Eureka Men’s Basketball Team is on their way to the playoffs after winning six straight games in a row. The team needed to win the last 5 of their games to even have a chance to go to the playoffs, it was a hard-fought journey. The last five games the Eureka Red Devils played were early season losses and many students had doubts that our boys wouldn’t beat those teams in the second matchup. The Eureka boys came together as a team and played hard and beat those five teams they had already lost to. The men on this basketball team had a goal and they reached it with their desire to work and play hard. The Red Devils played their last scheduled season game on Saturday (18th) against Spalding (76-68). This win sent the team  to the playoffs against Greenville.  

Wednesday’s game against Greenville was hectic. It had the whole gym in a tense mode, wondering what’s going to happen next. The entire game the Red Devils had the lead, and it was a rough start for Greenville. The Devils had a 17-point winning lead over the Greenville team with only 11:30 left in the first quarter. With the speed and adrenaline and strategy that the Eureka men were using was giving them a lead in their advantage. These men themselves worked and worked all the way up to this moment. On the other end of the court the Eureka men had an immaculate defense, the defense was well practiced enough that the opposing team were not make high percentage shots. Earlier in the season Eureka had played Greenville and lost 124-116, and you might ask what the Red Devils did differently? The offense ran was a half court press and it was an incredible change in the motivation and the coachability of the players.

The Greenville team was worn out early in the game because our Eureka Devils ran the ball and only took 30 seconds to get the ball in the rim and had an aggressive defense. These men were very consistent and motivated to win that game and that’s what they did. There’s a lot of chemistry on the team and different dynamic duos so the players know when and how to use the play and chemistry to their greater good. The Red Devils went on that court to prove that they would not be beaten like they were last time up against this team. It was back-to-back shots made by the Eureka Red Devils and a very logical approach when it came to defense. It was a very interesting first quarter, with the score being 49-20.  

In the beginning of the second quarter the Red Devils started out strong once again, they were mentally prepared and trained for that game. Look at how they started the game, they came out with speed and a lot of competitiveness. As a team there were different pieces to the puzzle and once, they were put in the right spot it gave the Red Devils the momentum they needed to accomplish that goal and keep their winning streak. In the second quarter with 16:48 left the Red Devils are up 30 points, not giving Greenville a chance to even think about catching up. The Red Devils demonstrated strength and dedication to the game, and as players I believe they know they are great as a team and are proving to everyone that they can finish strong.  

The Eureka Red Devils are now going to the semifinals. Final Score being 89-71, the Red Devils won that game with confidence from the jump. The semifinal game occurred Friday (24th) against Fontbonne and the final score was 57-54, ending the Red Devils basketball season. Even though those boys lost that game, they lost that game with integrity and passion for the sport. It was one hell of a season.