Rosewood edges Parrott Academy

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 7, 2010 1:46 PM

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Antonio Henriques wasn't the first option on Rosewood's game-winning play on Wednesday night. He just turned out to be the right one.

Henriques knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining in regulation during the Eagles' 55-49, comeback win over visiting Parrott Academy.

Rosewood trailed by as much as 11 points in the third quarter and pulled to within 37-30 entering the final period. Jacquez Raynor's free throws trimmed the deficit to 47-46 with 51 seconds to play.

The Eagles forced a turnover on the Patriots' ensuing possession and immediately called timeout to set up their offense.

"We wanted to get the ball inside to Jacquez," said Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell. "He had been getting good position all night and we did a poor job of getting him the ball. They started sagging in the painted area a little bit, and we took and made a big shot."

Despite not being the designated offensive target, Henriques received the ball on the far wing and calmly knocked down a 3-pointer that gave Rosewood the lead for good at 49-47.

"I looked around and nobody was around me, and I just decided to shoot it," said Henriques. "When I shot it I didn't even know if it was going in. I just shot it."

The Eagles sank 6-of-7 free throws in the final 21 seconds to finish off the victory and closed the game on a 19-9 run over the final 5 1/2 minutes.

The two teams combined to make 16 3-pointers including five from Rosewood's Will Caughron and four from Parrott's Thomas Bailey. Caughron and Bailey shared game-high scoring honors with 21 points apiece.

The Eagles (5-8 overall) struggled to locate and get the hand in the faces of Patriots' shooters in the first half. Bailey had 12 of his 21 points during the first two quarters and Parrott led 29-19 at the half.

"We were out of sorts a little bit," said Mitchell. "I thought mentally we were out of the game in the first half. We were throwing the ball all over the court. It took until the fourth quarter for us to start playing the way we're capable of playing."

Raynor added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Despite three sloppy quarters, Mitchell feels Wednesday night's emotional win is just the boost his club needed as it opens Carolina 1-A Conference play Friday at Ayden-Grifton.

"We feel good about the way we played in the fourth quarter and hopefully that can carry over on Friday night," said Mitchell. "I think it's a confidence booster for us that we can fight, scrap and claw and get our way back in the ballgame."