The Rising Sun boys basketball team once again proved they can play with just about anybody on their home court. The Tigers built an eight-point lead with four minutes left and hung on for a 61-60 triumph over Harford Tech Wednesday night. "I think it was just pure desire," Rising Sun coach Don Passenant said. "You know, I always tell them you've got to all for four quarters." Noah Juergens made one of two free throws to put the Tigers up 61-58 with 20 seconds left. The Cobras called a timeout with seven seconds to go. Inexplicably, instead of attempting a potential game-tying three-pointer, a Tech player drove to the basket and made a layup as the clock expired.
Will Farrington paced Rising Sun with 21 points and added six rebounds. Juergens finished with 15 points, four steals, and four assists. Kevin Alkinburg added seven points and seven rebounds. Tech's Darius Dangerfield almost single-handedly brought his team back down the stretch and had 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter before fouling out in the final minute. The Cobras, coming off a home victory over Perryville the previous Friday, tallied the first 10 points of the second quarter to take a 21-10 lead. Rising Sun coach Don Passenant acknowledged he was worried Tech would pull away for good, saying it was a "possibility". "I mean, I'm going to be honest," said Passenant. "That's a really good team. I thought, 'Oh Lord, they're up by 10'." Said Farrington: "I was a little concerned because of our past, but I was confident we could get back into it. Rising Sun responded with a 12-0 run to take the lead and it was nip and tuck heading into the fourth quarter.. Passenant said the 12-point spurt is a sign of how much the Tigers have improved. "That's something in the past we haven't done," said Passenant. "They're getting better. They're learning." The Tigers gave Tech some trouble with a 1-3-1 zone which featured the 6-6 Alkinburg up top. "Kevin's great at that spot," said Passenant. "At the beginning of the season we were practicing it and thought, let's try Kevin at that spot. He's just such a great player. He's not the fastest man in the world, but he knows what he needs to do and he does it right. Those long arms really cause havoc in that zone." Rising Sun led 37-36 heading into the fourth quarter and upped the advantage to seven thanks in part to a pair of three-pointers by Juergens. Passenant said that was a result of the Tigers getting the ball inside, something they struggled to do in a loss to Harford Christian on February 6. "This time, they looked more inside," Passenant said. "And once we get the inside shots we were getting wide-open threes which they didn't have to rush and they were making them. Noah hit two big ones." Rising Sun was up 49-41 before the diminutive Dangerfield took over. Tech tied it at 55 on two free throws by Fred Gordon with 1:24 remaining. After a Tiger turnover and a Tech miss, Jake Keene made two free throws to put Rising Sun ahead for good. Dangerfield picked up his fourth foul while trying to intercept a pass intended for Farrington. Farrington conceded it was a poor call. "He went right past me and I just hit the ground," Farrington said. "I flopped like crazy." Farrington made a free throw to lengthen the lead to 58-55. Dangerfield scored to narrow the gap to one before Alkinburg scored off an assist from Brennan Martz on an inbounds pass with 33 seconds left to make it 60-57. Dangerfield and Juergens each made a free throw prior to Tech's mental mistake on the final possession. It was a confidence boost for the Tigers. "I think come playoff time we can beat anybody," said Farrington. "We'll be a team to look out for." Comments are closed.
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