AURORA – The Aurora Christian boys basketball team welcomed three players from its recently crowned state champion football team Tuesday as the Eagles crushed Illinois Math and Science Academy, 87-42, in their season opener.

Ryan McQuade, Ryan Suttle and Cory Windle – all projected starters – made the quick jump from football to basketball, with Windle scoring 17 of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter.

First-year Eagles coach Pat McNamara joked that the football players looked like “The Bad News Bears” in practice Monday but they managed to shake some rust on the fly.