Jefferson-Morgan rallies past Fort Cherry, remains unbeaten
JEFFERSON – With a chance to seal the game in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, Dayten Marion toed the free-throw line with his bright pink shoes.
He took a deep breath, sank both attempts and left his arm hanging in the air after the second one went through the hoop.
It was a symbol of confidence and maybe relief too, because Jefferson-Morgan’s undefeated season remained alive.
The Rockets trailed Fort Cherry by six at halftime, but limited the Rangers to 12 points in the second half on their way to a 41-37 victory in a Class 2A Section 3 game Tuesday night.
“I was wanting to shoot, because I had made both of my free throws earlier, so I was confident,” Marion said. “I went back to the line and made them both. After that I just knew that we won, so I let the arm hang a little.”
Jefferson-Morgan improved to 11-0 overall and 5-0 in section play, but there was some doubt going into halftime.
The Rangers (3-2, 5-5) had frustrated the Rockets a bit and went into the locker room with a 25-19 lead.
The first half was played at a breakneck pace with both teams looking to quickly move from defense into offense in transition after securing a rebound.
Sometimes it got too fast, which resulted in turnovers for both teams.
The Rockets settled down in the third and limited the Rangers to three points to take a 29-28 lead. A combination of good defense and a cold spell for Fort Cherry helped turn the tide.
“I thought our seniors took the initiative in the second half to bear down and play defense,” Rockets coach Brandon Lawless said. “Early on we were careless with the basketball and throwing it away. We were freelancing a bit doing our own thing and then we finally settled down and got into our offense in the second half.”
Jeremiah Robertson had a key three-pointer for the Rockets in the fourth and Triton Farabee, who was in the starting lineup for an injured John Woodward, made a shot off the glass and another on a rebound.
Robertson hit a three pointer to give the Rockets their first lead at 28-26 with 3:30 remaining in the third.
Dylan Lueck answered for Fort Cherry with a layup inside to tie at 28-28. It was the only bucket by the Rangers in the frame. Landon Trnavsky had a free throw.
After several fruitless possessions for both teams, Robertson hit one of two free throws to give the Rockets a 29-28 lead after three.
The Rockets did not sub until Farabee had a cramp in his leg with 1.7 seconds remaining in the third. Hayden Yeck came off the bench for the Rockets, who were without John Woodward because of an injured right foot. Yeck’s appearance was the lone sub of the night.
Farabee re-entered the game to begin the fourth. He finished with 11 points.
“I thought I made the most of our timeout usage tonight,” Lawless said. “We were in some foul trouble, so our defensive pressure wasn’t as intense as it usually is. We fell back into a zone and I think that helped slow the game down a bit.”
Fort Cherry led 15-9 at the end of the first quarter. The Rangers could’ve had a bigger lead if they had converted better at the free throw line. They were 2-for-6 from the foul line in the frame.
Freshman Connor Vansickle had five points in the quarter.
A quick flurry got the Rockets to within a point at the five-minute mark of the second. Marion hit two free throws, then the Rockets stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Robinson hit a three to cut the lead to 17-16.
Fort Cherry responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes.
Jordan Bianchi had two baskets during the spurt, including one that was on a goaltend by Marion.
From there the Rangers maintained their six-point advantage going into halftime.
They couldn’t replicate the performance in the second half, however.
“We lost a lot of people and have only two guys with varsity experience before this year, so in that second half we started to tighten up a bit,” Rangers coach Eugene Briggs said. “The first half we executed really well on offense, which caused them trouble. Then we just sort of lost our composure and let them get out into the open floor, which is where they’re good.”