Northwestern boys beat Rock Hill, narrowly miss postseason
First-year Northwestern boys head coach John Bramlett came out of his team's locker room Thursday night with red eyes.
His Trojans had just defeated crosstown rival Rock Hill 66-60 for the third time this season but he wasn't crying tears of joy. He had just informed his players that they lost out on a tie-breaker with Gaffney for fourth place in Region 3-4A and would miss the playoffs. He wasn't the only one upset.
"Fabulous group of boys, as you can see," Bramlett said, pausing to gather his emotions.
"They're all in there crying. They're hurt that it's over and in some locker rooms I'm not so sure that seniors are like that. I've got a kid in there I've never seen shed a tear and he's balling like crazy. It shows how much he cares."
Northwestern and Gaffney both finished 6-6 in the region but the Indians split with Clover and the Trojans lost to the Blue Eagles twice.
Turning point
Rock Hill cut the Trojan lead to 37-30 early in the third on a three by Lance Crayton. Northwestern answered with a 7-0 run that included a three from Myliek Durham and they were able to keep the Bearcats at arm's length from there. Durham had 10 in the pivotal third quarter.
Critical
In the fourth quarter free-throw shooting contest, the Bearcats only made 6-of-15 as they tried to gain ground. At one point in the second half, the Trojans had been whistled for eight fouls to one for Rock Hill but the Bearcats couldn't capitalize.
Star contributors
Durham led all scorers with 20 points after dropping 37 on Rock Hill three weeks ago. Ali Shockley matched his jersey number with 10 for Northwestern. Tay Brevard led the Bearcats with 19, Andrew Barber had 12, and Japree Perry 11.
Overheard
On beating Rock Hill three times - “They (Trojans) understand how important this rivalry is to our school,” Bramlett said. “I went to Chester High School back when we were in Region 2 and they used to beat us all the time. So this goes way back for me.”
“They now have a grasp of what I expect from them as young men, not about basketball, but what I expect in the classroom,” Bramlett said of his first year.
“They're going to start something special. We're disappointed that we did not get them into the playoffs. I told them ‘you've started something’ and it's because of those seniors.” - Bramlett on what he said to the team.
Box score
Northwestern 66, Rock Hill 60
NW;19;16;17;14; - 66
RH;10;15;16;19; - 60
Individual scoring: NW - Myliek Durham 20, Ali Shockley 10, Grant Kirk 7, Gianni Gonzalez 6, Zay Martin 6, Jaquarius Clowney 5, Desmond Walls 5, Zameon Crockett 3, Hamary Traore 3, Daydrion Dereef 1. RH - Tay Brevard 19, Andrew Barber 12, Japree Perry 11, Lance Crayton 8, Thailand Adams 5, Myles Byers 4, Bryson Shipp 1.
Three-pointers: NW - 6 (Kirk 2, Durham 2, Crockett, Shockley. RH - 3 (Barber, Crayton, Perry).
Team fouls: NW - 24. RH - 19. Fouled out: Gonzalez (NW).
Records - Northwestern 10-11, 6-6 Region 3-4A; Rock Hill 9-13, 3-9.
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Northwestern boys beat Rock Hill, narrowly miss postseason."