Individuals win awards, but teams win championships. Yesterday against Hereford the Rams’ great display of team basketball propelled them to their second playoff win. After hosting a home playoff game last week, the Rams hit the road for their second round playoff game against the Hereford Bulls.
Hereford’s crowd yesterday was one of the loudest most passionate crowds I’ve ever been in but Coach English and his Rams didn’t let that distract them. That same crowd got really quiet after seniors Dwayne Banks and Anthony Granger connected on 2 alley-oops in the 1st quarter that gave the Rams instant momentum. The Rams also got contributions from Senior Trevor Atelefack and Junior Sterling Hughes that helped the Rams gain a 3 point lead at the half.
In the 3rd quarter the Rams dominated with contributions from their starting 5 and multiple players that came off the bench with the same intensity. Senior Dequan Harrison came off the bench and provided the Rams with a scoring boost in what was a very close game, he also made great passes and lead the team well. Kevin Makle and Eyabi Anoma are sophomores but they surely didn’t play like it; they worked hard in the paint and like Dequan, they played very valuable minutes off the bench yesterday. The 3rd quarter was the game changing run for the Rams, as a team they took control and held Hereford to less than 10 points in the 3rd quarter.
The 4th quarter began and as time wore down the Hereford crowd got louder. The Bulls just wouldn’t go away; they put pressure on the Rams offense and made multiple jump shots that kept them in the game. The number of free throws increased for the Rams but they took advantage and made them when they counted the most. Dwayne Banks was fouled the most, yet he kept his cool and made multiple free throws to give the Rams the lead late in the game. The Rams continued to defend and in the end they were too much for Hereford. Randallstown won this game 54-49 and they will “spring forward” to the regional final tomorrow against Patterson.