wanted to execute on, and we need to do better executing our game plans when we come into these games. After last game, we knew we needed to handle the ball better. Not turn the ball over and it seems to be a recurring thing right now, especially down the stretch.”

Sheffield jumped out to an early lead 13-5 in the first quarter, with Finch scoring all of Sheffield’s points, going a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Sheffield would be consistent in the second, again scoring 13, with McNeal dropping 6, Wotorson 4, and Hardwick hitting his only 3-pointer of the night. Blake Myers and Nathan Lucks both put up 4 to help the Eagles stay in it, scoring 12 in the second and going into the half down 26-17.

Koby Hendrickson is in command of the Eagles’ offense in the second half in a 52-43 loss to visiting Sheffield. Times Observer Photo by Cody Elms

Koby Hedrickson scored 7 in the third for Youngsville, while Sheffield’s 15 would be a team effort. Despite outscoring the Wolverines 14-11 in the fourth, the Eagles were unable to pull off the comeback. However, Moore was not disappointed in his players and looks forward to resting up for Iroquois next Tuesday.

“They’re fighters,” said Moore. “I’ve asked them to do a lot this week and they’ve stepped up and matched it. Our problem is we’ve got people injured and people that can’t play right now, so basically we’re playing two games with five guys with each game, but they did everything I asked of them and they never quit fighting.

SHEFFIELD (52)

Finch 5 5-6 15, Wotorson 3 5-7 14, McNeal 8 0-4 12, Silvis 1 0-0 5, Mott-Macalush 1 1-2 3, Hardwick 0 0-0 3, Totals 18 11-19 52

YOUNGSVILLE (43)

Myers 4 4-7 16, Hendrickson 2 4-7 14, Lucks 3 0-2 6, Senz 2 1-2 5, Mesel 1 0-0 2, Moore 0 1-2 1, Totals 12 9-20 43

3 Point Goals: Sheffield – Silvis, Wotorson, Hardwick; Youngsville – Hendrickson (2), Myers.

Sheffield 13 13 15 11 – 52

Youngsville 5 12 12 14 – 43