By JOHN LIKANJE
HENRIETTA, N.Y. – Rush-Henrietta surged to a double-digit lead in the third quarter and used a balanced offense to defeat Edison Tech, 63-54, in the sectional quarterfinals, Friday night.
Trailing 21-19 early in the second period, Charles Bowden III scored 11 points as part of a 22-6 surge extending into the the third stanza. The senior guard made two layups, a floater for a three-point play and five free throws. All 11 points came in the second quarter.
“Charles and RJ (Williams) came in and sparked us,” Rush-Henrietta head coach Chris Reed explained. “They put a little more pressure on the basketball. I thought we started to wear them (Edison Tech) out a little bit.”
Nyles Goodwin hit a floater and a layup. Eddie Beverly swished a left-wing three-pointer. Jevonte Williams made a free throw line jumper and Mason Giorgione capped off the run with a contact layup for a 41-27 lead midway through the third period.
“We knew that they mixed their defense, so in practice, we worked zone and man,” Reed explained as his squad forced six turnovers and nine missed field goals in 15 possessions during the run. “We felt we were very prepared offensively. We needed to win this game with our (defense).”
“We always break the press in practice multiple times,” Goodwin explained. “We work on it for 20 minutes every practice to break different type of looks: 3-2, 1-3-1, just like that.”
From there, the Royal Comets maintained their double-digit lead until the closing seconds of the contest, leading by as many as 15 points early in the final stanza.
Bowden led four players in double figures with 19 points off the bench – all of which came in the second and fourth quarters. The senior guard connected on 9-of-10 free throws.
“Just to have him come off the bench and score 19 is great for him because that’s like my brother,” Goodwin said about Bowden. “I’m just excited for him because he hasn’t really started like that as a senior.”
“He’s really a starter that we bring in,” Reed explained about Bowden. “It’s that willingness to make sacrifices for the team is why that I feel we are dangerous. It can come from a lot of different spots.”
Williams swished four long-range shots as part of his 15-point performance. Beverly and Goodwin pitched in 10 points apiece. Beverly made three shots from beyond the arc while Goodwin hit four layups and a floater.
“We’re tougher to prepare for because you can’t just stop one guy,” Reed said about his squad’s balanced offense. “We really feel we truly are a team.”
.@SecVBBasketball AA Quarterfinals – @ETechAthletics vs. @RHBoysVarsityBB: Jevonte Williams with his 3rd three-goal of the quarter. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/DqY3vBjj3M
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) February 29, 2020
Christopher Sleeper (4), Giorgione (2), Williams (2) and Gabe Wright (1) rounded out the scoring for Rush-Henrietta, who forced 15 turnovers and 32 missed field goals in 58 possessions.
For Edison Tech, Shaheem Ellis, Jr. swished five three-pointers as part of his game-high 22 points. The junior guard netted 3-of-4 free throws and collected four boards, two steals and an assist as well.
“He played excellent tonight,” Edison Tech head coach Reggie Simmons said about Ellis. “We’re looking for even greater things out of him next year. He’s progressed every single game this season. I consider him one of the top players going into next season.”
Nahjhime Kirton pitched in 12 points and six rebounds. Edgar Bass IV (9), Torrean Lewis (6), Brandon Latson (3) and Mike Morgan (2) rounded out the scoring for Edison Tech.
“Once we had our big guy, Nahjhime Kirton, in foul trouble, it kind of changed our whole offensive system,” Simmons explained. “We like to start inside-out. Then, when he went out, I think we took a lot of ill-advised jumpshots and we sort of got away from the gameplan. That really hurt us offensively.”
Edison Tech bounced back with a 9-13 record this season under Simmons, who took over the helm after coaching at Leadership Academy.
“I’m so proud of everything we accomplished,” Simmons said when praising his squad. “These guys were very resilient all season. These guys showed up each and every day and worked hard. I’m just so pleased in terms of their efforts.
“These young men have been outstanding on and off the court. True gentlemen. I enjoyed my time over at Leadership, but I’m happy to be an Inventor. We have a lot of 10th, 11th graders so the future looks very bright for us as a program.”
The Royal Comets advance to the sectional semifinals for the first time since 2013 when they fell to eventual champion, Bishop Kearney.
“At one point, not long ago, we went to the finals eight straight years,” Reed said. “Eight straight. We won four of those. We knew that we could get back to this point with this team. It wasn’t going to be easy because there’s a lot of good teams. We knew what this was and we had a big opportunity ahead of us to get to the Blue Cross and I’m very happy for this group, especially the seniors.”
“We haven’t been there in a while,” Goodwin said when referring to Rush-Henrietta advancing to the sectional semifinals. “It’s just an honor to play in the Blue Cross.”
Rush-Henrietta will take on UPrep Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena. UPrep defeated Gates-Chili, 98-63, in a sectional quarterfinal matchup, Friday night.
“UPrep, they’re extremely athletic,” Reed explained. “They got some really, really good players. You see what their record is and who they’ve played and who they have. You know, they have to be one of the favorites to win the tournament going in. We’re just very excited to have an opportunity to play them.”
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