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 Zach Burleson (20) moves the ball for Rector as Brandon Stevens trails. [Click to enlarge] |
"I think we just ran out of gas in the second half," RHS coach Matt Mills said of his team. He cited the Rivercrest pressure and superior depth by the Colts as the reasons for the second-half surge by the winners.
Rivercrest went on to defeat Marmaduke in a quarterfinal game before losing Monday night to EPC in the semifinals. EPC will face Manila on Wednesday (tonight) in the championship game of the A-AA-AAA division of the historic tournament.
Rector had a great first half against the Colts, bolting to a 12-point lead before faltering some right before halftime.
"With about three minutes to go, we turned it over once and then missed two chip shots," Mills said. "Rivercrest went down and scored each time." The result was a Rivercrest rally that brought the Colts to within 25-21 at the halftime break.
"We played about as well as we can in the first half," Mills said. "In fact, that is the best we have played all year. We shot well, handled the ball well and rebounded. I just thought we really outplayed them in the first half."
Rivercrest turned up the full-court defensive pressure in the second half to force several Cougar turnovers. Another factor was poor shooting by Rector after intermission. "At one point we missed three three-pointers in a row," Mills said. "If we could have made two of those, I believe we could have stayed in the game."
T.J. Gordon started the Rivercrest second-half surge with a three-pointer, but Tyler Kirklin countered with a field goal on the other end for the Cougars.
The Colts then reeled off 12 straight points, many of them on fast-break layups, to turn the tide. Brandon Stevens countered with a couple of baskets for the Cougars, but the Colts rolled into the final frame with a 40-31 lead.
Behind the strong play of Kirklin inside, the Cougars cut it to seven a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but the Rivercrest pressure was too much and the Colts went on to the 15-point win.
Stevens led Rector scoring with 17 points, including a pair of treys. Kirklin was right behind with 15 and Zach Burleson netted 10. Kirk Horton was the only other Cougar scorer with 2. In double figures for the Colts were Jasper Jackson 13, Demoine Brown 12 and Gordon 11.
Rector was 11-15 at the charity stripe and Rivercrest was 1-4.
"I thought we played well overall," Mills said, "but you just have to expend so much energy against a team like Rivercrest...you know they are going to go on a run. You've got to be able to score enough to withstand those runs and we weren't able to do that."
Mills praised the play of Kirklin, noting he had two outstanding games in the tournament.
"In both games I thought he was the best player on the floor," the coach said. "We just need to figure out a way to get him the ball more. For a long stretch there in the third quarter, he didn't touch the ball."
Mills said his team faces a crucial conference stretch when resuming play next week. The Cougars travel to Marmaduke on Tuesday and then Riverside on Friday before hitting the road again the following Tuesday at BIC.
"This is the most important part of the season for us," Mills said. The coach noted several teams are, realistically, fighting for the number three and four positions in the conference behind heavy favorites EPC and Turrell.
The major goal for Mills and his team is to reach the regional tournament for the first time in 10 years. To do that, the team must finish in the top four of the conference. Another goal is to finish third and avoid what probably would be a tough test for the fourth place team against top-ranked Melbourne from the other conference in the regional tournament. Teams winning a first-round game in the regional qualify for the state tournament, which is something on which the Cougars are definitely focused.