Eagles Match Up With Park Hill Chargers

The game begins with prayer...

The Darren Patterson Christian Academy Mens Basketball team played a challenging season opener at home December 9^th, against the Park Hill Chargers from Pueblo. The contest was very fast paced, and some first-game jitters showed up for both teams.  Though the Chargers put up an early lead, consistent scoring combined with tough play in the paint and strong rebounds on defense kept the Eagles in the game throughout the evening. 

Chargers won the tip

Nathan defending

 Early foul trouble affected the Eagle's aggressive play, and at halftime the Chargers led 45-33. The second half the Chargers came out strong and quickly took the lead with their excellent 3 point shooting. Late in the 3^rd, Eagles Nathan VanDeel and Garret O'Neal added their own 3 point scores to help cut the Chargers lead to 8 points. Consistent play from both teams kept the score advancing until the Chargers ended the game with a final score of 82-70. Eagles Coach Jordan Euler said, “The guys played well the second half, especially in the 4^th quarter. It was a good first game; I'm proud of the effort. We'll keep working on putting 4 quarters together”. The DPCA Eagles were led in scoring by Noah Ritschard with 30 points, followed by Joel Parker with 15, and Hawk White with 12 points.
 
Though they won the second half in scoring, the Eagles couldn't quite pull the victory away from the Chargers, who were last season's runner up at the FRCAA State Championship.

Video highlights of the game, below.  DPCA competes next in the Cotopaxi Invitational, December 12^th and 13th.