Fourth-ranked Eastland improves to 4-0 after win over Newman

LANARK – Eastland used a balanced offense and physical defense to pull away from Newman in a 55-42 win on Tuesday night.

The Cougars, which entered the game ranked fourth in the opening Associated Press Class 1A poll, improved to 4-0 with the win.

Newman (3-4) kept things tight in the first half, trailing by one at halftime. But the Comets had key players get into foul trouble as things got away in the third quarter.

Adam Awender, Peyton Spears and Parker Krogman all finished with 15 points for Eastland, and Zyacn Haverland added eight more. Awender scored 13 of his points after the break, attacking the basket in transition and playing aggressively with the ball.

Awender said the team relied on its defense. Eastland took advantage of 16 Newman turnovers, a number of which led to easy fast-break chances.

“Every practice we work on it every time,” he said. “That’s really what we fall back on when our offense isn’t getting it done.”

Offensively, Awender said having balance is a strength. The Cougars also had a handful of blocks in the win.

“It’s helpful having guys who can hit the shot from the outside and take it in the paint,” Awender said. “It makes it easier on everyone when they can’t just key on one person.”

Newman led most of the first quarter as Eastland took some time to find its rhythm on offense. After the Cougars took a 26-25 halftime lead, Newman’s top players got into foul trouble.

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Eastland’s Adam Awender pulls down a rebound against Newman Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, at Eastland High School. (Alex T. Paschal)

George Jungerman (11 points) and point guard Garrett Matznick (three points) had to sit as freshman point guard Easton Coward was thrust into the game. Evan Bushman finished with 14 points for Newman, with nine in the first half.

Newman coach Ray Sharp pointed to the foul trouble and turnovers as why things got away.

“They got some easy buckets off our turnovers,” he said. “We got in foul trouble and had to play some young kids. ... As soon as we did that, they went jump and run, turned up the pressure and we turned it over.”

Eastland coach Tyler Zumdahl thought the team got off to a slow start in the game, but it was able to bounce back.

“Give Newman credit, they came out ready to go,” he said. “In that second half I think we were able to let our defense kind of lead us. We were able to get some pressure for turnovers and easy run outs, and that kind of swung the momentum a little bit.”

Zumdahl said Awender showed leadership as one of the team’s captains as he was the leading scorer in the second half.

“When we needed somebody to step up and kind of set the tone with their effort, he really picked it up and made things happen on both ends of the floor, which was a big spark for us,” he said.

Sharp said it was good experience for the reserves when the team had to deal with foul trouble. And the team was still competitive outside of that third quarter swing. Eastland outscored Newman 13-12 in the fourth quarter.

“They’re well-coached and play great defense,” Sharp said of Eastland. “They played physical, hard team defense.”

Zumdahl said the team is ‘where it should be’ early in the year. The Cougars were coming off a 48-38 win over a second-ranked Chicago Hope team on Saturday.

“These games and how you’re playing right now don’t mean a whole lot,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to work every day and get better so we’re really at our best when it counts in march.”