It is often stated that is not how you start a game, but how you finish it. The South River Seahawks certainly proved that point Wednesday night. Spurred by a second-half scoring barrage, South River rallied for a 62-56 victory home win over Meade.
Seahawks junior Jonah Hall led all scorers with 23 points, followed closely by Jaden McDuffie (18) and Jamie Finn (15). Keon Scott (18) and Arouna Soumaoro (16) scored in double figures for the Mustangs.
“What a battle,” said South River coach Darren Hall. “We expected nothing less from those guys. They are so tough and so well coached. We knew we had our hands full. They gave us trouble on both ends of the court and that is a very good basketball team.”
South River (5-0) trailed Meade (2-3) by five at halftime, but that lead swelled to 13 as the Mustangs scored the first eight points of the second half.
After struggling to find their rhythm early on, the Seahawks came alive toward the end of the third quarter, closing the gap to within two twice. McDuffie led the charge, scoring a critical five points and assisted Jonah Hall on a basket that levelled the score at 42. Hall’s 3-point play with 45 seconds left in the quarter have South River its first lead, and another bucket a short time later put South River up five going into the fourth.
All totaled, it was a 20-2 run that flipped the game around.
In the fourth quarter, defense ruled the court with both teams implementing a high press to contain their opponents’ speedy guard play. With neither side able to get a clear chance into the passing lane, scoring opportunities were few and far between. When one did break through, they quickly met with a counter-strike by the other. After guard Ashton Turman gave Meade the lead back, South River quickly returned the favor with Finn hitting two consecutive baskets to put the Seahawks up 57-54.
“I think things changed for us on the defensive end,” coach Hall said. “They were giving us so much trouble and we were able to get some stops in the second half which led to some easier opportunities for us and in transition.”
With under a minute to play, Jonah Hall sealed the victory from beyond the 3-point line to extend South River’s lead to 60-56.
“He is so poised,” coach Hall said of Jonah. ”He has such a good feel for what is going on and he is fearless. When we need a big shot he is ready. But all of our guys are warriors. Jaden and Jaime also had some big moments from all of us. Just a complete effort from all of our boys.”
Despite having to make the long ride over to Edgewater on a Wednesday night, the Mustangs looked more than comfortable on the road. Their defense set the tone early, limiting the Seahawks’ opportunities in the point forcing South River to take long distance 3-pointers or dangerous drives inside. Forwards Nasir Little and James Johnson worked seamlessly inside to hold the Seahawks at bay and collect timely rebounds.
Although Meade dominated scoring early in the first quarter, South River pulled to within four before the buzzer with Finn nailing a shot from just beyond the half court line.
South River came alive following the energy boost Finn provided, taking the lead twice in the period. But the Mustangs’ attack matched them blow-for-blow, using a series of quick passes to catch South River off guard and pull back ahead. Scott and Jacob Tuazon led the charge as the lead got as big as six.
The Seahawks clawed their way back toward the end of the second quarter with Hank Oxendine hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to close the gap to three. But Scott once again proved to be a thorn in the Seahawks’ sides, as his late free throws gave Meade a 32-27 halftime lead.
Meade continued its scoring barrage at the start of the second half. Using their quick passing and crisp movement off of the ball, the Mustangs went on an 8-0 run to start the second half to pull ahead 40-27 before things spiraled in the Seahawks’ favor.
“I was proud of our guys,” coach Hall said. “We didn’t flow consistently like I would have liked but we battled and we made some big shots so we will take it.”
South River 62, Meade 56
Meade — 16 16 10 14 — 56
South River — 12 15 20 15 — 62
SR- Hall 23, McDuffie 18, Finn 15, Oxendine 6
M-Scott 18, Soumaoro 16, Turman 8, Johnson 6, Matthews 6, Tuazon 2
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