BOYS' BASKETBALL: Rosewood upends rival Princeton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 6, 2017 9:59 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PRINCETON -- That 0-10 start for Rosewood?

It's slowly beginning to fade into the distance.

And head coach Daniel Mitchell couldn't be any happier.

A team that struggled to close out opponents has finally started to show some maturity since its eighth-place finish during the Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic held just six days ago.

The Eagles picked up their second win in a three-day period -- a 47-40 conquest of Carolina 1-A Conference rival Princeton on Thursday evening. They evened their league ledger at 2-2 heading into semester exams.

"I'm proud of the way we've put it together this week and played good team basketball," Mitchell said.

Particularly in the second half.

Rosewood opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run and never relinquished its advantage despite every comeback attempt Princeton staged in the second half. The Bulldogs closed to within a single possession on several occasions, but couldn't get a key defensive stop and committed two crucial mistakes.

Jonathan Peacock's steal and outlet pass to Chance Howard resulted in a layup and 42-37 lead with just over a minute left in regulation. Garrett Klein answered with a 3 off an assist from Colby Sullivan with 57.8 seconds to go.

After a timeout, Peacock inbounded the ball to Markel Vaughn. The Bulldogs didn't switch on the screen and Vaughn dropped in an uncontested layup.

Rosewood led 44-40.

"We don't play a lot of man (defense), but at that point in the game we've got to," Princeton head coach Jeff Davis said. "I reminded them in the huddle (about the screen). You make that one little mistake and it could be the difference in the ballgame. Every game we play all year in our conference is going to be like this -- for everybody."

Conner Vernon sealed the outcome by hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the final 18.8 seconds. The sophomore just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.

Howard pumped in a game-high 18 points and picked the Dogs for three steals. Vaughn provided just two buckets, but snared 11 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Tucker Chapin knocked down nine points.

Klein paced the Bulldogs with 15 points.