After coming off of their Valley Championship win over Laton, the Eagles hosted the No. 9-seeded Holy Martyrs, March 7. It was win or go home for both teams. The Eagles led the entire game and, although it was a fight to the finish, FC came out on top, 70-58, to advance to the second round.

This was not the first time the Eagles had seen the Holy Martyrs. In 2010, FC traveled down to San Diego to play in the Tri-City Christian Holiday tournament. It was in that very tournament that the Armens blew by FC, outscoring them 96-61.

However, 2012 would be different. Despite having a vocal contingent of fans from Holy Martyrs (Encino, CA) fans, the Eagles led from the opening tip-off.

Senior Ryan Neufeld played lock down defense in the paint. Neufeld later finished the game with 5 points, 5 assists and 11 rebounds. Senior Cooper Belmont caught fire and drained jumpers in transition. He later went on to be the game high scorer with 23 points. Senior Chandler Vargas, who finished with 15 points, hit 2 3’s in the first to spark his team. FC fans were on their feet as the Eagles scored bucket after bucket. Senior Brady Lee had 12 points to round out the Eagles top scorers.

Coach Josh Justin is proud of his team’s strong performance. He feels like his team’s defense was a huge factor to their victory.

“We played one of our best games of the year last night,” Justin said. “Our defense was extremely solid, which made it difficult for the the Holy Martyrs to score. The entire team played well, but I throughout that Chandler Vargas had one of his best games that I have ever seen. His shot was on and his defense was stifling.”

For more information on boys basketball, check out Eagles triumphant in State playoff game, defeat Holy Martyrs (VIDEO). In order to keep up with the CalState Division V tournament, follow along with the playoff bracket.

Be sure to visit the 2011-12 boys’ basketball schedule, home page, roster page, or check out Maxpreps.com. FC finished 7-1 in the West Sequoia League. The Eagles are currently 25-2 overall as of March 7. According to Maxpreps.com, FC has the 4th best record in the state for D-V basketball. No. 8-seed FC will travel to face the No. 1-seeded St. Bernard Vikings, Saturday March 10 at 7 p.m.