MCC Summer League–June 23, 2009–South River Falls To Keyport

Undermanned Rams Squad Falls Short In Tremendous Comeback Bid, 52-43

EDISON, NJ–Graduation night (June 23rd) for South River High School meant happy times for graduating seniors, but turned out to be bad fortune for the Rams’ basketball team as Keyport held on and beat a frantic South River team 52-43 in Tuesday night action in the Middlesex County College Summer League.

The Rams missing Stevie Moore, Xavier Foster, Brandon Walsh, and Shawn Fenton (who were attending graduation ceremonies) found themselves down early 21-2, as Keyport took full advantage of the young and depleted South River “B-team”. Keyport scored at will and opened up a seemingly insurmountable lead in the early going.

However this Rams’ squad is different than those of the past few years, now firmly under the guidance of new head coach Rodney Harris. This team has guts, drive, and doesn’t give up.

The Rams mounted a furious comeback marked by the return of Foster, Walsh, and Fenton outscoring Keyport with an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 21-13 — and went in at the half trailing by ten, 25-15.

The second half continued with more of the same, as the Rams clawed their way back to within four points of Keyport. South River was clicking on offense and defense and looked like they would come back and steal the game from the Red Raiders.

But with two minutes left in the contest, the Rams went cold from the floor, suffering several costly turnovers and missed shots, unable to get over that four point hump. The Raiders upped the final score to a nine point margin on free throws as South River fouled numerous times over the last minute of play.

A key positive for Rams’ fans is the fact that this “new” South River squad kept fighting throughout this game and didn’t give up — witness the total opposite with many blowouts that this team suffered over the past few seasons. Previously an early 21-2 deficit would have spelled death for the Rams but not for these players – these guys fight ’til the end. Kudos to Coach Harris and his assistant coaches.

Team 1 2 Total
Keyport (3-0) 25 27 52
South River (2-1) 15 28 43