Rivalry split: FCS boys eek out a win; RMA girls defend home court
BY SAMUEL EVERS
Sports Writer rocky mount telegram
Friday, January 25, 2019
It was the shrug heard ‘round Rocky Mount Academy’s gym on Friday night.
Faith Christian’s Hobart Brantley, having just been fouled going to the basket with 10 seconds left and his team up one, stepped to the line with a plan.
That plan didn’t involved banking in the first free throw.
But sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
“I was just hoping I could make it. I was not meaning to bank it in,” said Brantley, who finished with a team-high 20 points and a countless amount of hustle plays. “They all laughed at me, I said, ‘Hey, it still went in.”
Brantley’s next free throw was a much-improved swish, and it put his Patriots (15-5, 8-2) up three points. Rocky Mount Academy’s 3-point, game-tying attempt sailed long on the other side, the clock bled out, and Faith Christian held on for a 56-53 victory on the Eagles’ home floor — the first time that’s happened, said FCS coach Rob Brothers, in at least 10 years.
“This senior class is — I’ve been here at Faith six years. They were the first junior varsity team to get a win here, and now they’re the first varsity team since I’ve been here to get a win,” Brothers said. “I said, ‘You can check that off the list.’ That’s a goal we’ve had all year. To beat RMA three times in a row — I mean, every game’s like this.”
The Patriots, who beat RMA (9-7, 6-5) earlier this month on their home floor by a 55-44 score, trailed by three points after the first quarter and by 35-30 midway through the third. They answered with an 11-0 run to get back in the game, but neither team could quite put the other away until the final buzzer.
Colin Legaj led the Eagles with 18 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 10 and Payton David had nine. Zach Warrick scored 10 to assist Brantley’s 20, while Garrett Pannell chipped in 12.
“This gym is loud, the crowd was loud. I couldn’t hear anything,” Brothers said.
When Brantley stepped up to the free throw line, he wished he couldn’t see anything, either.
“I was trying not to watch. That’s what it is. I’ll take it any way we can get it,” Brothers said. “He obviously calmed down his nerves on the second one.”
BY SAMUEL EVERS
Sports Writer rocky mount telegram
Friday, January 25, 2019
It was the shrug heard ‘round Rocky Mount Academy’s gym on Friday night.
Faith Christian’s Hobart Brantley, having just been fouled going to the basket with 10 seconds left and his team up one, stepped to the line with a plan.
That plan didn’t involved banking in the first free throw.
But sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
“I was just hoping I could make it. I was not meaning to bank it in,” said Brantley, who finished with a team-high 20 points and a countless amount of hustle plays. “They all laughed at me, I said, ‘Hey, it still went in.”
Brantley’s next free throw was a much-improved swish, and it put his Patriots (15-5, 8-2) up three points. Rocky Mount Academy’s 3-point, game-tying attempt sailed long on the other side, the clock bled out, and Faith Christian held on for a 56-53 victory on the Eagles’ home floor — the first time that’s happened, said FCS coach Rob Brothers, in at least 10 years.
“This senior class is — I’ve been here at Faith six years. They were the first junior varsity team to get a win here, and now they’re the first varsity team since I’ve been here to get a win,” Brothers said. “I said, ‘You can check that off the list.’ That’s a goal we’ve had all year. To beat RMA three times in a row — I mean, every game’s like this.”
The Patriots, who beat RMA (9-7, 6-5) earlier this month on their home floor by a 55-44 score, trailed by three points after the first quarter and by 35-30 midway through the third. They answered with an 11-0 run to get back in the game, but neither team could quite put the other away until the final buzzer.
Colin Legaj led the Eagles with 18 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 10 and Payton David had nine. Zach Warrick scored 10 to assist Brantley’s 20, while Garrett Pannell chipped in 12.
“This gym is loud, the crowd was loud. I couldn’t hear anything,” Brothers said.
When Brantley stepped up to the free throw line, he wished he couldn’t see anything, either.
“I was trying not to watch. That’s what it is. I’ll take it any way we can get it,” Brothers said. “He obviously calmed down his nerves on the second one.”
