by Bill Turner
Scoring droughts can be problematic in the early going. They can be decisive in the fourth quarter.
Such was the play Tuesday night as Patrick Henry held William Fleming scoreless in the first 5:10 of the final quarter to down the Colonels 60-54 in the cross-town rivalry at the packed Fleming gym.
Fleming gave the Patriots all they could handle in the first three quarters. The Colonels led 26-20 at the half, with PH never getting to a one-and-one situation in the opening 16 minutes. Fleming was its own enemy, missing numerous chances at the free throw line that held their lead to six.
Patrick Henry finally got the lead late in the third quarter before Fleming would close with a run to take a two point advantage to the final frame.
“At GW last week we got outworked,” Patriot Head Coach Jack Esworthy said after the game. “Tonight we were outworked in the first half. I begged our guys at the break to pick it up and at least go down fighting.”
The Patriots responded in the fourth. Down 46-44 to open the final frame, PH picked up its defense and by the time Fleming got its first points with 2:50 remaining, the Patriots owned a double-digit lead. Fleming would get to within 3 points down the stretch before Patrick Henry was able to hold on and run out the clock.
“We needed a win badly,” Esworthy added. “Marcus Banks took it over in the fourth quarter. We took bad shots in the first half and good shots in the second half. This is a huge rivalry game. I’ll take a 1-0 win.”
“PH is a good ball club,” Colonel Head Coach Mickey Hardy noted in the Fleming locker room. “It’s a big rivalry and was very competitive. My guys played hard- that’s what you want. This game was a 12-round fight, and we fought 11. I told our players PH would make a run at us; in the fourth quarter, they did.”
Banks led the Patrick Henry scoring with 18 points, 15 coming in the second half. BJ Hamlett added 16 for the Patriots, with Nick Ollie chipping in 11.
Wliiam Fleming’s attack was paced by Warren Craft’s 17 points, with Miles Henderson adding 16 for the Colonels.
