Rockmart set to play Chattooga in finals
Down 13-0 in the early minutes of the game, Rockmart boys’ coach Vic Calhoun just wanted his team to do one thing — be patient.
The Yellow Jackets’ patience paid off Friday in the semifinals of the Region 7-AA tournament when they rallied against Model for a 58-52 win at Chattooga.
The second-seeded Yellow Jackets (15-10) had been in the situation earlier in the season against No. 3-seeded Model (178) and came out on top in both matchups during the regular season.
“Every time we play Model it’s like that,” Calhoun said. “It’s always a great game. They’re such a good team, and they’re so wellcoached.”
After an 8-0 deficit to start the game, Calhoun called a timeout to check on his team.
“I was like ‘Hey guys, be patient,’” Calhoun said. “‘We’ve been in this situation before, settle down.’ I just calmed them down a little bit, told them to trust it, don’t worry about the clock and just keep playing.”
The Jackets slowly ate away at the Devils’ lead trailing 18-10 after the first quarter, and managed to get within one point late in the second quarter before a 3-pointer in the final seconds by Jared Bomer gave Model a 27-23 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Rockmart’s Tyler Rowland came up big for his team. Rowland led the Yellow Jackets with 26 points, including six 3-pointers.
Rowland scored three of his 3s in the third quarter alone that were key in
getting the Jackets back in the game. His first 3 in the quarter cut Model’s lead to 32-31 with 2:56 left in the period. Another 3 about 40 seconds later tied the score 34-34, then his final 3 in the third quarter made the score 39-38, giving the Jackets their first lead of the game.
“I could talk about him for hours,” Calhoun said about Rowland. “He’s the best kid I’ve ever coached, and I’ve coached a lot of good ones. The last five games, he’s really carried us. I’m so proud of him and the basketball he’s been playing lately.”
Juke Boozer added 13 points for Rockmart, and Javin Whatley followed with nine points.
Model was led by Bomer with 16 points, Jabari Burge with 15 points, Dane Fisher with 13 points, and David Veillon with eight points.
The Jackets were set to face Chattooga in the finals on Saturday, but weather forced a postponement to Monday after press time. Check back online at Polkstandardjournal.com for results of the game.