Adams finds way to keep mastery of Stoney Creek
BY JAY KUNDE
STUDENT WRITER
ROCHESTER HILLS — There will be nights that Rochester Adams will not play its best brand of basketball basketball. On Friday, despite one of those off nights, the Highlanders found a way to earn a victory over Rochester Stoney Creek.
Far from a thing of beauty, Adams outscored the host Cougars 6-0 inside the final 2:12 to squeak out a 43-40 OAA White Division triumph.
Adams shot only 13-for-43 from the floor, but forced 23 turnovers and rallied with a 13-9 fourth quarter to steal the win.
“The way that we play, our style, every fourth or fifth game is (going to) be like this,” said Adams coach John Hall. “This team, we’re (going to) have another three, four or five games like this where we’re (going to) struggle to score. We just preach ‘Defend, defend, defend’ and keep rebounding and keep ourselves in the game and give ourselves a chance. And, hopefully, we snap out of it.”
Stoney Creek, which returned only three players from a squad that won 15 games last season, misfired on its final four shot attempts. Alex Jones’ 3-point attempt with two seconds left was off the mark.
The Cougars (1-5, 1-4) had gone ahead 40-37 on a three-pointer by Taylor Rawlings, but was held scoreless after that point. Stoney Creek has lost several close games this season.
“A lot of people told me when I took this job, ‘It’s going to be a work in progress, there’s not that many kids returning,’” said Norgrove, who came to Stoney Creek after a stint at Farmington. “You know what, that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to win now and compete now. These kids that are here, they work very hard, these seniors, they deserve our absolute best. I’m not going buy into that we need to rebuild. These kids want to win now and play now, and we’re going give them (our best).”
Adams’ Nick Zekaj’s layup and a pair of free throws by Andrew Hammett gave the Highlanders (4-1, 3-1) a 41-40 advantage with 1:30 to play. James Berger and Andrew Hammett both split a pair of free throws down the stretch.
“He is the kind of kid who wants the balls in his hands when it matters. Some kids have it and some kids don’t, and Andrew (Hammett) has the moxey and the determination to want the ball at the end of the game,” beamed hall. “He wants to be on the free-throw line shooting two, down one.”
The Cougars, in their ninth season as a program, have never defeated Adams.
Rawlings led Stoney Creek with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Tyler Curtis was perfect, going 5-of-5 from the floor with two free throws for 12 points with 12 rebounds and two blocks, and Jones finished with seven points and four assists for the cougars, who were 14-for-35 from the floor and 5-for-18 from outside the 3-point arc.
Hammett and Zekaj paced Adams with 12 points apiece. The Highlanders finished 0-for-11 from three-point range but were 16-for-23 from the foul line, scoring over a third of their points from the foul line.
“(Hall’s) kids always battle and play hard,” said Norgrove. “We have a lot of respect for their program. They are well-coached.”
Neither team could distance themselves in the first half. Stoney Creek led 13-10 after the first quarter and 23-22 at the half. The two teams, fighting emotion, combined for 20 first-half turnovers, 14 for Stoney Creek.
Adams was a dismal 7-for-23 shooting in the first half, having to gain eight points from the charity stripe in that span, with the Cougars making 8-of-16 shots in the first half.
(Jay Kunde is part of our student writer photography program. He can be reached at moneyjay@comcast.net. To advertise at www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com
Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams
