Eagles Stumble After Quick Start, Drop Game to Rogers, 54-42

Barrington High School's boys' basketball team couldn't keep up the early pace Friday night against Rogers High School's Vikings, dropping the game, 54-42, in front of a jam-packed gym at home. 

The Eagles were led by forwards Ben Engvall, 18 points, and Connor Fiske, 13 points.  The duo's scoring wasn't enough, though, even after the Eagles started off quickly by building a 14-6 lead. Fiske led the early scoring spurt with 7 points and Engvall added 6 points to give Barrington the jump on Rogers.

On top of their game early, the Eagles drained nearly every basket and built a 21-10 lead midway through the first half. Guard Mike Zimmerman nailed two 3-point baskets and Robert Cardin sank a 3-pointer in that early spurt.  From that point on, though, the Eagles would only add 21 more points in the remaining 24 minutes.

The Vikings cut the 11-point lead to 6 in under a minute with a 3-point basket and a 2-point score after a quick turnover by the Eagles. Barrington also went ice cold for the next three minutes and Rogers took full advantage. They Vikings cut the margin to 2 points with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.

Rogers kept charging at the Eagles by sinking three more baskets to grab a 4-point lead as Barrington ultimately went scoreless for a five-minute stretch of the first half. Barrington's offense seemed out of sync all night and they had no luck getting to the foul line.

Engvall finally broke the scoreless streak for the Eagles. But another put-back by the Vikes' and a turnover by guard Cade Jones-Pearson of Barrington led to another 2-pointer for Rogers and a 30-24 lead.  Rogers finished out the half by adding one more point to their tally and took a 31-24 lead to the break.

In the second half, Barrington continued its lackluster offensive performance by turning the ball over and missing baskets after poor possessions. Rogers did not take advantage and was able only to add a 2-point bucket and a free throw to make it a 10-point game with 11:31 to go.

Barrington caught a break when Rogers committed a technical foul and Fiske rattled home two free throw attempts.  On the following possession, Fiske added an offensive board and a put-back to cut the lead to 6. 

Jones-Pearson nailed two free throws after Engvall answered a Rogers layup and the Eagles clawed their way back into the game. Rogers' lead stood at 36-32 midway through the second half. That was as close as the Eagles would get to Rogers the rest of the game.

Rogers buried three baskets in a matter of seconds to reclaim a 10-point lead. The scoring spurt crushed Barrington's hopes for a comeback.

The Eagles and Vikings matched baskets for the rest of the second half.  But the Vikings never let Barrington back within reach and closed the game out with a dozen-point margin. 

The loss drops the Eagles to 1-1 on the season and into second place in Division II East. Barrington will look to rebound next Monday, Dec. 20, as the boys travel to Tiverton High School for a 7 pm game.