New Paris head boys basketball coach, Josh Ferrell, was excited for his team last evening as the Eagles defeated Class 4A Prairie Grove at Paris Gymnasium. The Eagles appear to be coming together as a unit that will begin conference play this Friday against the defending conference champion Waldron Bulldogs.
Several football players have joined the boys basketball team after completion of their season in the second round of the state football playoffs. Several, including Mequeil Ellingberg, Duke Walker, Jude Simmons, and Mason Bradley, have contributed quality minutes, both in the starting lineup and off the bench, for Coach Ferrell’s Eagles.
After falling behind early, the Eagles took the lead in the second half and were able to sustain a furious Tigers comeback attempt to hang on and win by four. After the game, Eagles coach Josh Ferrell said, “I thought we played really well. You have to give credit to Prairie Grove. They are a great team and well-coached. They played really physical defense. I thought we did a great job of taking care of the basketball, limiting our turnovers, and executing on the defensive end. We had a couple of guys step up big off the bench and gave us really good minutes. I felt we did a really good job at knowing their personnel and guarding them accordingly on defense. Very proud of our effort and intensity tonight.”
When I asked Coach Ferrell if he thought the team was starting to gel, he said, “Yes we are playing a little better than what we were when we first got our football guys. But we still have a long ways to go. I like the attitudes of my guys and they work really hard.”
With the win, the Eagles improve to 6-2 on the early season. Paris will host Union Christian tonight in senior girls and boys games starting at 6 p.m. Conference play begins Friday at Waldron.
So Paris fans, come out tonight and support your Lady Eagles and Eagles in high school basketball action!
See you tonight!
