BHS beaten by R’Riders in hoops
Published 10:26 am Saturday, December 12, 2015
BAINBRIDGE – The Roosevelt High Roughriders found the path through Bainbridge a little bumpier than they expected, but still managed to come out on top after Tuesday’s varsity basketball battle.
The game’s final score saw the visitors up 61-52 over the island squad.
Record-wise, the loss at home evened up the Spartan season 1-1 overall (0-1 in conference play).
Consistency, Spartan Head Coach Steve Haizlip said, was the lesson to take away from the defeat.
As in, the BHS squad needs more of it.
“That doesn’t mean that shots always have to go,” he added. “But playing at a certain level, and a certain level of intensity, and I think we let that get to us and let it slip.
“We had momentum and we lost our focus,” Haizlip said. “They got two quick buckets and that’s where it kind of changed.”
The guests technically got on the board first, but the Spartans quickly pulled into the lead 3-1 with 7:17 left in the first quarter. What followed was a tight back-and-forth exchange, which left the score tied 9-9 with just under four minutes left.
The start of the second saw the Roughriders up 18-15, and they continued to advance, albeit with Bainbridge nipping at their heels.
The Spartans finally pulled ahead 24-23 with about 4:30 left in the half. The guests stole the top spot back very briefly, but the game entered halftime with the island team up 33-31.
The third was a good quarter for the Spartans — despite being their lowest scoring of the game so far. They managed 11 points, but tightened up the defenses to remain ahead 44-39 overall.
In the game’s final quarter the Spartans managed their least amount of points (eight) and were simply unable to mount an appropriate defense against Roosevelt’s quickening advances, and the game came to a close with the home team trailing.
Overall, the second quarter remained the highest scoring for the Spartans (18) and junior guard Brendan Burke led the team individually with 19 points scored.
Marcus Clyde managed 12 points, and Lyle Terry finished the night with 11.
The Spartans made some mistakes Tuesday, especially later in the game, Haizlip said which is inevitable, especially at this early stage of the season.
The key, he explained, was to minimize where mistakes happen.
“I think the thing that we have found, even in the games that we’ve won, [is] we’ve had letdowns,” he said. “Some of them were 59 seconds letdowns, some are a 1:45 letdowns, and it’s what allowed teams to stay in the game.”
Being so early on in the season still, the coach said he was reticent to put too much emphasis on any one loss.
“We have our moments,” he said. “And we’re allowed to have those moments as long as we learn from them.”
The Spartans will return home to host O’Dea at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15.
