ROCKINGHAM – On January 23, 2017, the Rockingham Middle School Rockets boys’ basketball team travelled to Hamlet Middle School and used a buzzer beater to leave with a huge win over their in-county rival. On Tuesday evening, the Rockets found themselves once again needing some last second heroics if they wanted to defeat the Red Rams on their home court.
Rockingham eighth grader Kellan Hood’s three-point attempt was just slightly off target with five seconds remaining, and the visiting Hamlet Red Rams held on to win 43-40.
“It was a really good comeback and a really good win for us,” said Hamlet coach Grover McDonald following the win. “Last year, we lost to them at the buzzer and they almost got us again this game, but we came through with the win. It feels good.”
Hamlet’s Ke’Sean Ingram, the game’s leading scorer with 17 points, got hot early. The Rockets left him open in the paint three times and he made them pay by connecting on three short jump shots putting the Red Rams ahead 6-0.
After Noah Hogan put Rockingham on the board with a layup, Hamlet’s Cameron Way delivered a perfect bounce pass to Jaleak Gates between two Rocket defenders. Gates was able to easily put it up and in giving the Red Rams an 8-2 lead and forcing Rockingham head coach Teddy Moseley to call a timeout with 2:52 on the clock.
Following the timeout, the Rockets finished the first quarter on a 6-2 run courtesy of two Hood free throws and baskets by Will Dawkins and Cason Douglas. Ingram accounted for Hamlet’s two points in the run and the Red Rams led 10-8 after one complete quarter.
The Rockets’ success continued into the second quarter. After Way added a point for Hamlet with a free throw, Rockingham got layups on back-to-back possessions from Hood and Spencer Harwood giving the Rockets their first lead of the game at 12-11 with 3:58 until halftime. The two teams traded baskets over the next 2:20 resulting in six lead changes.
The only defensive highlight during that time was a huge block by Douglas for the Rockets. He flew in out of nowhere and spiked Dakota Chavis’ three-point attempt into the stands to the delight of the Rocket faithful. McDonald called a timeout just a 90 seconds before intermission with his Red Rams trailing 20-19.
Following the timeout, Hamlet made of run of its own. Gates was true with floaters on back-to-back possessions, neither of which needed any part of the rim. Chavis added a layup with just five seconds before the break and the Red Rams went into the locker room up 25-20.
Hamlet had to burn a timeout quickly at the start of the second half. Unbeknownst to the officials, the Red Rams had started the third quarter with six players on the court forcing McDonald to call a timeout and correct the issue. When play resumed, a Harley Honeycutt layup gave Hamlet its largest lead of the game with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter, but that’s when Rockingham went on another run.
The next five field goals went to the Rockets. First, Harwood scored with a floater over the outstretched hands of Gates. After the Red Rams struggled to get the ensuing inbound pass cleanly into play, Hood made them pay when he collected the loose ball and banked it in just seconds later cutting the lead to 27-24 with 4:51 on the clock. Six seconds later, Xavier Collazo scored on a layup after stripping the ball away from Chavis.
Hamlet temporarily stopped the bleeding with two free throws from Chavis, but then Rockingham answered right back with baskets from Collazo and Hogan to give the Rockets their first lead of the second half at 30-29 with 2:57 left in the third.
Hamlet claimed the lead right back nearly a minute later when Gates intercepted a pass intended for Hood and sprinted back the other way for an easy score. Collazo netted his third bucket in just a little over two and-a-half minutes when he scored on a put back giving his Rockets a 32-31 lead with 2:10 remaining.
Following a Rocket turnover, Jaiden Covington raced away from the pack, hauled in a long pass and was left with only one defender between him and an easy layup. As he laid it in off the glass, the refs tagged Hogan with a blocking foul who then responded by slamming the ball into the floor in frustration drawing a technical. Covington converted the old fashioned three-point play, but Way was unable to connect on either of the bonus free throws keeping Hamlet’s lead at just two.
A Zion Baldwin floater and a Covington free throw for Hamlet ended the third quarter’s scoring, sending the Red Rams into the final period with a 35-34 lead.
There were only five points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, and unfortunately for the home team, all five were scored by Hamlet. Ingram started things off when he hit a short-range jumper just seconds into the quarter that was so on target, the net barely moved. Gates added a floater followed by an Ingram free throw, and Hamlet had 40-34 advantage with just two and-a-half minutes to play.
After Hood added a point on a free throw for the Rockets, Ingram connected on a floater for Hamlet and the Red Rams had tied their largest lead of the game at seven points, 42-35 with only 1:26 left in the ball game.
The Rockets weren’t quite ready to throw in the towel. Hood ignited the home crowd when he drained a three-pointer with 1:03 to go. After Way missed the front end of a one-and-one, Callozo laid it in on the other end for the Rockets making it just a two point game with 25 seconds left.
Following a blocking foul, Way went back to the line for Hamlet with only 10 seconds remaining. He hit the first accounting for the final point of the game and the Red Rams held on to win the rivalry game 43-40.
Ingram finished with a game-high 17 for the Red Rams. Gates added 10 points, while Way, Chavis, and Covington each netted four. JV Drake and Honeycutt scored two each.
Hood was the leading scorer for the Rockets with 12. Collazo finished with eight points, as Hogan added six. Harwood and Luke Williams each netted 4. Baldwin, Douglas and Dawkins each had two.
After dropping the first three games of the season, the Red Rams have now won four in a row and will turn their attention to Spring Hill who they host Thursday. Rockingham dropped their second straight home game falling to Carver Middle School 62-53 Wednesday evening.
Lady Rockets Double Hamlet’s Score, Win 26-13
In the girls’ game, Jaimaya Ratliff connected on two first quarter three-pointers to spark a little excitement, but the Lady Red Rams were only able to score 10 more points throughout the remainder of the game and fell 23-16 to the Lady Rockets.
In the opening quarter, Allyiah Swiney, Keyoni Nichols and Kyla Sampson went to work for the Lady Rockets. Layups by Swiney and Nichols combined with a made free throw from both Swiney and Sampson matched Ratliff’s efforts ending the first quarter in a 6-6 tie.
Sampson went on to be the only player in the game to score a field goal in the second quarter. Sampson scored twice and Nichols added two free throws to put Rockingham ahead 12-6 going into the break.
Rayana Shubert, the only Lady Red Ram to score other than Ratliff, added a basket in the third and one in the fourth. Despite a good defensive effort by the Lady Red Rams, turnovers and cold shooting allowed the Lady Rockets to maintain at least a two-possession lead throughout the second half.
Swiney was the leading scorer for the Lady Rockets with eight points, Nichols followed with six, Sampson netted five, and Dinah McDonald and Mariah Waddell each had two.
Ratliff led all scorers with 12 for Hamlet in the loss. Shubert netted four points.
