8th Grade Boys Cap Off Journey In St. Clair

The eighth-grade boys swished in a second-place finish at the St. Clair Tournament, held from Jan. 27 to 30. The Eagles tipped off their last week with victories over Union and Pacific but later fell to St. James in the championship.

Through their final games as a team, head coach Jason Doyle continued to remind Sullivan to “cherish the moment.” He told his players to “soak it in and take advantage of the opportunity and just enjoy it, right? Because, like I said, this won’t happen [again]; you’re on to different things next year.”

Doyle had coached the same group of boys for two years through victories and losses. The Eagles understood their journey was ending in St. Clair, so they aimed to cap it off with a bang.

Union

Sullivan faced its first test in the opening round against Union on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Despite adversity during the battle, they survived the Wildcats 32-21.

The Eagles soared ahead to a 10-1 lead at the start. Blake Tolliver first got Sullivan on the board with a layup. Trenton Carey later pulled up with a jumper, and then Jeremih Jenkins, Tolliver, and Zane Martin drove through traffic for buckets.

Union eventually found their rhythm halfway through the second quarter. They fast broke down the floor for scores, leaving the Eagles on the ropes.

After the Wildcats stole the lead, Tolliver clawed Sullivan back to the top. He beat the halftime buzzer for a go-ahead layup. 

In the locker room, Coach Doyle reminded his boys to “stay positive” despite their season being in jeopardy. He told them, “Everybody has a plan ‘till they’re punched in the mouth. It’s about how you react and how you respond. So… take it to them, turn up the energy a little bit, put some pressure on them and then win 6 minutes at a time.”

Tolliver tipped off the third quarter with a free throw. Union continued tying up the board, but Carey and Lucas Padgett fired shots to keep the Eagles ahead.

Tolliver went coast-to-coast for scores while Jenkins and Padgett clutched putback baskets. Carey shut the door on the Wildcats with a shot from downtown.

Doyle praised Tolliver for helping hold off Union’s rally, sharing, “[He] created a lot of turnovers and headaches for the other team, getting a lot of steals.” Tolliver topped the Eagles with 15 points. 

The coach was happy to see his team fire “some big shots” against the Wildcats. Carey dropped 7 points, Jenkins sank 6, while Padgett and Martin drained two.

St. James

After edging past Pacific, Sullivan advanced to the championship, where they faced their greatest challenge of the week. St. James started hot in the title matchup, while the Eagles struggled to catch up and eventually lost 42-20.

Carson Price led Sullivan with eight points against the Tigers. Jenkins knocked in four points, Tolliver and Carson Redd sank a three, and Martin swished in two.

After two years together, Doyle is proud to see his boys accomplish so much on the court. He hopes the Eagles will apply the lessons they learned from the program at the high school level.

The coach’s final message for Sullivan is, “First of all, I [would] tell them to continue to be great leaders and students. Secondly, I [would also] tell them that opportunities will be there. They are not going to be given... they have to be earned. That means to put in the effort of whatever is asked when those chances do come along.”

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