The Eagles played a tough Roseburg team Tuesday and lost 77-55; Roseburg is ranked #3 on Oregon School Activities Association.

“They’re very good, number three in the state. They had size, shot the ball well. To compete we needed to do things like set good screens for one another, and shoot well,” said Head Coach John Poetsch.

“To improve we’re trying to get some stops on the opponent’s offense.  Teams are scoring too high on us,” Poetsch says. On average, the Eagles are getting outscored by over 9 points after six games.

“Jimmy (Barton) had 32 points. In the first 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter we showed the team we could be. We took good shots and went deeper into our offense,” Poetsch said about the team.

The Eagles played two games in the Franklin Tournament last Friday and Saturday with both games ending in a loss.

They played Mountainside on Friday and lost 65-56, and Aloha the following day, losing 59-45.

“The last two games were ok, we lost by a significant amount. We didn’t play as a whole and let our lead go away,” said Eagles forward Jalen Calvert.

The Eagles played McMinnville on December 7 at Linfield College in a game that they ended up losing 64-59. McMinnville’s record improved to 3-0, Centennial’s record stood at 1-2 after that game.

“We started slow, we were down 20-10 in the first quarter. It’s about playing 32 minutes (whole game) of basketball, not digging yourself a hole and having to dig yourself out,” said Poetsch.

The top scorer against McMinnville was Andrew Caron who scored 14 points followed by Barton’s 12 points.

The Eagles played at home against Forest Grove in a game that ended in a 72-62 loss on December 4th.

Forest Grove’s record improved to 2-0, who were the #1 ranked team on Oregon School Activities Association at the time.

“We won the first game but it was a very typical first game, many mistakes that can be fixed with practice. We won by seven on the road, which is always hard,” says Poetsch about the 44-37 win on November 30 against Glencoe High School.

“I’m looking forward to improving and trying to surprise people…. Central and Barlow are favorites for 1st and 2nd place of the Mt. Hood Conference, 3rd place is up for grabs,” says Poetsch.