BY GERARDO BOLONG
Contributing Writer
Ebbs and flows dominated the landscape before the Kentridge Chargers prevailed in a 52-49 NPSL 4A Cascade boys basketball win at Mt. Rainier on Thurs., Dec. 14, in Des Moines.
Trailing 49-38 with just more than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Rams staged their last hurrah beginning with Amanuel Gebriziabher converting the second of two free throws. Robert Wright followed by hammering home a 3-point basket..
After a good defensive stand, Wilkens Dolce swished home a pair of Ram free throws as 1:37 showed on the scoreboard clock. Kentridge then tried to run off clock time, but were guilty of an over-and-back violation 18 seconds later. Justice Diaz followed with a rebound basket to make the score 49-46 with 1:04 left in regulation.
Mt. Rainier succeeded in forcing a Charger missed shot, but KR gained an offensive rebound and eventually converted two free throws to lead 51-46 with 18.7 seconds left.
Following a 30-second time out, the Rams inbounded from back court.
As Amanuel Gebreziabher crossed half court he launched a straight on shot that banked through the basket for a 3-point missile that made the score 51-49 at the 13-second mark.
On their ensuing full court press, the MR Rams were forced to foul with 8.9 seconds to go. Jeremy Banks sank the second of two free throw chances. The Rams fired up a forced up a missed 3-point try and time ran out for anything but a quick inside twirl shot.
"Late in the fourth quarter, we were able to pick up our defense, again," Mt. Rainier head coach Brandon Horstman said.
Behind aggressive defense, Mt. Rainier overcame a six-point first quarter deficit to trail only 15-13 at the end of one quarter. Blocked shots and hot shot making from different court positions combined with rebounding dominance to fire up the Rams into continued offensive flows. Wright drove through the lane fro a lay in and Mt. Rainier led 24-15 midway through the second quarter. The Rams stretched the lead to 27-16 before careless play and ball handling allowed Kentridge to close with 27-23 by halftime.
MR scoring went into the freezer to start the second half as the Chargers rode for a 6-0 scoring spurt and a 29-27 lead after two minutes of second half action.
The teams battled evenly for more than three minutes until Gebriziabher scored a hoop to place Mt. Rainier ahead 35-34.
The Chargers used tough defense to ignite a six-point offensive run to lead 40-35 after three quarters and gradually built the lead up to the game-high 49-38 situation before the closing sequences.
"The backside in our press was not rotating all the way," said Horstman. "KR was able to swing the ball and get the extra pass to the back."
Gebriziabher led Mt. Rainier with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals while teammate Dolce notched 10 points and two assists. Tayveone Goldsmith added eight points and four rebounds. Yadel Hedego was on board with seven points and six caroms. Kolten Lerwick grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.
"We've been up and down, more so than usual," concluded Horstman. "They battled it to the end. "We need to shorten (the lenghth of) the other team's runs. The players do a good job in practice and are doing their best to get better."
As of this writing, the Rams stood at 2-2 league and 3-4 overall.
For Kentridge, six-foot, eight-inch Tyler Cronk muscled home 14 points.
