By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
The Eastridge boys basketball team knew its road to a second consecutive sectional semifinal appearance was going to include a few speed bumps.
The rotation coach Dan Roser constructed was challenged in the third quarter, when Tony Arnold and Sher’Ron Davis were each saddled with a fourth personal foul. A stout Greece Athena defense that had held three of its last five opponents under 70 points was primed to do it again, and Trojans captain DeAndre Newsome’s quickness was testing the Lancer “D.”
Eastridge overcame all of this, and a frustrating shooting night, to defend its home hardwood. The Lancers won 63-56 to earn a place in Wednesday night’s semifinal round, where they’ll face Leadership Academy at Webster Schroeder High School at 6:30.
Arnold led all scorers with 23 points, 11 in the second quarter. When Arnold was on the bench with foul trouble, classmate Jalen Rose Hannah stepped up. Hannah produced 17 points, including four three-pointers. Hannah recorded eight first-quarter points, hitting two threes to get him started. In the third, he was the floor general with Arnold forced to sit.
“Jalen Hannah just played awesome in the third quarter, without Tony in there,” Roser remarked. “Just to battle through for us, make some huge shots and make some awesome passes. Kept us alive in the third quarter.”
The Lancer defense also did its part to keep their chances alive. While the offense got just five three-pointers to fall and missed 14 of its 26 free throws, they held Athena to just nine fourth-quarter points and 22 in the entire second half.
Newsome led the Trojans with 18 points and Kenny Freeman added 11, but Eastridge ensured no one joined them in double figures. The senior made two three-pointers and all four of his free throws but fouled out before the final buzzer sounded.
“They’ve got some guards that can get to the basket any time they want,” Roser assessed. “Newsome is so quick. Containing him around the basket is super tough… We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in, no doubt about it.”
Eastridge missed some atypical shots but also made timely ones. Ellington Hall’s six points came on a three-pointer to give the Lancers a two-point lead entering the fourth and a drawn three-point play after he was fouled behind the line and made all three.
The Trojans had a four-point lead with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter. The Lancers held a 24-13 edge the rest of the way.
Eastridge and Leadership did not meet in the regular season. Roser depicted the postgame locker room as a high-spirited group that knew its job is far from finished.
“Hopefully it gives us confidence going into the next round,” Roser said, noting that Eastridge hadn’t played in 10 days after earning a first round bye in the tournament. “That’s a long time not to play. You always worry about rust going into that long of a layoff. I think our team’s seeing, with Tony sitting down with foul trouble and us still being able to pull through and get it done down the stretch, I hope that gives them confidence.
“Seeing other players step up in those moments to help our team get the win was huge. Hopefully it gives us confidence going into the next game. We’re gonna have to play better than we did tonight.”
Eastridge scorers: Tony Arnold 23, Jalen Rose Hannah 17, Percy Robinson 10, Ellington Hall 6, Paxton Reed 4, Sher’Ron Davis 3
Athena scorers: DeAndre Newsome 18, Kenny Freeman 11, Jahon Jones 7, Tre Jackson 6, James Reaves 6, Jake Cerone 5, Tyler Curtis 3
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