J-M, Frazier suspended because of leaky roof
Jefferson-Morgan’s Dominique Cage (left) collides with Frazier’s Jared Rebovich during Friday’s game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Frazier’s Zach Poling (32) receives a pass from a teammate as Jefferson-Morgan’s Dominique Cage (5) defends during Friday’s Section 5-AA game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Frazier’s Paul Pellick (12) charges through Jefferson-Morgan’s defenders during Friday’s game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Frazier’s Jared Rebovich (22) passes to a teammate around Jefferson-Morgan’s Jordan Dicks (15) during Friday’s Section 5-AAA game at Jefferson-Morgan High School.
Jefferson-Morgan’s Dominique Cage (5) leaps for two points over the Frazier defense during Friday’s Section 5-AA game at Jefferson-Morgan High School. (Photo by Joel Brewton)
JEFFERSON — With 2:18 left in the fourth quarter and Jefferson-Morgan leading Frazier, 61-55, the highly-entertaining Section 5-AA contest was suspended because of a leaking roof and water on the court.
Earlier in the day, the gymnasium roof was leaking and the junior varsity game was cancelled. Crews fixed the roof and patched the hole so that the varsity game could be played, but another hole appeared in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
The referees and the coaches decided to suspend the game because of the leak and water on the court near one of the hoops.
“We didn’t play the JV game because of the roof, but they did get it fix for the start of the varsity game,” J-M coach Chris Niemiec said. “I thought we were in the clear, but then another spot started to leak and we just had to suspend the game.”
The game will be resumed on Jan. 29 at Perryopolis, and will begin at the 2:18 mark of the fourth quarter with the Rockets having possession of the ball. After that game concludes, the two teams will play their regularly scheduled section game at Frazier.
“It’s been a while since I saw a basketball game getting suspended,” Frazier coach Ed Keebler said. “We were at somewhere a couple of years ago when the roof leaked because of ice build-up. What can you do. It’s tough for both teams and it’s the only decision that was fair for all parties.”
In a battle of winless teams within Section 5-AA play, J-M’s Travis Taylor and Dominique Cage began the scoring with fast-break lay-ups, but Frazier countered with two buckets of their own by Jared Rebovich and Zach Poling.
The Rockets ended the first frame on a 9-2 spree, courtesy of baskets from Taylor and Cage, and five points from Rece Henneman, for a 13-4 lead at the end of one.
The Commodores tallied the first six points of the second period, but the Rockets responded with a 7-2 run via two more buckets from Henneman and a trey from Austin Clark to give them a 20-14 lead midway through the quarter.
Frazier registered an 11-6 run in the late stages of the second quarter and took its first lead of the night, 27-26, after two free throws from Vinny Bucci.
After attempting no shots from the free throw line in the opening eight minutes, the Commodores shot 11-of-15 from the charity stripe in the second quarter.
“We were sluggish in the first quarter and battled back the whole night,” Keebler said. “We were battling a two-week lay-off and were out of sync in the first quarter. We got our flow in the second quarter and put up 21 points. We were aggressive going to the hoop and getting to the line.”
Henneman added a late basket for J-M before halftime, as the Rockets held a 28-27 lead.
After both teams traded 3-pointers to start the third quarter, J-M went on a 10-4 run to extend its lead to 41-34, but once again Frazier fought back with a 6-2 run and knotted things up at 43-43 after a shot from beyond the arc by Paul Pellick.
The Rockets collected two buckets to end the third from Henneman and Jordan Dicks, and held a 47-43 advantage after three quarters.
In the fourth, Taylor connected on a 3-pointer to give the home team a 50-43 edge, but the visitors trimmed the deficit to 54-51 minutes later after a lay-up by Drew Lucas.
On J-M’s next possession, Henneman collected an old-fashioned 3-point play to make it 57-51 with 4:33 left in the fourth.
After two foul shots from Bucci, Dicks and Cage added a pair of free throws for a 61-53 lead before Frazier’s Charlie Manack added two shots from the charity stripe for the final points in the suspended game.
Henneman scored a game-high 18 points for the Rockets, followed by Cage (14), Taylor (12) and Dicks (10).
“Our transition game carried us tonight,” Niemiec said. “We have excellent team speed and our bigs are pretty quick and athletic. We must rely on our fast break game to help our offense and get those easy baskets. It was back and forth in the second half, and every time Frazier battled back, we answered them with a run of our own.”
The Commodores’ leading scorers in the game were Manack (13), Lucas (12), Bucci (11) and Pellick (11).
Both squads will continue section play on Tuesday, as Frazier hosts Charleroi and J-M travels to Bentworth.
Boys Basketball Sum
Section 5-AA
Frazier 6-21-16-12 — 55
Jefferson-Morgan 13-15-19-14 — 61
Game was suspended at the 2:18 mark of the fourth quarter due to a leaking roof. Game will resume at that point at Frazier on Jan. 29.
Frazier: Charlie Manack 13, Drew Lucas 12, Paul Pellick 11, Vinny Bucci 11. Jefferson-Morgan: Rece Henneman 16, Dominique Cage 14, Travis Taylor 12, Jordan Dicks 10. Records: Frazier (1-6, 0-3), Jefferson-Morgan (4-6, 0-3).