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ELDORADO ROUTS GALATIA TO CLAIM CHAMPIONSHIP

BY NATE SMITH
FOR THE SOUTHERN

Saturday, February 26, 2005 6:49 AM CST

HARRISBURG -- It was standing room only as a raucous bi-partisan crowd gathered to watch as two of Southern Illinois' top teams, Galatia and Eldorado, squared off for the Harrisburg Class A regional crown.

The Eagles used a game-high 20 points from 6-foot-1 junior Jeremy Carmickle and a stellar defensive effort -- limiting Bearcats' star Derek Sloan to 14 points on just five field goals-- to upset Galatia in wide-open 75-49 affair.

"We really just tried to contain him (Sloan)," said Eldorado coach Greg Goodley. "A player of that caliber is going to get his points one way or another when it's all said and done. So we just did our best to hang with him and be around him, because it's awfully difficult to outright stop a prolific scorer like him."

Eldorado leaped out to an early 6-2 advantage, as Carmickle and 6-4 junior Craig Parks dominated the glass on both ends, giving the Eagles numerous second and third opportunities. Galatia had difficulty finding open looks in the early going, and failed to convert on the few that presented themselves.

An Austin Bradley trey with 3:27 left in the quarter gave Eldorado a 15-4 advantage, prompting a Bearcats' timeout. But Galatia's shooting woes continued, with Sloan misfiring on a pair of jumpers on consecutive possessions, allowing the Eagles to build a 20-8 advantage.

"Our poor shooting, particularly in the early going really hurt us," said Bearcats' coach Rod Wallace. "I think we shot close to thirty percent from the floor, and we were eight-of-18 from the line. We're usually closer to seventy percent (from free throw line) and numbers like those will get you beat every time, particularly in a game as big as this one"

Galatia looked uncomfortable playing from behind in the second, with Sloan and 5-10 junior Eli House launching long, 3-point attempts on consecutive possessions, adding to the Bearcats shooting struggles.

Another Bradley three-pointer, this one with 4:10 to go in the frame, handed Eldorado it's largest lead to that point, at 17.

Galatia switched to a pressure defense late in the quarter, prompting a brief run, but once again ran into shooting difficulty, converting on just two of eight from the charity stripe.

As a result, the Eagles had a 32-18 lead at intermission.

Galatia once again employed their pressure defense, harassing the Eagles into five third-quarter turnovers. But for each bucket the Bearcats knocked down, it seemed Eldorado scored twice.

"Our shooting (from the line) was definitely a plus tonight," said Goodley. "It's easy to let those get away from you in a pressure-filled game like this. But we controlled our emotions incredibly well and I think that was reflected in our success from the line."

A Daniel Etienne steal and driving layup just a minute into the fourth quarter put Eldorado up twenty three, and when Sloan fouled out scrapping for a loose ball at half-court with 5:43 left in the game, all hopes of a Bearcats comeback followed him to the bench.

Galatia (26-2) was led by Sloan and House, who each scored 14. Seth Cockrum added 11.

Eldorado (20-12) was paced by Carmickle's 20 points and 12 boards. Parks scored 17 and had 10 rebounds.

"I'm just really pleased with our effort out there tonight," said Goodley. "We rebounded, knocked down open shots, all the things we had to do to separate and get that early lead. Their press was really effective, particularly in the half-court.

"But our experience against teams like a Cairo or West Frankfort helped us gain experience in working the ball over the top and getting easy looks in the open court, and that was a big key. We may have been a little tired and emotionally run-down after last night's game (Gallatin County), but if you can't get up and play for a game like this, you may as well stay in bed."