KEYSTONE HEIGHTS EDGES OUT STANTON IN NAILBITER
FABRIZIO GOWDY | DECEMBER 4, 2020 | SPORTS
The Keystone Heights High School Indians defeated Stanton boys basketball at home Friday, giving the Indians a 33-31 win to celebrate on their hour-long ride back to southwestern Clay County.
Stanton continued its recent trend of struggling early on offense. The Blue Devils fell behind 11-1 and failed to score a single shot from the floor until senior guard Ro Vemuri put up a floater with 1:39 to play in the first. Stanton finished the quarter with six points, meaning the Blue Devils have scored just 19 first quarter points through three games.
After falling behind by 10 early in the second, the Blue Devils rallied. Led by Ro Vemuri's 10 first half points, the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 second quarter run, cutting the Keystone Heights lead to a single point. Stanton's defense, led by Thomas McLaughlin, forced several turnovers and held the Indians to just six second quarter points. McLaughlin, a senior forward, recorded three first half blocks and drew a charge. The solid defense let the Blue Devils to get the break trailing by just two, despite shooting poorly for much of the first half.
The momentum the Blue Devils picked up in the second quarter did not die in the locker room, as Stanton opened the second half on a 9-2 run. Senior guard Tyler Pottenburgh tied the game on a heavily contested shot on Stanton's first possession, and a Thomas McLaughlin layup gave the Blue Devils the lead on the very next possession. Stanton's defense continued to play well. Senior guard Gage Stevens, Keystone Heights’ leading scorer, was held to just three points, despite averaging 20 points per game coming into the night. The Blue Devils clung to a three-point lead going into the fourth.
The closing quarter was a turnover-filled defensive battle. Neither team shot well, but six unanswered Keystone Heights Points but the Indians up 32-29 with three minutes to play. Much like the opening quarter, Stanton struggled offensively, with its first points of the quarter coming on a Ro Vemuri layup with just 2:15 to play in the game; Vemuri’s basket cut the Indians’ lead to one.
On the next three critical trips up the floor, promising Stanton shots rimmed in and out, leaving the Blue Devils no choice but to foul Keystone Heights’ Bryce Couey with 22.3 seconds remaining. With a one-and-one, the junior point guard made his first free throw but missed the second, giving the Blue Devils one last possession. Down two, Stanton couldn’t get an open shot, with Ro Vemuri finally opting for a difficult, contested floater in the paint with four seconds left. His shot couldn’t find the net, allowing Keystone Heights to grab the rebound, run out the remaining time, and claim a narrow road victory.
Now 0-3, the Blue Devils hope to pick up their first win Monday, when they host Seacoast Chrisitian Academy. The Indians get to 2-3, and move on to play Interlachen High School Tuesday.