Eisenhower showed off its three-headed monster on Thursday night.

The Eagles’ trio of Matteo Candela, Lorenzo Dilisio and Anthony Cukaj combined for 46 points, leading Eisenhower to a 67-49 MAC Red Division win over host L’Anse Creuse North.

“They were around a lot during the summer and they’re good players,” Eagle coach Tom Antishin said. “We’ve worked a ton on defense since Day 1, probably more so than on offense. Right now, it’s starting to come together, but it’s not perfect.”

Eisenhower never trailed in this one, jumping out to a 17-16 lead after one quarter, before extending that advantage to 33-29 at halftime. Candela had nine points in the opening half, while Dilisio added seven

“We got off to a strong start at the beginning, going on a nice little run there,” Antishin said. “We knew (LCN) was going to come back and they did. We would go on a run and they would go on a run.”

The Eagles took control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Crusaders 22-10, extending their lead to 55-39 heading into the final period. Cukaj had seven points in the period, while Dilisio added six points.

“At halftime we talked about handling (LCN’s) pressure and taking control of the game,” Antishin said. “I thought we did a good job of that in the second half.”

“Decision making is a huge struggle for us and I didn’t anticipate that,” LCN coach Jay Seletsky said. “Our guards are struggling so we have to simplify some things, and we have to keep educating to make it easier on them.”

Candela led the Eagles with 20 points, while Dilisio and Cukaj each added 13 points. The win improved Eisenhower’s record to 5-0 overall, 1-0 league.

LCN was led by Christian Johnson and Jordan Brossoit with eight points each.

“Shot selection was better tonight,” Seletsky said. “Give Ike a lot of credit because they hit a lot of contested shots. We have to keep getting better.”

The loss dropped the Crusaders’ record to 0-3 overall, 0-1 league. Seletsky said this year’s team is a work in progress, and he’s confident this team will get better.

 “I think we’re really having to educated and teach a lot more than I anticipated this year,” Seletsky said. “But, we’re up for the challenge. We’re going to have a lot of learning curves early on.”