By Christopher Tenpenny
With just more than four minutes left in Butler’s basketball game against Clinton, Butler senior Jagur Eidson was stuck on 999 career points. Eidson entered the game needing nine points. His eighth point came in the middle of the second quarter.
As if reaching 1,000 points was not enough, Eidson was going to have to do it against his old coach, Frankie Jackson. Jackson spent the last three years at Butler before heading to Clinton during the summer.
“It was tough tonight,” Eidson said. “Coach Jackson, my old coach, he really tried to stop me.”
Eidson had multiple looks throughout the second half, but the rim appeared to have a lid on it as every close jumper seemed to rattle in and out. Then with four minutes left, Dylan Davidson put up a shot that missed. Eidson flied in to get the rebound, put the ball back up and scored. The crowd inside The Den at Butler erupted. Eidson had reached 1,000 points.
“That’s something you can never take away from him,” current Butler head coach Josh Dawson said. “It’ll be something he’ll remember the rest of his life. It shows the dedication to this program and the work he’s put in. I’m proud of him and I’m happy for him.”
Jackosn, who saw Eidson grow as a scorer, praised his former player.
Jagur has unmovable confidence. He doesn’t know a bad shot,” Jackson said. “That’s what makes him dangerous. He’s been a special player as long as I’ve known him.”
Eidson has had a full career including playoff games and postseason awards.
“Jagur has had a spectacular high school career,” Jackson said. “He’s been to two district championships, he’s been all-district twice and then could help win a conference this year. To top it off with 1,000 points, he can say he’s seen it all. I’m glad I got to see him achieve this milestone even though it was loss for us.”
The Bears would go on and defeat Clinton 54-41. Butler led the entire game, but Clinton kept it within reach.
“It wasn’t our sharpest game, but the boys did a good job finishing,” Dawson said. “With everything going on, you know it was wearing on their minds a little.”
Carter Trumbore continued his excellent season with 18 points scored. The sophomore point guard has been the leading scorer all season and has a knack for keeping things under control.
“He makes the engine run and most of that is because he has the ball in his hands,” Dawson said. “It starts with Carter and it usually ends with Carter. When we’re at our best, he’s penetrating and scoring or creating shots for everyone else.”
The Bears only play six players, so foul trouble is usually a concern. When Bryce Triebel picked up his third foul with Trumbore and Davidson having two fouls, role players Matthew Zent and Logan Doll saw extended time. Doll finished with nine points. Zent only had two, but it was a buzzer-beater right before halftime that displayed Zent’s athleticism.
“There’s no letdown when those guys are in the game,” Dawson said. ‘Those are the kind of guys we need, role playing guys who come off the bench and know what they’re supposed to do. They play really hard and I never have to talk about effort with them.”
Butler moves to 9-5 on the season. The Bears will compete in the Archie Tournament, which started Tuesday, against Drexel. The Bears will play again tonight against either Archie or Hume.