Rocky Mount Academy sweeps Faith Christian in basketball doubleheader
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By Ethan Joyce ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
Sports Writer
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Faith Christian School had its rival in sight.
Trailing Rocky Mount Academy by 3 in the fourth quarter’s closing minutes on Friday, the Patriots readied for their final push. That comeback never materialized.
FCS (9-9) was called for three technical fouls that all but handed the 65-58 victory to the Eagles (7-9).
The Patriots earned their first technical while down 56-53 after a subbing-out player kicked a bench chair in frustration. RMA missed the free throws but earned a basket to push the lead to five. Faith Christian’s Chase Hearn followed by drawing a foul during a 3-pointer. He notched two free throws to keep the Patriots in range.
But on the next possession, Rocky Mount Academy’s Aubrey Mitchell took the inbound pass and dribbled down the right sideline. He was fouled at halfcourt. That foul was accompanied by two technical fouls on the refs trip toward the scorekeepers’ table. Mitchell hit four of six free throws, and Bailey Beddingfiield added one more point on his own trip to the free-throw line. That swing killed any chance of a Faith Christian comeback.
“As (the ref) was running across the court, my player just did this (made waving motion),” Faith Christian coach Rob Brothers said. “The ref felt the hand gesture was directed at him. The other player, he (the ref) said he was running his mouth.
“. . . That kid has never run his mouth in the three years I have coached him. It was absolutely ludicrous.”
That exchanged saved Rocky Mount Academy, whose lead withered away. The Eagles were up by as much as 11 in the game, but their shooters went through debilitating cold stretches.
In the second quarter, Rocky Mount Academy made only 3 of 16 shots. The Eagles experienced another rough clip in the final frame.
“It was a terrible shooting night,” Rocky Mount Academy coach Scott Dunn said. “The one thing I kept telling them is that we kept settling fro 25-to-30-foot jump shots.
“We needed to attack the basket more, and we were not doing that. We were settling for long jumpers and they just weren’t falling.”
Faith Christian lost to Rocky Mount Academy, 81-78, on Nov. 18. In that game, the Patriots had to fight back from a 17-point margin to finish just short, missing a game-tying shot at the buzzer. Faith Christian held tighter this game, but Brothers said it will take composure to win tight contests like these have been.
“We’ve got a couple of emotional players, and it was a very emotional game with our crosstown rivals,” Brothers said. “We just have to be able to control ourselves.”
.
By Ethan Joyce ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
Sports Writer
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Faith Christian School had its rival in sight.
Trailing Rocky Mount Academy by 3 in the fourth quarter’s closing minutes on Friday, the Patriots readied for their final push. That comeback never materialized.
FCS (9-9) was called for three technical fouls that all but handed the 65-58 victory to the Eagles (7-9).
The Patriots earned their first technical while down 56-53 after a subbing-out player kicked a bench chair in frustration. RMA missed the free throws but earned a basket to push the lead to five. Faith Christian’s Chase Hearn followed by drawing a foul during a 3-pointer. He notched two free throws to keep the Patriots in range.
But on the next possession, Rocky Mount Academy’s Aubrey Mitchell took the inbound pass and dribbled down the right sideline. He was fouled at halfcourt. That foul was accompanied by two technical fouls on the refs trip toward the scorekeepers’ table. Mitchell hit four of six free throws, and Bailey Beddingfiield added one more point on his own trip to the free-throw line. That swing killed any chance of a Faith Christian comeback.
“As (the ref) was running across the court, my player just did this (made waving motion),” Faith Christian coach Rob Brothers said. “The ref felt the hand gesture was directed at him. The other player, he (the ref) said he was running his mouth.
“. . . That kid has never run his mouth in the three years I have coached him. It was absolutely ludicrous.”
That exchanged saved Rocky Mount Academy, whose lead withered away. The Eagles were up by as much as 11 in the game, but their shooters went through debilitating cold stretches.
In the second quarter, Rocky Mount Academy made only 3 of 16 shots. The Eagles experienced another rough clip in the final frame.
“It was a terrible shooting night,” Rocky Mount Academy coach Scott Dunn said. “The one thing I kept telling them is that we kept settling fro 25-to-30-foot jump shots.
“We needed to attack the basket more, and we were not doing that. We were settling for long jumpers and they just weren’t falling.”
Faith Christian lost to Rocky Mount Academy, 81-78, on Nov. 18. In that game, the Patriots had to fight back from a 17-point margin to finish just short, missing a game-tying shot at the buzzer. Faith Christian held tighter this game, but Brothers said it will take composure to win tight contests like these have been.
“We’ve got a couple of emotional players, and it was a very emotional game with our crosstown rivals,” Brothers said. “We just have to be able to control ourselves.”
