TUPPERS PLAINS — The Eastern Eagles boys basketball team clinched the TVC Hocking division title on Friday as they completed the season sweep of in-county rival Southern by a score of 49-34.

The Eagles (15-1, 8-0 TVC Hocking) claimed at least a share of the title, with the victory, for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. Eastern won three consecutive titles from 2000 to 2002.

The season sweep of the Tornadoes (11-4, 5-2 TVC Hocking) is also the first since the 2005-2006 season. In that season, Eastern won the road contest on Dec. 16, by a score of 79-52, and the home contest on Jan. 27, by a score of 52-42.

Eastern trailed only once in the contest, and for less than one minute. The Eagles scored first, going up 2-0 on a basket by Kyle Connery, before Southern scored their first point on a Michael Manuel free throw. Eastern stretched the lead to four, at 5-1, on a three-point goal by Kelly Winebrenner. Southern got to within two at the 4:15 mark, but could not pull closer in the first quarter, as Eastern took a 12-7 lead at the end of one.

Southern began the second quarter with a 7-0 surge, to take a 14-12 lead at the 3:30 mark of the period, before Winebrenner knocked in another three to give Eastern back the lead at the 3:00 mark. The Eagles would not trail again in the contest. Winebrenner hit another three, giving him 11 points in the first half, as Eastern took a 20-16 lead at the half.

The green and white struck first in the third quarter, increasing the lead to eight on two-pointers by Connery and Mike Johnson. Southern cut the Eagle lead back to five at the 3:45 mark in the third on a three-point play by Sean Coppick, but the purple and gold would not get any closer in the second half. The Eagles maintained a three possession lead for the remainder of the third period, leading 31-24 at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Tornadoes were within seven on two occasions in the fourth quarter, but Eastern continued to pull away, outscoring Southern 18-10 in the fourth quarter. The Eagles largest lead in the game came at the end, as they won by a final score of 49-34. Eastern’s Johnson scored all 14 of his points in the second half.

Eastern previously defeated the Tornadoes on Jan. 15 by a final score of 74-66. The January victory snapped a seven game winning streak for Southern in the series.

Winebrenner led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points, with Johnson also hitting double figures with 14. Titus Pierce added five points, Connery and Devon Baum each had four points, and Jake Lynch and Tyler Hendrix each scored three points.

Coppick was the only Southern player to reach double figures, scoring 11 points. Michael Manuel had seven points, Zach Manuel and Dustin Salser each had five points, and Cyle Rees, Colby Roseberry, and Andrew Roseberry scored two points each.

Eastern shot 19-48 (.396) from the field in the contest, while Southern was 13-47 (.277) including an 0-12 shooting night from three-point range. Eastern was 4-12 (.333) from the three-point arc, with Winebrenner knocking in three. Southern shot better at the free throw line, going 8-10 (.800), as Eastern was 7-16 (.438).

The green and white topped the Tornadoes in rebounds (26-23), assists (11-2), and steals (9-4). Winebrenner led Eastern in rebounds with six, followed by Johnson and Pierce with five each. Colby Roseberry and Zach Manuel each grabbed five boards for Southern to lead the team. Braydon Pratt had three assists for Eastern and Lynch added two. Southern assists came from Rees and Michael Manuel. Pierce had three takeaways for the Eagles and Johnson added two. The Tornadoes had four players with one steal each.

Rees had two blocks for the Tornadoes, and Winebrenner had one for the Eagles. Defensively, Taylor Deem took a charge for the purple and gold, with Lynch and Pratt each taking charges for Eastern. Each team had 13 turnovers in the contest. Southern committed 20 fouls in the game, while Eastern committed 14.

Southern won the JV contest by a final of 41-39 in overtime. The Tornadoes made only one field goal after the first half, but shot 39 free throws, making 21, in the second half and OT for the victory. Southern was led by Marcus Hill with 13 points and Max Carnahan led the Eagles with 18.

Eastern, No. 7 in the most recent AP poll, needs one more league victory to clinch the outright TVC Hocking championship. Southern, with a 5-2 league mark, is the only team that can catch Eastern in the TVC Hocking.

The Eagles have league contest remaining at Waterford (Feb. 19) and at home against Federal Hocking (Feb. 20), while Southern hosted Trimble (Feb. 13) and has games remaining against Miller (Feb. 19) and at Trimble.

Eastern hosted River Valley on Saturday, and will host Nelsonville-York on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Southern played Trimble on Saturday, and will host Symmes Valley on Tuesday at 6 p.m.