There are some days that the shots just don’t fall. Thursday’s regional tournament game against Pike was one of those games for the Fort Dale boys.

The Eagles fought against the Patriots, but ended up falling 44-34.

One of the big culprits in the loss was rough shooting from the field. FDA ended the game 11-58 from the floor, and only 3-31 from three-point range.

“We played hard and held them to 44 points,” said head coach William Johnson. “When the other team only scores 44, you’re supposed to win. It wasn’t an issue of effort or hustle — we just missed shots.”

Despite the fact that they were cold from the floor, Fort Dale had some strong free throw shooting, particularly early in the game, and Pike led 11-8 after the first period.

In the second period, the Eagles hit their hottest streak of the afternoon.

Stuart Matthews and Shanks Simmons each hit three-pointers, and Sanders Hancock was not far behind with his own three.

The Eagles led 23-21 at halftime, and the momentum was on their side up until the first half was almost over.

“When we were up five with 33.5 seconds to go before the half, we needed to hold onto the lead better,” Johnson said.

In the second half, the coldness returned.

FDA only managed four points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth quarter, most of which came as the game was out of reach.

“They didn’t change anything with their defense, we just went cold,” Johnson said. “They struggled to, but they just scored more than we did.”

“Our guys did everything I asked, we just didn’t hit the shots,” he added.

Dustin Till was the leading scorer for the Eagles with eight points and Matthews had seven.

The loss ended the Eagles’ season, giving them an 8-12 record for the year.

Johnson said the team is going to miss the seniors on the team.

“They’ve provided a lot of leadership for us,” he said.