Galloway’s CMA Eagles Could Be Quite A Force In 3A
A week ago the MAX 98.3 FM sports broadcast team got its first look at Mark Galloway’s Culver Military Academy Eagles and boy did we come away impressed.
Galloway, now in his 13th season at CMA, watched his team thoroughly dismantle the visiting Lafayette Central Catholic Knights.
CMA dominated the opening quarter and never looked back en route to a 58-25 victory.
This was a CC program that advanced to the state championship game a year ago under then-coach Dave Barrett. Barrett, who played at Purdue under Gene Keady, stepped down after the 2021-22 season and his son, Drake, is now guiding the Knights.
Keep in mind, CC has played in the state championship game seven times since 1997.
Three starters returned this year from last year’s state runner-up CC team, but at least on this night it had no answer for CMA.
Seniors Thomas Collins and Cooper Farrall proved to be a lethal one-two punch for the Eagles. They combined for 37 of CMA’s 58 points, including 22 of their team’s 34 first-half points.
Collins was deadly from the outside, knocking down three three-pointers in the opening half and finishing with 12 at the break.
Farrall proved to be a handful, too, for the Knights. He scored driving to the basket and inside, knocking down three two-point field goals and going 4-for-4 at the free throw line to head into the locker room with 10 first-half points.
Collins finished with a game-high 19 points, while Farrall tallied 18.
If Galloway’s squad gets that kind of production on a consistent basis from two of their four senior starters, it will really be in business.
Add to that the athleticism of senior forward Folabomi Fayemi and look out. At 6-foot-4 Fayemi had one of the most spectacular alley-oop dunks you will ever see.
With just under two minutes to play in the first quarter, Fayemi exploded off the floor and somehow caught a pass that appeared to be uncatchable and threw it down with authority. It was easily one of the best dunks we have ever seen on the high school level.
As if Fayemi’s dunk wasn’t enough, in the waning seconds of the opening quarter Collins somehow someway scored on a reverse lay up and was fouled. He converted the traditional three-point play, giving his team a 22-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter didn’t get any prettier for the visitors as they were outscored 12-1 in the frame. After outscoring CC by 10 in the third quarter, CMA emptied its bench and cruised to victory.
The performance was so dominating by CMA that at one point it went on an 18-0 run in the first half. Plus, it really locked in on the defensive end, forcing the visitors to miss all eight of their shots in the second quarter as they held them to just 18.8 percent shooting in the opening 16 minutes.
Furthermore, CC went more than 11 minutes between the first and third quarters without a made field goal.
To date, CMA is just 4-3 on the season, but per usual it is playing a daunting schedule. Their three losses have been by a combined nine points total.
The Eagles go into tonight’s game at Park Tudor ranked No. 11 in the state in Class 3A.
CMA’s remaining schedule doesn’t get any easier. It still has a date with the top team in 3A – Marian. Plus, it will play Chesterton and Gary 21st Century, which are both ranked in the top 10 in their respective classes. Oh, there are also games left against LaLumiere and Don Bosco Prep to name a few.
The point is don’t be fooled by CMA’s near .500 record. Galloway’s team will be a force come tournament time and don’t be surprised if the Eagles enjoy a deep run come March.
MAX 98.3 FM’s sports team will bring you even more Indiana high school basketball when we broadcast the 3-2 LaVille at 1-4 Glenn game tomorrow night. Join us beginning at 7:10 p.m. ET for our pregame show followed by the tip at approximately 7:30 p.m. . Tune in to MAX 98.3 FM (WYMR) or via audio stream at max983.net.
Special thanks to Five Star Marketplace in Knox for being one of our loyal sponsors. Please give their Facebook page a visit by going to https://www.facebook.com/supermarketfivestar/?fref=ts
You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on his posts on Twitter @Maxsports983 and on Facebook (facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net.
