By PAUL GOTHAM
Avery Council’s layup ended a back-and-forth battle as Rush-Henrietta (No. 28 NYSSWA Class AAA) went on the road and defeated reigning NYSPHSAA Class AAA champion Green Tech (II/No. 23 NYSSWA Class AAA), 67-66 in intersectional action on Saturday.
Council finished in traffic with 3.2 seconds remaining with what proved to be the game winner.
“Our guys came ready to play from start to finish,” R-H head coach Calvin Betts said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the effort that the team displayed.”
Council’s basket ended a game which saw the Royal Comets take a nine-point lead into halftime only to have Green Tech rally and take a lead in the third quarter.
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“Green Tech played very physical,” Betts said. “They’re big and strong.”
With the win, R-H improved to 8-0 on the season.
Jalen Taggart finished with a game-high 31 points. The junior guard also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots. He connected on a pair of 3-pointers as part of a 10-point first quarter to help stake R-H to a 20-13 lead.
Council scored eight of his 23 points in the opening stanza.
Amir Abdul-Haqq added nine points in the win.
Green Tech’s Indavier Barnes and Ramere Brown combined for 16 points in the third quarter when the Eagles outscored R-H, 23-15.
R-H led 49-48 heading into the final quarter.
“Just flat out toughness and grit,” Betts said of the keys to R-H’s win.
RUSH-HENRIETTA
Jahquin Brown 0 1-2 1, Jalen Taggart 10 5-6 31, JJ Ward 1 0-0 3, Avery Council 9 4-4 23, Amir Abdul-Haqq 4 1-2 9, Talhah Ali 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 24 11-14 — 67
GREEN TECH
Indavier Barnes 5 2-2 18, Ramere Brown 7 1-1 18, U’Mier Graham 6 1-2 13, Olivan Owens 6 3-4 15 Gregory Sherrills 2 0-0 4, Ayden Taylor 0 0-0 0 — TOTALS 26 7-9 — 66
RUSH-HENRIETTA 20 14 15 18 — 67
GREEN TECH 13 12 23 18 — 66
3-point goals — RUSH-HENRIETTA 8 (Taggart 6, Ward 1, Council 1); GREEN TECH 7 (Barnes 4, Brown 3).
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