Despite mistake after mistake in the first half, the Mount Rainier High School boys basketball team rallied Tuesday for a 79-66 home win over Kentwood.
The Rams (12-7 overall, 9-5 SPSL North), who trailed by three at the end of the third quarter, walloped Kentwood (11-6, 9-4) in the fourth, outscoring the Conquerors 27-11 – including a 12-0 run at one point.
The momentum swing was provided by a high-energy effort on both ends of the court that Rams coach Brain Johnson credited to his team’s conditioning.
“We do a lot of running every single day, so we pride ourselves in being in better shape,” he said. “I felt (Kentwood) just completely wore out, started turning the ball over, and we were still fresh; running, rotating bodies in, getting steals and layups.”
Sophomore guard Adrian Davis led the way for Mount Rainier with 19 points.
But Davis and his teammates started off a little sluggish, and Kentwood’s Taylor Jones had no trouble finding his groove around the basket. The 6-foot-6 senior forward cakewalked to 16 first-half points. The big man, however, was quieted with just two points after halftime.
“We just did a better job of rotating and getting to him (in the second half),” Johnson said of Jones. “We were really slow in our rotations in the first half and he ended up with a lot of little elbow jumpers and rebounds on the backside because we were trapping, and the guys were just kind of walking out of it instead of running back.
“In the second half, we didn’t do anything different. We just rotated better and faster. We got to him. And also boxing out definitely helped. He had eight rebounds at halftime and three or four put-backs. So we eliminated that and slowed him down.”
The win puts the Rams back into contention in the SPSL North, just one game behind front-runner Kent-Meridian.
Mount Rainier started the season 9-2 but went on a five-game skid in the middle of January. The Rams have now won three in a row.
The resurgence came after the team bonded while playing a simple game on the lanes.
“After the five-game losing streak, we went to the bowling alley,” Johnson said.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.