The Rams couldn't hold on in the second half as they fell to the Olive-Harvey Panthers in a Nov. 29 matchup for first place in the City Colleges of Chicago standings.
Despite the change in lineup, Olive-Harvey's 6’7 center Ideary Mooney was still a problem down low, scoring 10 points in the paint during the first half of play.
Throughout the first ten minutes of play, the Rams were held in check offensively, only managing to score 10 points. They were constantly settling for contested jumpers and making unnecessary passes which led to 6 turnovers early on. After these turnovers, Thomas was extremely upset with his team and called a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Thomas inserted three-point specialst Ali Hadi into the game, and he instantly gave the Rams a boost, converting on three of his four 3-pointers. Three of his 3-pointers came in a row, and his shooting streak was the main reason that Wright was able to go into the half only down 42-34. The usual supporting cast of Wright was held in check during the first half, so having a bench player like Ali step up was an encouraging site for the team.
After a slow start, Wesley Woods kept attacking the rim and was able to score eight points early in the second half to give Wright some energy. Payton Branch built on this momentum by cashing in on a 3-pointer off of a turnover, and the Rams were finally able to put together back-to-back possessions with points, as they trailed 57-45 with 9:45 left.
The momentum of the game started to swing back to the Panthers when reigning CCC player of the week, Jemel Jones, started to take over the game. In the second half, Jemel was able to score 16 points, adding to his game-high total of 22. Jones wasn't the only one who got going in the second half for the Panthers, Bryce Baez added an additional 11 points to the team's second-half total.
After this offensive explosion from Olive-Harvey, the Rams had trouble running their offense, turning the ball over and missing baskets they usually make.
The Rams couldn't fight back from the deficit they faced and were defeated by the Panthers by a score of 81-58.
Comments