Rams Jump Out Early, Close Out Late

The Rockville boys basketball team got off to a fast start and, despite a rough second quarter, never gave up the lead en route to a 51-38 home win over Einstein on Wednesday night.

Rockville jumped out to an early 12-0 lead, led by Obed Rivera-Reyes on offense, and had stifling interior defense for most of the first quarter. Einstein scored their first point off of a free throw with 1:45 left in the first. The Titans went on to score 6 more before the quarter ended, leaving the Rams with just a 12-7 lead.

Despite the Rams' toughness in the paint on defense, Einstein started to catch fire on the perimeter, and outscored Rockville in the second quarter. Rockville scored just 8 points, and led 20-18 going into halftime.

“We haven't played a complete game yet, and tonight was no exception,” Rockville coach G.J. Kissal said. “It's just our bad quarter came in the second quarter ... so we focused on being tougher at halftime.”

Rockville broke the game open in the third quarter. They went on a 16-4 run, extending their lead to 14 before 4 late points by Einstein cut the lead to 10. Several times in the quarter, Rivera-Reyes made a key shot or pass and finished with a team-high 16 points for the game.

“Obed is our energy source,” Kissal said. “When he gets going, we get going ... When you're on your heels and you need something, you need someone to make a play. And the ball ended up in his hands, and he made the plays we needed.”

The teams played evenly for the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer by Reyes-Rivera with just over two minutes left extended the lead to 14, and put the final touches on a much-needed win by the Rams. Rockville (2-4) lost their first four games of the season but have now won their last two games before winter break.

“You can't say enough about it, how we needed to win these games,” Kissal said. “We're now playing closer to what we think we're capable of. We still have a lot to work on, but we think this is a lot more indicitive of what we thought we can do.”

Rockville has a week off before they face Avalon at home on Wednesday.