The Shorewood Thunderbirds defeated the Arlington Eagles 61-57 in a non-conference game on Saturday, December 5th.

Shorewood jumped out to an early lead over the Eagles, with Jesse Reynolds scoring 7 of his 16 total points in the first quarter. The Eagles battled back in the closing minutes of the quarter, with Brennon Wiersma opening the game with 7 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. The Thunderbirds held a 20-11 lead over the Eagles heading into the second quarter.

The Eagles strengthened their defensive efforts in the second quarter, allowing just 11 points to Shorewood, but continued to struggle on offense, mimicking their first quarter output of 11 points.

At the half, Shorewood led 32-22. Wiersma led the struggling Arlington offense with 11 points.

The third quarter opened with a typical sight in an Arlington basketball game, as Drew Bryson hit a corner three to kick off what would be an electric comeback by the Eagles. Heading into the quarter, the junior guard had just two points, but began scoring quickly as his teammates looked to get him the ball every trip down the floor. Bryson capped off his 14 point 3rd quarter with a three pointer he dropped in from the volleyball line, a range not many players have the confidence to fire from in a game, sending the Arlington crowd into pandemonium. “I got to give credit to my teammates for finding me the ball and Brown for calling plays,” said Bryson when asked about his third quarter performance. The run by the Eagles tied the game at 40-40, but the Eagles weren’t done yet. After another stop on the defensive end, Arlington moved the ball into the hands of Aaron Carlson who hit another three, giving the Eagles their first lead of the game as the third quarter came to an end.

Heading into the 4th quarter, the Eagles were hot off of a 21-8 3rd quarter that gave them a 43-40 advantage, and found Drew Bryson for four more quick points giving him 20 points on the game.  Despite the impressive scoring performance from the Eagles to start the second half, the Eagles failed to keep their momentum alive as the Thunderbirds completed a 21 point quarter of their own, to finish the game and capture the victory, winning 61-57.

Arlington falls to 1-2 on the season and Shorewood improves to 2-1. The Eagles will face Cascade on Tuesday, December 8th, in a contest that is sure to be another hard fought game for the Arlington squad.