Rosewood earns critical win

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 6, 2010 11:38 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Four solid quarters.

That is what Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell wanted his team to give him in a critical Carolina 1-A Conference game on Friday night at Spring Creek.

The Eagles' leader got his wish.

Rosewood held Spring Creek without a field goal for the first 12 minutes of the game and never trailed in a 50-43 victory.

"I thought our guys came out and gave a good, consistent effort," said Mitchell. "We knew what was on the line as far as the standings and potentially a spot in the playoffs."

The Eagles opened up a 12-3 lead in the first quarter as the Gators missed on every single attempt from the field. Kenneth Freeman sank a 3-pointer four minutes into the second period to get Spring Creek on track but the Eagles' slow pace led to the two teams trading baskets throughout the quarter.

"Our shooting has been better this season than last year but not tonight," Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones said. "We played not to lose and I thought we looked very tentative."

Trailing 38-24 early in the fourth quarter the Gators rallied.

Dontay Boseman drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and made all three shots from the foul line. Melvin DeVeaux followed with a basket and Freeman added a putback that cut the Eagles' lead to seven with one minute to play.

Jykhia Applewhite answered with perhaps the biggest shot of Rosewood's season. A deep 3-pointer from the left wing proved to be the victory-clincher.

"Jykhia came to me after the game and told me he was sorry for taking that shot," said Mitchell. "We were trying to run some clock, but I told him it was alright since he made it."

Applewhite and Cody Harris each scored 13-points respectively to lead the Eagles' offensively. Garrett Bunrs scored nine points.

Rosewood moves into a tie for third place in the league standings with archrival Princeton. The Eagles will host North Duplin on Tuesday.

Freeman paced the Gators offensively with 14 points and 11 rebounds. DeVeaux added nine points and seven boards. Spring Creek will entertain Goldsboro on Tuesday.

"We are just going to go out and play like we have nothing to lose," said Jones. "Maybe a chip will fall in our favor this time, you just never know in this game."