Oak Hall Eagles Take Decisive Victory Over St. John Lutheran

By Zach Curtin and Ainsley Davis

On Thursday night, the Oak Hall Eagles men’s basketball team defeated the St. John Lutheran Saints with an impressive showcase of fast-breaking offense and aggressive defense.

Quarter 1

Oak Hall established itself early with their physical play. After winning the tipoff, #35 scored the first points of the game off of a missed lay-up by #10. #35 continued to assert himself with another easy lay-up with an assist from # 3. The Eagles’ momentum surged following another St. John Lutheran miss, where #3’s and-one jump shot gave Oak Hall an early 5-2 lead. Shortly after, #10 for the Eagles would begin his impressive 8-point first quarter, with two quick aggressive drives to the basket.

While the Saints struggled to find their range, three deep threes from #23 and #3 ended the drought and knotted the score at 14-14. Following the quick burst of points, each time struggled to get back on the board. #10 for the Eagles continued to set the aggressive tone with four more points to round out the first quarter, with Oak Hall leading 18-14.

Quarter 2

The second quarter of play began much as the first ended, with multiple misses coming from both sides. St. John Lutheran started the action with an acrobatic and-one finish over two defenders by #23. The Eagle’s #10 would respond with a quick jump shot of his own, pushing the lead to two.

Following an Oak Hall turnover, the Saint’s #3 would explode for nine straight points from the three-point line. His run culminated in a deep three over two Eagles defenders, evening the contest to 28 apiece. The half would end shortly after with #22 hitting one of two free throws to end the half, giving the Eagles the lead 29-28.

@OakHallSchool leads St. John’s 29-28 going into half @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/C06x31ho8R

— Zachary Curtin (@zachary_curtin) December 9, 2022

Quarter 3

The Eagles hoped to stretch their one-point lead as they began the second half. They started strong with #22 going 2/2 on the foul line, but St. John quickly caught up with a three-pointer from #0. After encouragement from their coach, Oak Hall scored 6 unanswered points, including a rebound putback from #35 and two fast-break layups from #10.

Though the Saints showed some hope with a three-pointer to close Oak Hall’s lead to 3, the Eagles quickly accelerated and capitalized on the tired St. John defense. At the end of the third quarter, the Eagles led 49-36.

Quarter 4

Oak Hall took no time for granted and expanded their lead early in the fourth quarter with two drives by #24, including an and-one that put them up by 20 points. Eagle’s guard #2 made an impressive scoring run with a pair of drives and a three-pointer. It was clear that St. John was no match for Oak Hall’s aggressive defense and fast-breaking offense. The game ended with a back-door cut and score from #13, and the Eagles celebrated their 66-40 victory over the Saints.

@OakHallSchool caps off a strong performance against St. Johns 66-40 @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/LFFXEK1Arx

— Zachary Curtin (@zachary_curtin) December 9, 2022