Late December’s regular season game between Seaholm and Brother Rice had more of a playoff atmosphere, making fans forget that this was only the fourth game of this young season.
In front of a packed gym at Seaholm High School, the Maples pulled off an improbable come-from-behind victory against their rival, winning the contest 44-43 in overtime.The game started out as a defensive struggle, the score at halftime was 25-10 with Brother Rice leading.
“We were playing too fast,” senior guard Matt Wilkinson said. “We weren’t hitting the shots that we usually make.”
At halftime, Coach José Andrades preached to his team that they needed to communicate better, and to slow the game down so they could take better shots.
The Maples were unable to cut into Rice’s lead, trailing by 18 points midway through the third quarter.
But a mid-range jump shot scored by senior Russell Frye sparked a run, as the Maples closed out the third only trailing by 10 points.
The Maples carried their momentum into the fourth, and junior guard Brett Houghton continued to drill three pointers as the score was eventually tied up at 37-37 with seconds remaining in regulation.
Seaholm was unable to get a shot off on their final possession of regulation, but they clearly carried had the momentum going into overtime, as the Brother Rice team and their fans were shocked by their team blowing their 18 point lead.
The intensity of the game heightened in overtime, with both teams playing hard defense and not allowing any open shots.
An offensive put-back by junior Paris Bass with 30 seconds left brought the score to 43-41.
The Maples forced a quick turnover and brought the back to their side of the court trailing by only two points.
With 15 seconds left in overtime, Frye passed the ball to senior forward Sterling Johnson, who stood alone at the top of the key.
Johnson had not attempted a three point shot all season, but he knew that this was one that he could not pass up.
“When Russell passed it to me, I knew I was wide open so I knew I had to take the shot,” Johnson said. “When I shot it, it felt good and sure enough it went in.” Johnson drilled the shot, which gave the Maples a 44-43 lead.
Brother Rice missed a final desperation shot from half court, and as the buzzer sounded the Seaholm student section poured onto the court.
It was absolute pandemonium on the court, as the players and fans celebrated the win over their cross-town rival.
“It was crazy,” Johnson said. “When the student section stormed the court it was awesome. I love when we can celebrate with our fans like that, especially after an emotional victory.”
Despite being down by 18 points late in the third quarter, the Maples never lost faith in their team.
“We never gave up,” Wilkinson said. “We know that when we play as a team that we can almost beat anyone and that’s what we did (against Rice) in the second half.”
The victory brought the Maples to a record of 2-2 on the season.
“After that win against Rice our team is feeling really good,” senior captain Spencer Eick said. “We now know to never give up and we can come back from any deficit. If we play all four quarters, we can be a really good team.”
