by BAY VILLAGE, OH – The Bay Rockets survived a late North Olmsted Eagle rally and hung on for a convincing 52-39 tonight in a game in which the court was dedicated to legendary Bay Rocket coach Rich Voiers. The Rockets used some clutch shooting to overcome a game Eagle team that showed a ton of potential and heart in this one.
The Rockets were led by Ryan Miller with 12 while Kelan Rose had 11. Ethan George, Emmitt Naughton and Brody Beggs each scored 9 while Jack Bly finished with 2.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Jake Perkins and Desean Knight with 10 each. Anthony D’Alessandro had 8 while Billy Suilaman had 6 and Andrew Halfley had 3. Brett Zatta finished the scoring with 2.
Bay led 3-2 early after Anthony D’Alessandro answered a opening three ball from Emmitt Naughton with a bucket of his own. From there, the Rockets raced out to a 14-8 lead on the power of 4 foul shots, a three from Kelan Rose and buckets from Beggs and Naughton. The Eagles kept working and thanks in part to 4 points from DeSean Knight brought the score to 14-12 after one.
The Rockets began to take over in the second quarter thanks in part to a red-hot George who had 8 points in the midst of a 12-0 Rocket run that increased their lead to 26-12. That run was stopped by the hardworking D’Alessandro with another bucket to halt it. It wasn’t enough however as the Rockets closed out the first half with a commanding 35-19.
The Rockets earned their biggest lead of the game as they began the third on a 5-0 run by Ryan Miller to increase the lead to 40-19. The well coached Eagles answered back with a 7-0 run highlighted by buckets from Zatta, Suilaman and three ball from Perkins. It was pretty even from there as the third ended with Bay up 45-27.
I noticed something about the Eagles tonight, they work hard and don’t go down without a fight. They showed that spirit and fire by scoring 8 straight points thanks in part to hustle plays from D’Alessandro and Desean Knight to start the fourth. This brought it back to a 10-point game 45-35 just minutes into the quarter. It proved to be just a little too late however as the Rockets held on for the 52-39 victory.
The player of the game for Bay was Ethan George for his big second quarter which helped break the game open for the Rockets.
The player of the game for the North Olmsted was Anthony D’Alessandro for playing with massive heart and hustle all night. No matter the score, D’Alessandro played like it was 0-0 all night.
The Eagles will look to bounce back at Avon tomorrow night while the Rockets will look to stay hot as they travel to Rocky River next Friday night.
