Rockets pull out 66-60 win over Mikes
JEFFERSON — Doesn’t matter the sport and doesn’t matter the records, every time Carmichaels and Jefferson-Morgan match up, there’s always going to be a rivalry.
Last Friday’s Section 2-AA boys basketball regular season finale didn’t disappoint, as the Rockets scored eight of the final 10 points and pulled out a 66-60 victory over the Mikes on Senior Night.
“The key was the fact that we never lost confidence,” J-M coach Dennis Garrett said. “We were composed and didn’t let things bring us down. I thought our guard play was outstanding and they couldn’t handle our speed. We were just a little bit quicker and we made our foul shots late. It was a great atmosphere.”
J-M sweeps the season series with Carmichaels. The Rockets were victorious on the road, 61-51, on Jan. 17. Carmichaels ends the season with a seven-game losing skid, losing 14 of their 15 games.
DL Garrett poured in game-high 24 points for the Rockets (5-16, 2-10), while Jalen Torres collected 18 and Gage Clark chipped in with 10.
Matt Barrish and Dylan Wilson led the Mikes (6-16, 0-12) with 12 points apiece. Jacob Lowry was also in double figures with 10 points. William Cree scored nine off the bench.
“We played with a lot more emotions in the second half,” Carmichaels coach Don Williams said. “We were going to the basket with the ball. We were more aggressive in the final 16 minutes of the game. The kids know each other and this is always a hotly-contested rivalry. As a coach, you don’t have to say too much to get the kids up for this one.”
With game tied at 58-58, Torres calmly nailed two free throws with 24 seconds left for J-M.
“We had to stay focused,” Torres said. “It was a close game and this is a big rivalry. We ran the fast-break well and had to keep on pushing the ball. On those late foul shots, I didn’t try to think about it too much and I just wanted to stay focused. It was a great team win and something we can build off of for next season.”
After the foul shots, Garrett made a heads-up play as he picked off an errant pass and scored a fastbreak lay-up for a 62-58 lead.
“We were pretty active on defense tonight,” DL Garrett said. “I saw the pass coming and just stepped in front of it. I knew I had an open lane to the basket. My shot was falling through early on and when I’m open for a shot, I’m going to take it. I was ready to shoot tonight and we had a good flow on offense.”
The teams traded foul shots, and it was J-M’s Brennan Kozich who sealed the win with a lay-up off of an inbound pass in front of a raucous, senior night crowd.
The Rockets were flying from the onset of the contest, opening the game with an 11-0 run that was capped off by a lay-up from Armond Jacobs and a pair of free throws by Clark. J-M led 22-11 after one period and 39-28 at halftime but Carmichaels pulled within 45-44 by the end of the third.
“We got a lot of contributions tonight,” Williams said. “I thought our bench was pretty good. We found the open man and we made our shots. We dug ourselves too big of a hole and not enough shots late went down for us. I liked our work on the glass. We put more pressure on their ball-handlers. We had to contest the outside shots.”
Carmichaels tallied six of the initial 10 points of the fourth and took its first lead of the night, 50-49, after an inside hoop by Cree.
J-M knotted things up at 50-50 with a foul shot from Devin Stoneking, but the visitors retook the lead after Wilson connected on a shot from beyond the arc.
The Rockets responded with eight of the next 13 points to tie things up at 58-58 before pulling away with an 8-2 run to secure the section triumph.
“We played with great intensity,” coach Garrett said. “I give a lot of props to Coach Williams and Carmichaels. Those kids never quit and they made some adjustments at halftime. Every time you play Carmichaels, you have to have at least a 20-point lead to feel comfortable. They came back in the second half, but I thought we controlled things in the final two minutes of the game.”