Improving Men’s Basketball Team Hosts Shasta Tuesday

A mostly freshman Eagle men's basketball team is showing signs of progress as the season nears its end.

After winning just one game in the first round Golden Valley Conference play, the Eagles improved to 2-2 in the second round with a 76-72 victory at Butte College last Wednesday.

They also played well in a 79-73 loss at home against Redwoods on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 8th. Redwoods went on to clinch the 2025 conference championship with a home win over Feather River and a Butte loss to Shasta this past Saturday.

The Eagles are scheduled to celebrate their sophomores before Tuesday night's home finale against Shasta and will also honor former player Dylan Neufeld at half time. Neufeld, the GVC MVP last year, will have his jersey placed on the All-State wall of fame in Tom Powers Court.

Sophomores to be recognized before Tuesday's game are guard Josh Allen of Toowoomba, Australia, guard Matthew McEwen of Yreka, guard Alex Padilla of Orland and center Bryce Rollins of Ione.

The 6-foot-9 Rollins made a rare start last week against Butte and "had the game of his life," said head coach Kyle Heath. He scored a career-high 13 points with 4 offensive rebounds and 6 total rebounds and played well against Butte's 6-11 center Jessy Maximin.

Heath said Rollins got the start to help match up against Butte's size, and he was effective finishing around the rim.

Overall, the game was unusual for modern basketball. The Eagles made only one three-point shot, while Butte made just three threes.

With no returning starters from last year's conference championship team, two freshmen have led the Eagles' offense: Jacob Dallas (No. 22) is averaging 16.7 points per game and Jeremiah Collins (4) is averaging 15.6.

Collins, a 6-3 guard, went 9 for 9 from the free throw line and scored 21 points in the win at Butte. He also contributed 8 rebounds and 4 assists. "He took care of the ball, got to the rim, finished, and played good defense," Heath said. Collins had 6 steals and increased his team-leading total to 57.

Free throw shooting was one of the differences in the Eagles' 4-point win over the Roadrunners. They made 19 of 28 attempts, while Butte made 13 of 29. The Eagles were outrebounded 52-41 but had 17 steals to Butte's 7 and 14 turnovers to Butte's 24.

Dallas had 8 rebounds, 5 of them on offense, while scoring 15 points. Heath said Dallas, a 6-4 forward who leads the Eagles with 92 offensive rebounds and 209 total rebounds, played good defense to help hold Butte's big man to just 8 points.

Allen, who has a team-high 85 assists this season, scored 12 points against Butte and made the Eagles' only three-point basket. He added 6 rebounds and 4 steals. "He made big plays," said

Heath, who described the 6-1 Allen as a good teammate who plays hard. For the season, Allen is averaging 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals.

Freshman Davis Warren, a 6-5 forward, came off the bench to score 8 points and grab 4 rebounds at Butte, while McEwen scored 5 points with 3 rebounds, and freshman Jeremy Gaut had 2 points and 3 rebounds.

McEwen is an aggressive player who starts at times but more often has come off the bench the past two seasons to harass opposing ball-handlers. He's third on this year's team with 35 steals and averages about 4 points and 4 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Alex Padilla, "a great kid and good teammate," according to Heath, has come off the bench as a ball-handler in many games this season and has made 81 percent of his free throws.

Warren is averaging 6.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and Gaut is averaging 3.5 ppg. Other freshmen who have played often include guard/forward Jalen McKinnies (5.7 points per game), guard Gavin McLean (4.1 ppg), guard/forward Jeremy Gaut (3.5 ppg), and guard Ty Campos-Reese (3.1 ppg).

The Eagles have had chances to win in several of their losses, including the home loss to Redwoods. "We played well enough to win, other than some bad passes and missed layups," Heath said.

They will still be looking for their first home win of the season on Tuesday against Shasta, a team they bested in late January in Redding, 72-67. At 12-15 overall and 3-6 in a strong GVC, Heath believes the Eagles still have an outside chance of reaching the postseason for a third year in a row if they win Tuesday.

"We're starting to figure it out," he said. "We've played good ball the last five games."

By Steve Gerace