Eagles fall after tough battle

Green Tech can’t finish late rally, suffers defeat in back-and-forth clash

The 2018-19 season so far for the Green Tech boys’ basketball team has been like riding one of those high-tech roller coasters at theme parks: the highs are exhilarating and the sudden drops in altitude are swift. Saturday proved to be another stomach-churning plummet for the Eagles.

Green Tech exchanged the lead 19 times and shared it nine times through three quarters against James Monroe, fell behind by 10 points with 2:12 left and rallied within one possession before falling 67-62.

It was the second loss of the week for Green Tech, a Class A A independent program that now stands at 5-5 overall. The Eagles also dropped a 72-59 decision at Mekeel Christian Academy on Tuesday.

“Two steps forward, five steps back,” Green Tech coach DJ Jones said. “It is all an intensity thing with us. We wait until we get down.”

“As a team, we need to get together and talk about our downfalls,” Green Tech junior standout Kemore Johnson said. “We need to come together.”

The Eagles produced several sterling sequences at both ends of the floor, yet they also suffered through some lulls in concentration that James Monroe exploited.

The teams exchanged the lead 10 times in succession in the third quarter before James Monroe took a 45-38 edge into the final eight minutes.

After a foul shot by Sage Borbon pushed the lead to eight points, Green Tech junior forward Rufus Mccain scored four straight baskets to forge the game’s 10th tie at 46.

Borbon, who proved to be a pest on defense in registering five steals, drained a 3-pointer with 3:41 left to give James Monroe a 53-47 edge.

Tommy Harbour answered back for the Eagles with a rebound and conversion, but James Monroe junior Alberto Paulino buried a pair of clutch 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Green Tech turnover, to extend the lead to 59-49 with 2:12 remaining.

Green Tech junior guard

Jorr Norgaisse scored seven of his nine points in the final 90 seconds to help the Eagles close within 62-59 with 49 seconds left, but James Monroe managed to convert five of six free throws

to seal the road win.

Johnson, who paced Green Tech with 12 points and 10 rebounds, believes the pieces are in place to be a viable Section II Class AA title contender.

“We need to keep pushing and keep striving,” Johnson said. “Mentally, we need to be stronger.”

“You never know with us,” Jones said. “We’ve been down by 20 and come

back, we’ve taken some big losses and had some good wins. Hopefully, our schedule plays in our favor at the end of the season. I think it will.”

Green Tech will face Albany Academy next Saturday at Washington Avenue Armory as part of the seven-game South portion of the Slam North South Classic.

“We’ve got Albany Academy coming up on the 19th. We need to get our heads in shape and keep working,” Johnson said.

“Everybody is talking about Academy, but we’ve got Hudson down there (Friday) and we’ve got to go take care of business,” Jones said. “We can’t look past them because they are a Class B team. They are dangerous, have a great record and have two solid players (in Lavon Fernandez and Dayquan Griffin) that we need to focus on.”