Blair basketball comes from behind to seal narrow victory against the Richard Montgomery Rockets

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, the Blazers (15-6) faced off against the Richard Montgomery Rockets (17-5) in a nail-biting game, keeping Blazer fans on the edge of their seats until the sound of the final buzzer. 

From jump ball and a series of intense possessions, the Rockets were in a much more advantageous position than the Blazers early on. Through layups and pull-up 3s, the Rockets pulled ahead in the initial stages. It was clear the Blazers struggled to find their footing. Quickly, however, junior guard Paul Ransom broke through the bleak environment through a momentum-changing steal, securing the Blazers’ first two points. Afterwards, the Rockets and Blazers continued nearly neck-and-neck for the remainder of the first quarter, eventually capping off the quarter with the Rockets leading by 7 (9-16).  

Bakarr

Photo: Junior guard Bakarr Abu drives on the baseline.

Junior guard Bakarr Abu drives on the baseline. Photo courtesy of Bruno Resetarits.

In the second quarter, the Rockets slowly started increasing their lead with seemingly endless three-pointers landing. It was notably the best aspect of Richard Montgomery’s team. The Blazers attempted adapting to the style of play, often looking to capitalize off their own three pointers. However, they were met with little success, and with their defense not holding up, the second quarter seemed like an endless barrage of shots landing for the Rockets.

With the new half, the Blazers found new strength: dominating rebounds, scoring off the fast break, bringing the Rockets’ lead down to 10. They started to play the game on their own terms and by the end of the third quarter, the Blazers were in full stride, blocking the Rockets from bolstering their lead time and time again. 

The fourth quarter opened excitedly with an ankle breaker by senior guard Bakarr Abu and two more points for Blair. The crowd erupted even further at a dunk from junior forward Joel Turkson, setting the tone for the whole quarter. The fans cheered as Blair fought to even out the score, an environment that certainly helped the Blazers. They were on a roll, but the Rockets weren’t letting up either, widening the score gap every time the Blazers got close. Junior Joel Turkson had come in with a determination to win that seemed to spread to his team. “Even though we were down, we came together every single time,” Turkson said. “We didn’t cow to adversity when adversity hit.”

The tension was palpable when the Rockets managed a three-pointer, but a couple of successful free throws alleviated some stress. With just 37 seconds left in the game and two points between the Blazers and victory, they maneuvered their way through the Rockets’ defense to seal the deal. Not stopping there, they put the nail in the coffin with two free throws to a score of 61-58. However, the Rockets weren’t done yet. With just 1.7 seconds on the clock, a foul gave the Rockets the chance to score, but a rumble from the stands shook them enough to make them miss. The game ended in wild cheers from the home stands for the amazing game put on by the Blair team.

Head coach Dominique Scott was impressed with his team’s resilience. “We were down 19. We could have easily forwarded, could have easily quit,” Scott said. “But the guys, they stayed with it, they came together, and they found a way to win”.