BOYS BASKETBALL: Rochester Adams cruises past Romeo, earns district date against Clarkston
BY DAN STICKRADT
Senior Editor
S.M.G. Wire Services / www.northoaklandsports.com
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
OXFORD — It was simply business-like for Rochester Adams Thursday night against Romeo.
The Highlanders dominated all phases of the game and cruised to a 56-44 victory over Romeo in a Division 1 district semifinal at Oxford High School – even though Adams had been off since March 9 due to a two-week shutdown.
“I don’t give the kids enough grace and credit,” said Adams coach Jaret Thomas. “They had been on quarantine and we just had a few days of practice. They responded to everything beautifully.”
Using an up-tempo style, Adams forced 14 turnovers and held the Bulldogs to a paltry 36.8 percent shooting night from the field in recording the double-digit win. The Highlanders (11-4) will face Clarkston, 45-35 winners Thursday over Lake Orion, in the district finals Saturday at 1 p.m. at Oxford.
Two years ago, Adams won the OAA White Division and Clarkston the OAA Red Division with the Highlanders recording a 38-37, district-opening upset over the then-No. 2 state-ranked Wolves. They did not meet this season.
Taking care of business against Romeo, Adams only trailed once in the game. In the second half, the Bulldogs were never able to trim the deficit to under eight points – much to the credit of the Highlanders’ defense.
“We wanted to pick the tempo up a little bit,” offered, whose team upped the defensive pressure in the second quarter. “I give Romeo credit. Hats off. I thought they ran their stuff in the half court really well. So we tried to speed it up a little bit.”
Junior guard Justice Mims spearheaded the attack for Adams, scoring a game-high 25 points with four steals while providing consistent pressure on Romeo’s guards. Senior forward Andrew Brown added 11 points, canning a trio of three-pointers, senior guard Ben Chermside followed with 11 points, five steals and three rebounds, and junior forward Jacob Durand had five points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Highlanders.
Adams finished 22-for-48 from the floor (45.9 percent), 7-for-12 from the foul line (58.4 percent) and 5-for-15 from outside the three-point arc (33 percent).
Romeo led 4-2 early on a lay-up by 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Timothy Kewley with 6:10 remaining in the opening quarter. Adams responded with a 14-4 run to close the frame for a 16-8 lead. Romeo was able to close to within one point twice in the second quarter, using a 10-3 run to close the gap down to 17-16 and 19-18, but were never able to threaten much again.
Adams went on a 10-1 run over the final 2:46 of the second quarter for a 29-19 lead at the half. The Highlanders led by as many as 15 points at 46-31 at the end of the third quarter and held their biggest lead of 17 points (54-37) with 3:56 to play in the game before cruising to the 12-point win.
“It’s playoff time and anything can happen on a given night, so to come in and win, it takes us one step closer to (winning the district title) Saturday,” added Thomas.
Kewley recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and chipped in with four blocked shots for Romeo (7-6). Junior guard Logan Rolfs added 10 points, senior guard Austin Radke scored eight and senior guard Joshua Skelly added seven points for the Bulldogs.
Besides going only 18-for-49 from the floor, Romeo converted only 6-of-12 free throws (50 percent) and struggled from the cheap seats, sinking only 2-of-17 three-point attempts (11.8 percent) in the season-ending defeat.
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