Caden Duke, Caleb Chapman and Savion Scott – Springfield’s trio of boys’ basketball seniors – combined for 36 of the Yellow Jackets’ 62 points as SHS earned their first win of the season against Northwest on Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets had only been at practice for four days prior to their game against the Vikings, but head coach Micah Rochester said that was all that Springfield needed to come away with the 62-55 victory.
“I think it kind of did our kids some good,” Rochester said. “I think it made them appreciate the game a little bit more and understand when we tell them that every game could be their last game. The last two or three practices have been great, and I thought we played like we’ve practiced the last two days.”
SHS dominated on the glass early on, grabbing 13 rebounds in the first period to pair with their 11-8 lead over the Vikings. The two teams battled before halftime, exchanging the lead five times in the last four minutes before the break. Springfield would maintain a 24-23 advantage at intermission.
The Vikings began to falter in the third, turning the ball over on three of their first four possessions and Springfield capitalized on the miscues with an 8-0 run. The Yellow Jackets saw their lead balloon to 14 when heading into the fourth, due in part to their defensive efficiency on Viking guard Ametri Moss. Outside of a free throw-filled fourth period, Moss only scored 10 points in the first three frames of the contest.
“We have to find other guys that are ready to step up, because he’s playing as hard as he can,” said Northwest head coach Aaron Wallus. “He’s leading the best he can, but we have to have other guys step up and show that. You have five guys on the floor at a time, you have to be a factor, you have to do something. Everybody that we have on the floor has a skill and they can help us (and) they can help Ametri not be so bottled up. It just didn’t happen tonight.”
Moss poured in 14 points in the fourth to keep the game competitive, but SHS’ Scott and Chapman countered with eight of their own to maintain their advantage through the final buzzer.
Springfield’s first win of the season will be a short-lived celebration, as the Jackets welcome in White House Heritage before traveling to play Montgomery Central on Jan. 8. As for the remainder of the year, Rochester has directed his focus away from his team’s record, and more toward the continual improvement of the program.
“We’re no longer focusing on wins or losses,” he said. “All we want to focus on is getting better… I tried to explain to the guys (that) a lot of times you don’t have control over whether you win or lose, because sometimes teams just outplay you. But you do have control on effort, you do have control on your mental focus and that’s really what we’ve tried to focus on and let winning take care of itself.
“Tomorrow, our goal is the same goal as today: we want to be better. I think they finally are starting to buy into that, see that and I hope to see that pay off in the win column eventually.”
BOX SCORE
Springfield (62): Savion Scott 18, Kemarian Flair 16, Caleb Chapman 11, Caden Duke 7, Jacquarium Collum 5, Key’Shawn Robinson 5.
Northwest (55): Ametri Moss 24, Markkus Farrior 12, Caleb Patterson 9, Quamond Lindsey 7, Servontae Williams 3.
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