#7 Buller is defeated by Eastern in the LIT.

[h=1]Eastern charges past No. 9 Butler 78-59[/h]

 

 

It’s been a roller-coaster season for the Eastern High School boys’ basketball team after losing all five starters from last year’s squad that reached the state semifinals.

But on Tuesday — playing without one of their best players — the Eagles showed why coach Jason Couch believes his team eventually can contend for another Seventh Region title.

Chris Hill and Tyrell Corlew each scored 21 points and Eastern put together a strong defensive showing to beat Butler 78-59 in a second-round game of the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational Tournament in Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall.

Eastern (9-8) — No. 19 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings — had lost its previous two games but bounced back for a convincing victory over the No. 9 Bears (9-6).

“We’ve had a lot of close losses that could have been wins if we had made a few more plays down the stretch,” said Hill, who added four assists and four steals. “We knew it would come together sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.”

Eastern, the defending LIT champion, advanced to face the Trinity-Beth Haven winner in Friday’s 5 p.m. quarterfinal.

The Eagles will continue to play without senior Percy Blade, their top rebounder and No. 2 scorer. He missed his second game with what Couch called a hairline fracture of his first rib and likely will miss 2-3 more weeks.

 

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120110/SPORTS05/301100092/Eastern-Butler-boys-basketball?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports