The athleticism and basketball IQ aside, perhaps the biggest asset in the Eagles’ arsenal is experience.

The Cedar Park Christian boys basketball team rallied for a thrilling nonconference win over Seattle Christian, 49-45, on Tuesday in Bothell.

It was Cedar Park’s battle-tested mentality that kept the Eagles afloat down the stretch, fighting back from a 24-18 halftime deficit and taking a lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“They’ve all been through the war, a bunch of times, so it’s not e foreign situation for those guys,” Cedar Park coach Adam Lynch said. “They know how to close it out and show good composure.”

“We just needed to relax and play like we had a bunch of seniors — which we do,” he said. “I felt like we’d be okay.”

By halftime, the Eagles (5-3) hadn’t really found a groove offensively, and were struggling to slow Seattle Christian guard Zac VanderLay.

“We just had to play together,” Cedar Park senior Drew McLaurin said. “We weren’t really playing together in the first half, and we just weren’t playing good against their zone defense. Coach put up a good game plain in the second half, and that helped us.”

McLaurin, who led the Eagles with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 37. VanderLay answered with a shot from distance to give the Warriors a 40-37 edge with just over five minutes remaining.

Cedar Park ended the game on a 12-3 run, including two fast-break layups and a clutch assist from McLaurin to Andrei Leonardi at the rim.

The win is the fourth in five games for Cedar Park, and snapped Seattle Christian’s six-game winning streak. The Warriors have put together an impressive resume, including a big win over Lynden Christian — the Eagles’ next opponent — on Dec. 17.

“I think it was good for us to fight through,” Lynch said. “You’re not always going to have your best night offensively, and we didn’t, but we did enough to pull off the ‘W.’”

Jack Flynn scored nine points, Zach Fisk had five and Jack Stiger and Leonardi both scored four points for Cedar Park.

VanderLay led all scorers with 23 points.

Next, Cedar Park is scheduled to play Lynden Christian at noon on Dec. 22 at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Cedar Park senior Drew McLaurin goes behind his back to get around a Seattle Christian defender. McLaurin led the Eagles with 14 points. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Bothell-Kenmore Reporter

Cedar Park’s Zach Fisk sprints in for a layup in the third quarter of the Eagles’ win on Dec. 20. Fisk finished with give points, but had several crucial steals in the second half. JOHN WILLIAM HOWARD/Bothell-Kenmore Reporter