Rosewood boys fend off Lakewood

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 17, 2009 1:46 PM

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Rosewood got off to a hot start and Lakewood became its own worst enemy on Wednesday night. The Eagles scored 20 points in the opening quarter and held off a late charge for a 57-50, non-conference basketball win.

Four baskets from beyond the 3-point arc propelled Rosewood to an early lead. Cody Harris knocked down a pair of bombs, and was followed by 3-pointers from Jykhia Applewhite and Antonio Henriquez.

"One thing that we do have is a few guys that can really shoot the basketball," said Eagles head coach Daniel Mitchell. "A lot of it is confidence, and once we made one, I think it got our guys rolling from outside."

As hot as the Eagles were from the field the Leopards were equally cold.

Lakewood only scored 11 points in the first quarter thanks to turnovers and some good Rosewood defense. In a zone trap for much of the period, the Eagles kept the visitors off balance and out of their half court offense.

"I think the press kind of threw them off a little bit," said Mitchell. "We have been playing a lot of man-to-man defense, but tonight I decided to go with some more zone and make them shoot over us."

After an even second quarter, the Leopards made a brief run to open the second half. Dennis Owens tallied two quick baskets and Everette Newkirk sank a pair of jumpers to pull the visitors within four points.

After a David Rich layup pulled Lakewood within one possession, the Leopards' point guard was assessed a technical foul. Rosewood's Jonathan Franks made both foul shots and Garrett Burns sank a putback to extend the Eagles' lead to six points.

Lakewood never recovered.

"That was a huge momentum swing in the second half," said Mitchell. "It was a two-point game, but we hit the free throws and made a basket and kind of stopped their run."

Rich finished with 12 points to pace the Leopards. Owens added 11 points and seven rebounds. Harris and Henriquez tallied 15 points apiece for the Eagles, while teammate Will Beasley added seven points and six rebounds.

Rosewood entertains C.B. Aycock on Friday night.