MBB: 'Riders rally past Huntington, 69-66
attempt to get around a Huntington defender during a drive to
the basket in Tuesday night's 69-66 Roughrider win over the Red
Devils. (Photo by Ray Jackson)
CENTER, Tx -- Entering the third quarter of Tuesday night's District 18-3A game against Huntington here at Roughrider Gymnasium, things were looking bleak for the home team. The 'Riders trailed the Red Devils, 56-43, and to make matters worse, they had looked helpless against Huntington's Houston brothers, Zabo and Mo.
But Center head coach Hiram Harrison still had a couple of adjustments left to make, and he played his cards at the perfect time and the result was a come-from-behind 69-66 Roughrider win as CHS evened its league mark at 1-1.
The game began just the way the Center fans liked it, with the 'Riders jumping out to a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. Huntington got its offense in gear in the second period, outscoring the 'Riders 24-9 to take a 36-26 halftime lead.
Some halftime adjustments helped Center get things headed in the right direction, but the visitors still outscored the 'Riders by three in the third period.
The Devils then tried to slow down the tempo of the game, and that may have been their downfall as they seemed to play right into Harrison's hand by allowing Center to set up its half-court defense.
Time and again, Huntington would walk the ball up the court, only to have their telegraphed passes snatched away by the opportunistic Roughriders. Center continually converted the turnovers into points, outscoring their guests 20-7 over the first eight minutes of the period to tie the game at 63-63 with one minute left on a timely three-pointer by junior Jercarius Berry.
After another steal, the 'Riders slowed things down and ate up almost thirty seconds of clock time. Darren Bolton drove the lane and put the Riders on top with a layup. After a Devil turnover gave the ball back to Center, Huntington was forced to foul to stop the clock.
Johnny Sudds made the most of his opportunity at the stripe, sinking both ends of a 1-and-1 to stretch the lead to four. He then stole the ball and converted another layup to ice the game.
A buzzer beating three pointer by Zabo Houston made the final score 69-66.
After the game, an exhausted Harrison said he was proud of his team's effort.
"Our kids just wouldn't quit. They are starting to believe in our system, and it showed in the fourth quarter tonight," the coach explained. "It was a total team effort. We moved the ball around well, we created scoring opportunities.
"On defense, we created turnovers and converted points out of them."
He was right on about the team effort, as all five Rider starters reached double figures in the scoring column. They also all recorded at least one steal and one defensive rebound apiece. Sudds led the way with 16 points, while Tony McCollister and DeJalen Preston added 13 each. Berry and Bolton poured in 12 and 11 points, respectively, and Myles Netherly finished with four.
The 'Riders improve to 6-14 on the season, while jumping back into the league race by evening their District 18-3A mark.
Harrison believes that the district race is wide open.
"It's anybody's district to win right now," he explained. "You know Jasper's going to be tough, and Diboll is always solid. We just need to keep working hard, make sure we win the ones at home, and hope we can pick off a couple on the road. If we can do that, we can grab a playoff spot. This team is young and the more games they play, the better they're going to get."
The 'Riders will take a break from district play on Friday night when they host one of the top Class 1A teams in the state, the No.2-ranked (Class 1A D-I) Tenaha Tigers (6-2), who are coming off a 66-64 loss to Laneville Tuesday. They will then be on the road next Tuesday for a district game against the Diboll Lumberjacks.