The No. 1-seeded Eagles faced off against the No. 2-seeded Laton Mustangs in the 2012 CIF Central Section Division V Valley Championship game at the Selland Arena, March 2.

The game was close only in the first few minutes of the first quarter as the Eagles dominated the boards, led 17-6, and rolled to a 60-40 win over Laton. FC completed a dominating West Sequoia League season, going 7-1 and are now 24-2 overall and will continue into the state playoffs.

Senior Ryan Neufeld was named the games Most Valuable Player, scoring 12 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals as the Eagles repeated as Division V champions. This is the first time in school history that an Eagle team has repeated a Valley Championship.

Senior Brady Lee led FC with 14 points while fellow senior Cooper Belmont added 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 3 steals to give the Eagles a balanced attack that the Mustangs lacked.

Laton’s senior Colton Minter was named Mustang player of the game, scoring 10 points while fellow Mustang senior Christian Pilgrim added 12 to pace the runners-up.

FC won the CIF Central Section Division V championship twice before 2011: former FC math teacher Ericlee Gilmore captained the 1992 squad and beat Strathmore; the 1997 champions beat Immanuel, 47-43, and were led by Ben Williams, Adam Lee and Scott Foust.

The 2012 No. 8-seeded Eagles will host a CIF Division V State playoff game against the No. 9-seeded Holy Martyrs, March 7 at 7 p.m. According to Maxpreps.com, FC has the 4th best record in the state for D-V basketball. Be sure to follow all the results of the 2012 California State Division V playoffs.