Flat Rock's boys basketball team earned important league win at SMCC
MONROE – A single bucket.
That’s all Flat Rock scored for the first six and a half minutes of Tuesday night’s boys basketball game.
The Rams gained their footing over the next 25 minutes though, scoring 48 more points on their way to a 50-39 victory over St Mary Catholic Central.
Flat Rock trailed 9-2 as the first quarter was winding down, but Michael Giroux’s basket launced a comeback, then back-to-back 3-pointers by Graham Junge to give the Rams a 10-9 advantage after one period.
More shooting woes continued into the second quarter though and the Rams took a slim 17-15 lead into the intermission.
A lot of points were left behind in that first half.
“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in the first half, I think we only shot 23 percent from the three and maybe 28 percent overall,” Flat Rock coach Rick Smith said. “I think if we shoot a little bit better, we could’ve extended that lead to 10 or 12 points instead of just 2.”
Flat Rock scored 33 of their 50 points after the intermission.
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Cyrus Goins play coming off the bench was a microcosm of the Rams Jeykell and Hyde shooting; the sophomore shot 0-for-5 in the first half, but went 3-for-3 beyond the arch after the break to finish with 9 points.
Tim Murphy gave the Rams scores on their first two possessions of the second half. That opened things up for Goins.
“We try to get him in a spot where he’s comfortable, Tim Murphy had a nice little spurt in there, which I think opened things up for Cryus,” Smith Said. “It gave him just a little bit of space and he was able to knock those ones down.”
Goins’ confidence is growing as his coaches and teammates gain more confidence in him.
“The trust they have in me in those situations feels amazing,” Goins said. “Going 0-for-5 in the first half, but they tell me to keep shooting it so it feels good when your team believes in you.”
A road win in a hostile environment was huge for Flat Rock, which extends its record to 8-3 and 3-0 in Huron League play.
“The gym’s small, so it’s not an easy place to play,” Goins said. “Battling through all the issues and being able to come out with a win it’s huge.”
Junge, who was held scoreless the last time Flat Rock visited SMCC, finished with 12 points and 5 assists, while Alex Gillium grabbed 13 boards.
Despite being on the wrong side of the score SMCC coach Randy Windham said it was the best performance of the year for the Falcons.
“I thought we played really well, especially against that team which is really good and well coached,” he said. “Defensively we were as locked in as we have been all year, but they just have so many weapons.”
Ian Foster finished with 15 points to lead the 3-4 Falcons and Brady Hines added 11.
“We’re getting better,” Windham said.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Flat Rock overcomes slow start in boys basketball win at SMCC
