Enterprise falls to Eufaula at home

The Enterprise Wildcats (7-1) dropped their first game of the season last night, Dec. 7, at home to the Eufaula Tigers (8-1) by a score of 47-45 on a late Tiger bucket.

With Enterprise trailing 45-42 with under two minutes remaining, Wildcat senior Ken Mitchell drove hard to the basket and knocked down a jumper as he was hit in midair. Enterprise coach Rhett Harrelson could be heard yelling “And 1!” as the ball dropped through the net and a foul was called. Mitchell sunk the free throw to tie the game 45-45 with just over a minute remaining.

Eufaula drove the ball down the court and held the ball for what it anticipated was the last shot. Tiger senior Caleb Paige drove to the basket and heaved a floater over Wildcat defenders and after bouncing around the rim, the ball finally dropped giving Eufaula a 47-45 lead with 2.8 seconds remaining.

Enterprise senior guard Elijah Terry then heaved a half court shot that bounced off the rim securing the Eufaula win.

Both teams struggled to find the basket in the first quarter with Eufaula taking an 11-10 lead going into the second period. Eufaula Tigers then outscored Enterprise 16-4 in the second quarter - including a 9-0 run – to take a 26-15 lead into halftime.

Enterprise clawed their way back in into the game with hard-nosed defense and outscoring Eufaula 10-4 in the third quarter and 20-17 in the fourth quarter. Both Enterprise and Eufaula had starters that missed the game due to injuries.

The Wildcats had their worst shooting night of the season so far, hitting just 29 percent of their shot attempts, while Eufaula shot 42 percent from the field. Enterprise was also outrebounded 43-26 in the loss. The Wildcat defense, however, forced 23 turnovers, which Enterprise scored 16 points off of.

Mitchell led Enterprise with 12 points and two steals, while Dylan Baldwin scored seven points. Tomar Hobdy and Elijah Terry both scored six points each and Terry also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Eufaula was led by Joshua Paige with 16 points and six rebounds, while Caleb Paige added 10 points and Rashad Frye scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Lady Cats (4-3) also fell to Eufaula 50-25 on Dec. 7. After Eufaula jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the first quarter the Lady Tigers never looked back, outscoring the Lady Cats in every period. 

Enterprise was led by senior Jaida Gosha with 10 points, while Joye Anderson and Keiona Moore scored three points each. 

The Wildcats also hit the road last week for a couple of road games and walked away still undefeated with wins over St. Anne-Pacelli (Ga.) Vikings and the Smiths Station Panthers.

EHS traveled to Columbus, Ga. to face St. Anne-Pacelli on Dec. 3 and picked up a resounding 73-33 win. Enterprise never trailed in the game and wasn’t outscored in any quarter. The Wildcats jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, outscoring the Vikings 24-4 in the second quarter, 21-16 in the third quarter and 14-5 in the final period.

Enterprise’s dominant performance manifested all over the state sheet as Enterprise shot 54 percent from the field and held the Vikings to just 34 percent shooting, while the Wildcats also outrebounded St. Anne-Pacelli 31-22 and forced an eye-popping 32 turnovers.

Enterprise senior Quentin Hayes scored 13 points in the win, while Elijah Terry also scored 13 points and sophomore Keion Dunlap added 10 points and seven rebounds. Tal Sessions and Dylan Baldwin also scored nine points each. Junior Mykel Johnson scored seven points and earned six steals.

Enterprise traveled back over the Alabama border on Dec. 4 to earn a 69-61 win over Smiths Station. Enterprise held a slight 34-30 lead going into halftime and then Smiths Station came back in the third quarter to tie the game 49-49 going into the final period. Enterprise owned the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 20-12, to secure the win, however.

Enterprise again shot over 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Smiths Station 35-23. The Wildcats also outscored Smiths Station in the paint 44-26.

Ken Mitchell scored a season-high 19 points for Enterprise, while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing four assists. Terry also scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Hayes scored a season-high 18 points.

The Lady Cats also had a big win last week picking up wins over Luverne and Bay (Fla.). Enterprise knocked off Luverne 55-32 at home on Dec. 2. The Lady Cats held a slim 13-12 lead going into the second quarter but took control in the second quarter outscoring Luverne 15-4 to take a 28-16 lead into halftime. The Lady Cats kept the pressure up in the second half outscoring Luverne 15-7 in the third quarter and 12-9 in the fourth quarter.

Senior Dashia Nelson led Enterprise with 16 points, while both Serenity Paige and Dashia Nelson scored seven points each.

Enterprise traveled to Panama City, Fla. on Dec. 3 and defeated Bay 59-44. Enterprise led 17-14 going into the second quarter and outscored Bay again 13-9 in the second quarter to earn a comfortable 30-23 lead at the half. Enterprise outscored Bay 29-22 in the second half.

Gosha again led the Lady Cats with 23 points, while senior Joye Anderson scored 13 points and Nelson added nine points.

Enterprise will head to Montgomery this Thursday, Dec. 9, to face off against an old rival in the R.E. Lee with the girls playing at 5:30 and the boys playing at 7 p.m.