The American Heritage Patriots used a strong first half to hold off the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks 73-63. The Patriots were led in scoring by their pair of guards, junior Zaire Wade went for 18 and junior Andrew Volmar had 16.
It appeared as though the Patriots were set to cruise in this one, jumping out to an early 11-3 lead before a Maverick timeout early in the first quarter. American Heritage finished the quarter with a 29-16 advantage behind the play of senior Masai Olowokere.
Olowokere attacked the basket numerous times to lead all scorers with ten points after one.
Archbishop McCarthy gained some momentum late in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 45-35 before halftime. The Mavericks were led at the half by junior Ryan Velez with 9 points.
Archbishop McCarthy carried that momentum into the third, cutting the lead to five points with 6:53 remaining. Senior Nico Chee led the comeback, extending the Patriot defense with long range 3-point buckets. Chee would finish with 18 points on the night.
The rally forced head coach Fred Battle to call a timeout and regroup his players.
“They kind of switched it up on us in the third quarter, going to a 1-3-1”, said head coach Fred Battle. “That kind of threw us off a little bit and sped us up into taking quick shots. I tried to tell our guys just to settle down, we have the lead. We wanted to make them work and chase us, not chase them.”
Much of the momentum Archbishop regained was stopped by the play of Wade. After the third quarter timeout, Wade skated into the lane on the next play for an and-1 layup to halt the Maverick charge.
While his scoring was efficient, Wade set up Olowokere and freshman Darius Tinger underneath the basket all night. Tinger finished with 12 points, many of which came on the assist from Wade dribbling into the lane and getting Maverick defenders to commit in fear of his lethal driving ability.
If the play of Wade in a rivalry game wasn’t already impressive enough, also add the fact that his father was in attendance. Yes, the Miami Heat superstar was in the building to watch his son play.
However, if you think it might affect his play, you would be mistaken.
“I wouldn’t say I feel pressure,” said Wade. “He (Dwyane Wade) has been watching me play my whole life, so as I got older I just learn how to play my game and block it out.”
“It is great to have him there, but to me it’s just Dad. I just go out there like it’s another game. I try to listen to him and what he says, but I just go out and try to play my hardest.”
Michael Costeines is a contributor for Mars Reel based in South Florida
