EASTHAMPTON — With 1 minute, 50 seconds left in the first half, Easthampton and Ware were tied at 25.
Ant Moynihan shot from deep and gave the Eagles a three-point lead. Less than a minute later, Moynihan hit another deep 3-pointer to give Easthampton a six-point lead, forcing the Indians to call a timeout.
Ware pulled within two at halftime, but the Eagles built on that momentum and exploded in the third quarter to win 80-53, Thursday.
“We had a lot of conversation about being able to pick up the energy and do that,” Eagles coach Brian Miller said. “We didn’t really change anything Xs and Os we just said you gotta do a better job at doing your job and that’s what they did.”
Easthampton started the third quarter with a quick layup from Sopie Pek. After Robert Viera answered for the Indians, the Eagles took control of the quarter and went on a 8-3 run before Ware was forced to call a timeout with just over four minutes left trailing 46-36.
“In the second half we weren’t making shots and we were getting beat badly in our transitions, which is something that I thought in the first half we did a pretty decent job, but in the second half we didn’t have it and ran out of gas,” Indians coach Gene Rich said. “Easthampton just keeps putting the pressure on you and we succumbed to that tonight.”
After the timeout, Collin Doty had back-to-back baskets to bring Ware within seven with just over two minutes left in the quarter. But the Eagles went on an 11-0 run, which including a deep shot from Moynihan to end the third with a 60-40 lead.
“At halftime we really all just started talking and we picked it up mentally and got really focused because we really weren’t to focused in the first half,” Moynihan said.
Moynihan finished with 28 points, 16 of which came in the second half. Pek added 26 points.
“With us everything keeps rolling when we score, then we can get up and put pressure on you and force you into turnovers and then we get a turnover and before you know it we’ve gone on a 10-0 run,” Miller said. “We talk about a lot about finishing and pressuring and creating those runs for us.”
The Eagles improved to 9-4 and are one win away from qualifying for the postseason. The loss dropped the Indians to 11-4.
“My guys need to understand that we need to be more competitive and we might need to work a little harder in practice to prepare for these types of games,” Rich said. “I keep telling them we have to start getting comfortable with being uncomfortable and we aren’t there yet.”