Best-ever season for Eagles ends in SCAA Final Four
The most successful season in Oakwood Christian Academy Eagles’ basketball history came to an end at the Rossville Athletic Center on Monday night as the Navy-andGold lost to Knoxville Christian, 53-42, in the first semifinal of the Southern Christian Athletic Association Final Four.
“I’m very proud of the effort,” head coach Wayne McDonough said. “We thought at the beginning of the year that we might be able to grow and perhaps get into the Final Four so to see it happen and see what all they accomplished was just a great ride.”
The Knights closed out what had been a tight first half with a 12-0 run to take a 25-14 lead and control of the game for good. Senior Matthew McDonough had 17 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in his final game for the Eagles (16-13), while fellow senior Zack Cohen had six points.
Woody Hass and Cory Taylor each finished with five points. John Jacob McSpadden had five points to go with two rebounds and two assists. Garrison Baggett added two points, three rebounds and a pair of steals, while Tyler Epperson recorded two points and grabbed one rebounds.
“We had more wins by Christmas this year than we had in all the previous (full) seasons combined (in the program’s history),” McDonough said. “It was a pretty special year.”
The Eagles are losing just two seniors in Matthew McDonough and Zack Cohen, but it’s two seniors that have been with the program since its inception. McDonough is leaving as the school’s alltime leader in several categories. He finished with over 1,600 career points, over 1,000 career rebounds and more than 300 career blocks.
“Zack and Matthew both started with the high school program when it first started, back when they were just in seventh grade and they were there when we restarted it again in their freshman years,” the coach added. “It’s been so satisfying to see them grow up this year and have a really good season. They were really leaders for this team and they were the glue for this team.
“The good news is that they have passed on the leadership and the legacy to the next group who can take it and have fun with it next year. We’re excited to have 10 really good guys coming back.” McDonough was also named to the SCAA AllConference Team.