After a fairly disappointing regular season, it wouldn't have been surprising to see the Richard Montgomery boys basketball team limp into the playoffs. However, after a 50-45 win on Tuesday over their crosstown rivals, Rockville, it's clear that the Rockets aren't going down quietly.
“This was our second straight win at home, and our only wins at home,” RM coach Scott Spear said. “This was so important since they're our rivals, this was a big game to us that we really wanted to win.”
RM did something that very few teams have been able to do all year, and that's contain Rockville star DeAndre Kelly. Kelly, who came into the game averaging 20 points per page, only was able to score five, and all of them came in the fourth quarter. Part of it was due to Kelly getting in early foul trouble, however, the Rockets played a great defense to limit him.
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“I have so much respect for DeAndre Kelly,” Spear said. “I coached him in middle school, and I know what he can do...We couldn't match up with him in a pure man, or even a pure zone, so we had to run the box-and-one and it worked tonight.”
Despite Kelly being contained, the Rams kept the game close, even taking a lead into the fourth quarter. Tyron White scored 12 points for Rockville, while Ryan Lamberg added 10 of his own. However, Sophomore Justin Senou took the game over in the second half, and hit some big shots on his way to 21 points. Armon Font added 11 of his own.
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“This game was important for a lot of reasons,” Spear said. “In the locker room before the game, we wrote play this like it's the playoffs, and that's what they did.”
RM now will try to carry that momentum into the playoffs. The Rockets drew the 9-seed in the 4A West region of the Maryland state playoffs, and will travel to face Whitman, the 8-seed on Friday. RM lost twice to Whitman during the regular season, though both were close, including a 3-point loss at Whitman in December.
Rockville will have to rebound as they go into the playoffs. Rockville drew the 8-seed in the 2A West region, and will host Francis Scott Key at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
