RMA sweeps FCS in hoops doubleheader
By FOSTER LANDER / ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
By now, Rocky Mount Academy coach Scott Dunn has stopped trying to explain away the Eagles’ sluggish starts to games.
Eagles guard Aubrey Mitchell, for his part, said it’s not for lack of effort, and that Rocky Mount Academy might simply be trying too hard to start fast.
Regardless, as Dunn said, it’s more about how the Eagles finish than how they start. It’s worked all season long, and it worked again at Faith Christian on Thursday night, as Rocky Mount Academy trailed after one quarter but recovered to win going away, 71-50.
Rocky Mount Academy outscored the Patriots, 23-10, in the second quarter, and used a 17-4 run over a stretch of 3:48 to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point advantage. Elijah McCadden, dormant for most of the first 12 minutes, scored 11 of his game-high 21 during that spurt to pace the Eagles.
“(Faith Christian) did a great job of controlling the tempo in the first quarter and keeping everything in the halfcourt, which is what they wanted with (Chase Hearn) down low,” Dunn said. “They didn’t let us run on them.”
Like clockwork, though, Rocky Mount Academy, which remained unbeaten in Coastal Independent Conference play, fought back after trailing by as many as seven in the opening period to close within three, and the Eagles’ ability to force Faith Christian (10-9 overall, 2-5 CIC) turnovers helped speed the game up in the second quarter.
“We’re a team that plays fast, and if we slow down even a little bit, everything slows down,” Mitchell said. “Our game is best when we’re going fast all the time.”
Hearn (19 points) put Faith Christian ahead, 17-14, with a free throw at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter, but that’s when the Rocky Mount Academy onslaught began.
A layup followed by a putback from Brendan Acker (12 points, 10 rebounds) gave the Eagles their first lead since 2-0.
Acker followed with another layup, McCadden finished off a three-point play, and Mitchell and McCadden added transition layups off turnovers in quick succession.
By the time Patriots coach Rob Brothers could call timeout, Rocky Mount Academy had surged to an eight-point lead.
“We started getting in the passing lanes more and getting the ball to Elijah and (Aubrey) so they could get out and run and do what they do best,” Acker said. “There was definitely the sense that we were coasting and maybe not playing as hard as we should at first.”
Hearn scored 12 of his 19 in the first half to at least keep the Patriots within 10 at the break, but Acker said Rocky Mount Academy switched defenses to a 2-3 zone to help neutralize Faith Christian’s wide-bodied center.
“We started fronting him and then having our backside guy in the zone help over more to prevent him from getting it so easily,” Acker said. “We made it a little tougher to catch, because if he gets it anywhere close he usually scores. But I still thought he did too much against us.”
Faith Christian wouldn’t go quietly in the third quarter.
The Patriots closed to within six on numerous occasions – once at 37-31 after a 3 from Aaron Gurganus and again at 43-37 on another 3 from Gurganus, this one a heat-check look from the wing in transition.
Rocky Mount Academy, buoyed by a swarming defense, closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, to lead by 14 after three.
McCadden dunked for the first points of the fourth quarter and Mitchell followed with a layup to push Rocky Mount Academy’s lead to 18, and Faith Christian was finished.
“Hey, that’s a pretty good Faith Christian team, and you always breathe a little sigh of relief when you win a rivalry game,” Dunn said.
By FOSTER LANDER / ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
By now, Rocky Mount Academy coach Scott Dunn has stopped trying to explain away the Eagles’ sluggish starts to games.
Eagles guard Aubrey Mitchell, for his part, said it’s not for lack of effort, and that Rocky Mount Academy might simply be trying too hard to start fast.
Regardless, as Dunn said, it’s more about how the Eagles finish than how they start. It’s worked all season long, and it worked again at Faith Christian on Thursday night, as Rocky Mount Academy trailed after one quarter but recovered to win going away, 71-50.
Rocky Mount Academy outscored the Patriots, 23-10, in the second quarter, and used a 17-4 run over a stretch of 3:48 to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point advantage. Elijah McCadden, dormant for most of the first 12 minutes, scored 11 of his game-high 21 during that spurt to pace the Eagles.
“(Faith Christian) did a great job of controlling the tempo in the first quarter and keeping everything in the halfcourt, which is what they wanted with (Chase Hearn) down low,” Dunn said. “They didn’t let us run on them.”
Like clockwork, though, Rocky Mount Academy, which remained unbeaten in Coastal Independent Conference play, fought back after trailing by as many as seven in the opening period to close within three, and the Eagles’ ability to force Faith Christian (10-9 overall, 2-5 CIC) turnovers helped speed the game up in the second quarter.
“We’re a team that plays fast, and if we slow down even a little bit, everything slows down,” Mitchell said. “Our game is best when we’re going fast all the time.”
Hearn (19 points) put Faith Christian ahead, 17-14, with a free throw at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter, but that’s when the Rocky Mount Academy onslaught began.
A layup followed by a putback from Brendan Acker (12 points, 10 rebounds) gave the Eagles their first lead since 2-0.
Acker followed with another layup, McCadden finished off a three-point play, and Mitchell and McCadden added transition layups off turnovers in quick succession.
By the time Patriots coach Rob Brothers could call timeout, Rocky Mount Academy had surged to an eight-point lead.
“We started getting in the passing lanes more and getting the ball to Elijah and (Aubrey) so they could get out and run and do what they do best,” Acker said. “There was definitely the sense that we were coasting and maybe not playing as hard as we should at first.”
Hearn scored 12 of his 19 in the first half to at least keep the Patriots within 10 at the break, but Acker said Rocky Mount Academy switched defenses to a 2-3 zone to help neutralize Faith Christian’s wide-bodied center.
“We started fronting him and then having our backside guy in the zone help over more to prevent him from getting it so easily,” Acker said. “We made it a little tougher to catch, because if he gets it anywhere close he usually scores. But I still thought he did too much against us.”
Faith Christian wouldn’t go quietly in the third quarter.
The Patriots closed to within six on numerous occasions – once at 37-31 after a 3 from Aaron Gurganus and again at 43-37 on another 3 from Gurganus, this one a heat-check look from the wing in transition.
Rocky Mount Academy, buoyed by a swarming defense, closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, to lead by 14 after three.
McCadden dunked for the first points of the fourth quarter and Mitchell followed with a layup to push Rocky Mount Academy’s lead to 18, and Faith Christian was finished.
“Hey, that’s a pretty good Faith Christian team, and you always breathe a little sigh of relief when you win a rivalry game,” Dunn said.
