Saturday evening the Paxton Tigers hosted the Cambridge Trojans for a girls and boys double-header. This was Paxton's first game back from the Holiday Break. For Cambridge, they were riding high, as both the girls and boys had won Friday evening against Maywood-Hayes Center.
For the Tigers, you wouldn't have been able to tell they were on a break as both varsity teams came away with victories.
In the girls' matchup, Paxton won by double figures, 36-26. In the first quarter, it was very close, with the teams tied up at 10-10. In the second quarter, Cambridge claimed a small lead, 17-14 going into the intermission.
The third quarter was a struggle for both teams, as nine points combined were scored. Paxton led 21-19 going into the fourth. In the final stanza, Cambridge had their opportunities to take the lead, but Paxton remained tough and closed out the game.
Cambridge was led by Jalen Kent with nine points. Cambridge falls to 7-3 on the season.
Paxton leaned on Jacelyn Jorgensen with 15 points and eight rebounds. Emmalee Nicholson had 10 rebounds. The Tigers move to 7-2 this season.
We visited with Jorgensen after the game and got her thoughts on the victory.
In the boys' game, Paxton came out aggressive and Cambridge made things interesting late in the game. The Tigers though, won 60-55.
There was no hesitation from the Tigers to begin the game, as they attacked the Trojans over and over. Paxton led 12-7 after the first eight minutes. In the second period, Paxton kept it rolling and went up by nine going to halftime, 27-18.
In the third quarter, all signs indicated that the Tigers would be coasting to a victory as they led 43-30 after that period.
Cambridge had other ideas. It started with about two minutes to go in the game the Trojans trimmed the lead a little. But, with 1:21 to go into the game, Brohedy Wood scored a layup, and then a steal from Cambridge and a three from Carson Trompke cut the lead to single digits. Cambridge got it down to 58-52 with 27.3 seconds to go.
They scored another trio of points and nearly completed the comeback, but couldn't quite do so.
Brady Ahlemeyer had 17 points in the game and Carson Trompke added 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Cambridge is now 7-3 on the year.
Josh Eakins was excellent in the game, with 24 points, five rebounds, and five steals. Paxton, with this win, is now 5-4. We visited with Josh Eakins after the game to chat about the Tigers' win.