There was one sequence in particular that told the story of the Rising Sun boys basketball team's 42-29 triumph over visiting North East in a first round region playoff game Friday night. The Tigers led 31-22 with less than three minutes left when an Indians player missed a layup. Rising Sun came right back down the floor with Casey Baker feeding Kevin Alkinburg for a layup. Then following a timeout, Rising Sun was slow to return to the court giving North East a chance for an easy basket, but an Indians player fumbled the ball out of bounds. Game over. The Tigers' defense, depth, and balance spelled the difference in the sloppily-played contest.
"It was sort of like a football game," Alkinburg said. "But we came through. We played with our defense out in front. Our defense transitioned into offense. We all participated. Ten people scored for our team. Spreading it out as always. Once again, it was our defense that did the work, stopped them. And even though we only shot 30 percent we still won and that's what matters." Alkinburg had 10 points and was the only Tiger in double figures. Noah Juergens scored all six of his points in the fourth quarter. Jordan Edwards, who earned a spot in the starting lineup with strong play in the final two regular season games, also had six. Brennan Martz and Will Farrington both provided five. Jake Keane supplied three points. Casey Baker, Kyle Andersen and Curtis Cox each tallied two points and Bryce Brown chipped in a point. "Ten players scored," Rising Sun coach Don Passenant said. "Ten guys played in the game and 10 scorers. That's what I liked. Some of our better players and an off game, especially shooting-wise. But the other guys stepped up. We worked the ball. We played like a team. This was probably the teamwork I've seen these guys do this year. And it's the right time to do it. They pulled it out in the end." North East, playing without leading scorer Garren Davidson, led 9-5 early in the second quarter before the Tigers came alive. Keane buried a three-pointer and Cox and Alkinburg scored to give Rising Sun a 12-9 lead. The Tigers never trailed again. Up 14-13 at halftime, Passenant knew his team was capable of better. "We shot 5 of 21 [in the first half] and I told them at halftime, 'The shots are going to drop because we're taking good shots'," said Passenant. "So I just told them to keep going. Keep going at it and we'll pull through and they did." Rising Sun gradually pulled away in the third quarter. Ahead 24-18, the Tigers got a big break when Baker was fouled while shooting a long three-pointer just before the buzzer. He hit two of three free throws to extend the lead to 26-18. Rising Sun, which travels to Harford Tech Tuesday night, raised their advantage to 30-18 by scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter. Carson Webb paced the Indians with nine points and Bryan Rawls and Jake Cyran each added seven. It was an electric atmosphere with the black-clad Rising Sun students in their seats more than 30 minutes before tipoff. "As always, it was packed," Alkinburg said. "But we knew that it was on the line for the seniors and for the entire team. Our reputation against our rival, having split with them in the regular season. The playoff game, that was the biggest moment. We needed to win this game, not only to beat our rival, but to move on to that next round, Rising Sun crucially needs, against a team we can beat." Harford Tech 62, Rising Sun 49 The host Cobras prevailed in the regular season finale Tuesday, February 24. Farrington had a team-high 15 for the Tigers, who had topped Tech at home two weeks earlier. North Harford 47, Rising Sun 35 The Tigers turned in a rare flat performance in front of the home crowd. Farrington had 11 and Edwards added eight. Comments are closed.
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