Phoenix win behind Sergio’s double-double

Just twenty-four hours prior, the Andrews Osborne Academy Phoenix boy’s basketball team had suffered a two-point loss to Normandy.

On Feb. 6 it was only a Phoenix six-man army that knocked down the walls of Hawken High School to defeat the Hawks 53-50.

The Phoenix were led by Spain-native Juan Sergio with his 14-point, 14-rebound double-double performance. Sergio also added three steals and four blocks.

“We just came off a big loss a couple of days ago,” Sergio said. “We wanted to bounce-back from that. Our mentality was let’s go hit the shots that we aren’t making. Keep playing hard and keep going for it.”

Max Rolnick — who set tied the school’s threepoint record the previous night — also scored 14 points. Rolnick, originally from Toronto, Canada, scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half.

“A game like yesterday is probably never going to happen to someone two days in a row,” Rolnick said. “In the first half, I wasn’t shooting well. I hit them when they counted and wanted to contribute to my team in any way possible.”

In the opening 16 minutes of play, the Phoenix looked like a team that was playing their second game in two nights. Hawken held visiting AOA to just six in the second quarter, which built a 26-18 halftime lead.

Then, the Phoenix came out of the locker room guns blazing.

To start the second half, Andrews Osborne went on a 9-0 run to take the 27-26 advantage at the 5:04 mark of the third quarter; It was the first time AOA had led since the opening minutes of the game.

“Our kids played so hard today,” Andrews Osborne head coach Rudy Kirbus said after the game. “We only had six guys because we have some guys injured. We only played six guys. They played so hard. I don’t think we executed great in the first half, we just made a couple more shots in the second half.

“To come here beat a bigger school like this is a big deal for us.”

Over the next 7:50 of play, both teams traded shots, but the Phoenix still led. After the third quarter blunder, Hawken found itself back in the lead.

Andrews Osborne showed a fierce fourthquarter effort that contributed to a 49-45 edge with 2:20 to play. Like the Hawks almost always did, they clawed their way back to make it a one-possession game with eight seconds to play.

A hail mary from freshman Taj Caver fell short, which secured a muchneeded win for AOA.

“We had two looks where we were trying to get a three from Eddie Ross or from Taj Caver late,” Hawken head coach Josh Nugent said. “We had an action where we used Taj as a screener, hoping they would fight over a screen where he could slip to the ball and get a look himself.

“They blew it up a little bit. We got a decent look, but you don’t want to be in a position where you need to get it.”

Hawken struggled from beyond the arc, only making 4-of-22 three-point field goals. Will Rini led the Hawks with nine points, all of which came in the second half. AJ Sands played a big role with eight points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Andrews Osborne improved to 6-4 with the win and will play Cornerstone Christian on Feb 5. Hawken falls to 5-6 and is slated to host Chagrin Falls on that same Friday.