Big Second Quarter Propels Patriots Past Rockets, 66-54

Eight minutes into Wednesday night's game, Wootton trailed by nine points and head coach Chris Bohlen watched as visiting Richard Montgomery took over a tied game midway through the opening quarter and closed it on a 13-4 run. 

But Bohlen didn't panic. During the break between the first and second quarter, he calmly reminded his players to continue to execute and fight. The Patriots responded in a big way. Backed by strong offensive play and stingy defense, Wootton outscored the Rockets 19-5 in the second stanza en route to a 66-54 win in front of an exuberant home crowd.

"I think that was huge," Bohlen said of his team's effort in that second quarter. "We've been working a lot in practice on being more aggressive driving to the hole and finishing our own baskets. I thought our guys did a really nice job executing on offense."

Wootton entered the second quarter trailing 21-12 but a big three-pointer to start the period quickly cut into Richard Montgomery's lead and little by little, the Patriots began to chip away even more, spreading the ball around efficiently and hitting big shots when needed. Wootton started the quarter on a 12-0 run and led 24-21 before Richard Montgomery scored its first basket of the second quarter nearly six minutes in with 2:18 left in the half.

The five points scored in the second quarter for Richard Montgomery matches a season-low -- the opening quarter of the season in a 51-40 win over Wheaton on Dec. 6.

"Holding a team like that to five points, obviously, you have to credit our defense," Bohlen said. "I can't say enough about how well our guys executed tonight."

Wootton led at the break 31-26 and added to its lead early in the third quarter and was up 35-26 -- its biggest lead of the game at that point -- when Richard Montgomery began to put together a little run of its own. Refusing to go away, the Rockets cut the lead to four, 40-36, with just over five minutes to go in the quarter, but senior guard Willis Ibeh and the Patriots didn't let it get any closer than that and pulled away again late in the third quarter. Wootton then closed out the third period on a 10-4 run and led 50-40 heading into the fourth.

The Patriots (4-2) finished the game with 16 points in the game's final period to give Wootton its fourth win of the season. Ibeh led all scorers with 23 points, 13 of which came in the first half, while Nicolas Texier added 16.

"They did a good job trying to deny my looks," Ibeh said. "But I just continued to focus on driving to the basket and getting good shots."

Justin Senou, who came in averaging nearly 25 points per game, which leads Montgomery County, had 19 in the losing effort for Richard Montgomery (3-3). Tory Sharps led all Rockets with 22 points.

Bohlen credited his team's effort in limiting Senou on Wednesday and added that the win over the Rockets was a bit of a statement game for his program at this early point in the season.

"We always look at the RM game as sort of a benchmark game for us," Bohlen said. "It's a great test for us and I can't say enough how proud I am of our guys."

The game was the conference opener for both teams.

Wootton's next game is Dec. 28 against Watkins Mill as part of the Patriots' annual winter break tournament, which also features Rockville and local private school, Avalon.