After two-game win streak, Eagles fall at East Ridge

Third-ranked Wayzata had won 17 straight games until they faced Eden Prairie last Thursday in a Lake Conference boys basketball showdown. The Eagles shocked the high-powered Trojans on their own court with a 92-86 victory. 

Three nights prior to their upset win over Wayzata, the Eagles trounced St. Michael-Albertville 86-68 on the hardwood at Eden Prairie High School.

Eden Prairie’s two-game win streak – along with the pending winter storm – set the stage for the Eagles on Tuesday, as they made the trek east to Woodbury to take on sixth-ranked East Ridge. The non-conference matchup would further test their late-season turnaround.

The Eagles have been led by underclassmen in recent games. In their win at Wayzata, sophomores JJ Sullivan and Max Lorenson led the Eagles with 22 and 20 points, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Freshman guard Nolen Anderson, who led all scorers with 23 points in the win over STMA, had 19 against the Trojans.

In Tuesday’s clash with East Ridge, Anderson and Sullivan both put up 15 points to lead the Eagles. Senior wing Quincy Oriwa added nine.

The Eagles trailed the Raptors by 10 at the half, while East Ridge added to their lead in the second half en route to an 82-62 win. 

Raptors freshman guard Cedric Tomes led all scorers with 19 points. Junior forward Charlie Theis had 16 in the game.

With the win, the Raptors improve to 16-6 overall, while holding a 13-1 record in Suburban East conference play. The Eagles drop to 10-11 overall on the season.

Eden Prairie has three games remaining in the regular season. Assuming the schedule remains intact after the winter storm – which has forced the postponement of games in other sports this week – the Eagles will host Edina on Friday in the main gym at Eden Prairie High School. Tip-off is slated at 7 p.m.

The Eagles will travel to Minneapolis South for a game with the Tigers on Tuesday before their regular season finale against fifth-ranked Minnetonka at EPHS.