By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Basketball purists will be happy to learn the floater is not extinct just yet. Bishop Kearney knows that all too well after Saturday night’s loss to Niagara Falls in the BK Holiday Showcase.
Wolverines guard Jaemon Turner used the shot to score most of his game-leading 22 points, including 14 in the first half, as Niagara Falls led the entire game and earned a 66-55 victory.
.@BKHS_Sports Showcase – Niagara Falls vs. @KearneyBoys: Another floater for Jaemon Turner. @PickinSplinters @chuckiemaggio pic.twitter.com/F0ext5yjF6
— John Likanje (@jml5798) December 22, 2019
Turner led a group of three double-figure scorers, which included Taylor Sanders’s 17 points and Bryce Smith’s 11. The Wolverines enjoyed 18 points off turnovers or offensive rebounds, much to the ire of Kearney coach Kevin Goode.
“I just think we’re turning the ball over way too many times to be competitive,” Goode assessed. “When you’re averaging over 12 to 15 turnovers a game, that’s possessions for the other team, and most of our turnovers are transition points. It’s hard to overcome those kinds of mistakes.”
The Kings outscored Niagara Falls 16-8 to cut the Wolverines’ lead to just five with 1:35 remaining, as Quentin Evans, Michael Gentile and Miles Rose pushed the comeback. Rose made a traditional three-point play with two minutes left to bring Kearney within eight, then got a steal off the ensuing inbound and converted the layup.
Niagara Falls missed its first shot on the ensuing possession but got an offensive rebound, after which Faybion Prather did his best Turner impression and banked in a floater of his own. Prather drew a foul off a slick spin move two possessions later, making both free throws to advance the lead to 63-55 with 40 seconds to play.
.@BKHS_Sports Showcase – Niagara Falls vs. @KearneyBoys: Faybion Prather banks in a floater. @PickinSplinters @chuckiemaggio pic.twitter.com/YwiDf03YWE
— John Likanje (@jml5798) December 22, 2019
Turner, dark blue bandage on his left arm after he was cut early in the quarter, iced the game with two free throws after Kearney missed two freebies. The Wolverines improved to 6-1, while Kearney is now 1-4.
Williams scored 18 points to lead the Kings, while Rose posted 14 and Gentile added 11. BK has a chance to rebound from Saturday’s loss when it hosts Global Concepts at 5:15 on Sunday in the final game of the weekend’s event.
“It’s something like a double-edged sword,” Goode commented of the back-to-back. “You want to be able to work on some of the things that you just experienced in the game, but we don’t even have that, so they’ve gotta forget about all the mistakes and come out tomorrow ready to go.”
Kearney scorers: Williams 18, Rose 14, Gentile 11, Dixon 5, Evans 4, Mulford 3
Niagara Falls scorers: Turner 22, Sanders 17, Smith 11, Prather 8, Palka 4, Tillman 4
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