Rosewood boys headed to championship; Girls drop sixth contest
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Rosewood varsity boys basketball team outscored Falls Lake Academy 22-11 in the third quarter to win 62-51 to advance to North Johnston’s Holiday Tournament Championship on Friday night.
“We came out a little bit flat in the first half,” Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell said. “I saw more effort defensively in the second half and we rebounded the ball well. Our guys hit some shots from three point range and that helped us separate from them in the third quarter.”
The Eagles (5-2) held a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter as senior Trent Lancaster’s six points and offensive rebounding led the way.
The second half belonged to Eagles junior forward Roderick Benjamin as he rained in four 3-pointers.
Benjamin led the way with 23 points and five made three pointers. Lancaster added 14 points and Coley scored 11 points for Rosewood. The Eagles will be in the championship game Friday night against North Johnston.
Rosewood girls (1-6) played a spirited first half, but couldn’t replicate the success in the third quarter of their 69-43 loss to Falls Lake Academy (7-3). Rosewood head coach Julian Whitley’s team was within one possession but couldn’t overcome mishaps in the second half.
“We made too many simple mistakes,” he said. “Against a good team, you can’t turn the ball over and throw lazy passes. I think we lost confidence in ourselves when they went on that big run in the third quarter. We still have a great opportunity to bounce back tomorrow.”
“We did some good things in the first half,” Whitley added. “I think we were down 11 late in the second quarter and we responded with a big run. If we can take those last three minutes into tomorrow’s game for 32 minutes, we’ll have a good chance to win.”
Senior Arzhane Dozier finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles and senior Rylee Myers added 10. Rosewood returns to the floor tomorrow against Raleigh Charter at North Johnston in the third place game.
