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Kent Roosevelt's Rough Riders sank 10 3-point goals Friday night and held off visiting Norton 64-60 in a PTC Metro Division boys basketball game.
KENT, Ohio – Kent Roosevelt senior guard Zach Brett has played in plenty of intense high school basketball games.
And Brett realizes his Rough Riders are better on offense when they make the extra pass.
In the first half of Friday’s Portage Trail Conference Metro Division showdown against visiting Norton, the extra pass went inside. In the second half, the Riders’ extra pass went to the wing or the corner.
The result was seven 3-point goals for the Riders (7-2, 7-0) in the third and fourth quarters and the hot shooting carried Brett’s team to a thrilling 64-60 win over the scrappy Panthers (8-3, 5-2).
Kent Roosevelt, which shared the Metro title last season with Crestwood, stays undefeated in conference play and now has a two-game lead on Norton in the division standings.
“We know that we can all shoot the ball,” said Brett, who sank five of Kent Roosevelt’s 10 total triples on his way to 21 points. “We start four guys that can really pop it. So, when teams sag (defensively) we all have the green light and we have a lot of confidence in each other shooting that long shot.”
Brett’s layup off a turnover gave the Rough Riders a 59-51 lead with 2:56 to play.
Norton called timeout and coach Rod Swartz began plotting a scenario by which his team could recover and win the game.
“I told our kids, ‘It’s one possession at a time.’ Defensively, we have to get stops, limit them to one shot,” Swartz said. “Let’s try to get quick, but smart baskets on the offensive end. We gave ourselves an opportunity.”
The Panthers methodically whittled their deficit to 62-60 with 21 seconds to play on a put-back basket by junior Matt McGlone.
Norton then forced a turnover, but 6-foot-7 junior Tyler Sherman, who had a game-high 22 points, missed an in-close chance in front of the rim with 14 seconds to go.
In a wild scramble to secure the ball, Norton fouled Kent guard Richard Graves and the senior dropped two free throws to make the final score 64-60.
“It was our best effort game all year,” said Swartz. “We played hard. We didn’t always play smart, but we played hard.”
The Panthers were without 6-foot-5 junior Aaron VanBuskirk (shoulder), who is averaging 16 points and seven rebounds per game, according to Swartz.
“Our kids did a great job of picking up the slack,” he said.
Senior guard Matt Harvey had 14 points for the Panthers.
Kent Roosevelt coach Cameron Black praised his seniors and their big-game experience.
“We had five seniors on the floor (late in the game),” Black said. “They have been in district finals, multiple PTC championship games and sectional finals. They have the mental capacity here to put games away at the end.”
None of Roosevelt’s seniors exhibited any more poise than guard Richard Graves who converted 6-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with 15 points, including two 3-pointers.
The Rough Riders pushed the ball inside often in the first half, but trailed 31-30 after two quarters.
“When it didn’t work going down low we just spread the ball out and started penetrating the gap making their big guys move into the middle,” said Graves, a Lake Erie College football recruit. “We started getting creases and kick-outs and we started knocking our 3-pointers down.”
Late in the third quarter Norton was protecting a 45-38 lead when Sherman and 6-foot-5 sophomore Dakota Pratt denied Kent Roosevelt on the interior on back-to-back possessions. That’s when the Riders shifted their attention to the arc and ripped five 3-pointers in the next 7:05 off the game clock.
The Riders hit Norton with a 21-6 scoring run to take charge at 59-51.
“We definitely want to make the extra pass,” Black said. “We were all about attacking the paint and at times we were successful and at times we weren’t.”
Brett’s 3-pointer with 5:17 left gave Kent the lead for good at 54-51.
“When we pass the ball well that’s when we’re definitely playing our best,” he said. “We all have to have confidence in each other. And we’re a great team when we play that way.
“Our goal has been to be 14-0 from the start and that’s what we’re going to go do.”
In other PTC games:
COVENTRY 52, FIELD 44. At Brimfield Township, the Comets opened with a 14-9 lead and closed with a 12-7 run to seal the PTC victory.
Coventry (1-9, 1-6) was led by Carson Bogdanovich’s 11 points.
Senior Jake Kruse put up 17 points to lead Field (3-6, 2-5).
WOODRIDGE 69, WATERLOO 61. At Atwater, the Bulldogs took a 20-10 advantage in the first quarter and used that momentum to win the game.
Senior Nick Flasco led all scorers with 27 points for Woodridge.
Waterloo was led by Dakota Dorsey, who dropped in 18 points.