Eagles avenge earlier loss, defeat El Dorado, 65-55

Vista's varsity boys' basketball coach Tim Weir received an early Christmas present last Friday when his team defeated El Dorado, 65-55, in the team's last game before the holiday. Making the win much sweeter is the fact that the Cougars had defeated the Eagles by 17 points two weeks earlier. "We played much better and shot the ball better, and they didn't shoot it as well as they did last time," Weir said. "We're tweaking some things and that seemed to help us, and we also had a couple guys play their best games." Brendan Conneely led the team with 16 points, as he made four-of-six three-point attempts. Alex Lee scored 12 points. Bryson Boone had his best of his career, according to Weir, as he finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Owen Avdalovic, playing at point guard for the first time this season, scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds, and finished with five assists. "Bryson played really well," Weir said. "He did exactly what we asked him to do and that resulted in more playing time for him. Owen also did a nice job at point guard." The Eagles outscored the Cougars in three of the four quarters, while both teams scored 14 points in the third quarter. Weir, however, wasn't pleased with how his team finished the game. Though, they outscored the Cougars by five in the fourth quarter, the team didn't play well. "They pressured us, and we turned it over way too much," Weir said. "We've got some things to work on, and we've now got some time to do it. Our next game isn't until after break so we've got several practices to work on the things we need to work on." Vista, 5-5 on the season, doesn't play again until Jan. 8 when it travels to Inderkum. The Eagles begin Capital Athletic League play at home January 10 against Rio Americano.