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Schools

Eagles Boys' Basketball Nabs 12th Win

The Eagles have now won twice as many games as last season.

Check off another box on the to-do list of the West Deptford High School boys’ basketball team. Win No. 12 is in the books.

West Deptford dominated the final two quarters for the second-straight game to score a 60-44 win against Lindenwold, and in doing so, picked up its 12th win of the season. That accounts for twice as many wins as the team recorded last year and six times as many as it did two years ago, when the Eagles went a dismal 2-24.

“We doubled our win total from last year, and that was one of our goals,” said West Deptford head coach Don Clark. “We wanted to get to 12 wins, and we did that—and we still have four games left and the playoffs.”

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The Eagles were able to out-pace Lindenwold despite being without starting point guard Justin Hansen, who had a 104 temperature, according to Clark. It is likely Hansen will be out for Thursday’s game against Woodbury and Friday’s contest against Palmyra, as well.

In his place, guards Kyle Redrow and Tim Krott shared the ball-handling responsibilities. Redrow finished with 15 points, while Tom Jakubowski had a team-high 18 to help the Eagles turn a 28-21 halftime lead into a landslide.

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The game was reminiscent of Saturday's game against Bordentown. In that contest, the game was tied at the half before the Eagles outscored their opposition, 41-12 in the second half of what became a 62-33 win. In both games, West Deptford was able to get their opponent out of the zone defense thanks to some sharpshooting by Redrow—seven threes in two games—and then pound away inside against the man defense.

“If Kyle can continue to do that, that’s an extra 10 points a game we are getting from him," Clark said of Redrow's outside touch. “Now, that would give us four guys that score in double figures and makes us that much tougher to defend."

Winning back-to-back games is something the Eagles have become quite accustomed to. West Deptford has won two-straight at five different points this season. The issue has been stretching a winning streak to three games. The team is currently 0-4 in games where it has attempted to do so and one doesn’t have to look too deep to understand why. The losses following back-to-back wins have come against Haddon Heights (twice), Paulsboro and Overbrook—all teams with better records than the Eagles.

It’s likely that trend could continue Thursday when West Deptford travels to face Woodbury. The Thundering Herd are 14-8 and coming off a 61-48 win over Haddon Heights.

“Not having Justin in the lineup is going to make that game very tough,” Clark said.

Clark is hoping the team can find a couple of victories over its final four games of the regular season, which would give the team a .500 record for the first time in a decade. Considering where this team was just a couple of years ago, achieving such a feat would be a major statement.

“We are not a perfect basketball team, but it’s good for the guys to have some success,” Clark said. “I think people are still really underestimating us.”

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