Senior Night was a success. The Rising Sun boys basketball team made eight three-pointers and never trailed during a 59-54 triumph over visiting Bohemia Manor Friday night. It was the final regular season home game for Tiger seniors Noah Juergens, Jake Keane, Will Farrington, and Bryce Brown. "At first, when they announced our names, I was a little emotional," Juergens said. "I had tears in my eyes but I knew when the buzzer rang it was time for business and to get a 'W'. I feel like emotions got the best of us there for a little bit but we pulled it out there in the end, definitely. I knew if we played basketball the way we knew how to, in front of our home crowd [Rising Sun would win]." Coach Don Passenant was wary of a slow start and that's what happened. Neither team scored for the first three minutes, 12 seconds before Juergens made a free throw and Brown followed with a three-pointer 61 seconds later. "I was kind of concerned," said Passenant. "I was a little emotional, too, so I had to get refocused. Those four guys I've had for four years. I coached them JV so it takes a while. You could see it. It almost looked like at the beginning of the game, they wanted each other to score first. That's the way they've been. Those four guys have been together for four years." Bo Manor finally got on the board on a Justin Pritchett basket with 3:33 left in the first quarter. The game was tied at 17 when Rising Sun embarked on a 9-0 run and the Tigers led 26-18 at halftime. The Eagles tallied the first seven points of the second half to trim their deficit down to 26-25. "It was scary," Passenant said. "I recognize it and I think they recognized it. We wren't getting to let that happen…It almost brought back nightmares but I knew that these guys can pull it out now." Juergens ended the Bo Manor run with a three-pointer. He had two trifectas on the night and finished with 10 points. "When you start hitting the three it opens a lot up on the inside because they start coming out on us, and especially with Will down low and Curtis (Cox) down low, they know how to make plays and they did," Juergens said. That opened it up outside and got us open shots. It let us score some points and get the 'W'." Casey Baker buried three three-pointers on the way to a team-high 17 points. Brown knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Keane also connected from beyond the arc. Ahead 38-35 heading into the fourth quarter, Rising Sun outscored Bo Manor 14-8 to take a 52-41 lead with 2:30 remaining. The Eagles scored six straight before Juergens made two free throws with 1:06 to play. Juergens sealed the deal by hitting both shots from the charity stripe with six seconds left after Bo Manor had gotten within three. The Tigers' desire to win has never been in question, but Rising Sun now is displaying an ability to close out games. "The effort is great," Passenant said. "We haven't had much practice. We're getting a little sloppy on offense but when the chips are down, these guys take over. Somebody comes out and makes a big shot, some big three-pointers out there. Guys making the big rebounds. Senior night. The seniors came through. They did a great job. Overall, a great game. We need some practice. We haven't had a chance to practice but it was a great game." Comments are closed.
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