Englewood Holds Off Late Comeback, Sweeps Stanton

BY FABRIZIO GOWDY | JAN. 25, 2021 | SPORTS

In spite of an impressive fourth quarter rally, the Stanton College Preparatory School varsity boys basketball team was defeated 50-45 by the Englewood High School Rams at home Monday.

The first quarter was fast-paced but hectic and sloppy, with several turnovers and tipped balls as Englewood mounted a successful 1-3-1 trap. The Rams held the Blue Devils to six points in the opening quarter and went on a 11-2 run to end the first.

The Rams offense faired worse in the second, shooting poorly early in the quarter. Hitting just one field goal in five minutes, the Rams were unable to set up their trap, which is dependent on Stanton inbounding the ball. Stanton managed to shrink the Rams eight point lead to five. Senior Stanton guard Ro Vemuri hit a half court shot as the half expired, a shot that would have cut Englewood's lead to two, but was ruled late and not counted.

Stanton was well-positioned going into the second half, especially compared to its 17-point halftime deficit last time the two teams met, on Dec. 1. Ro Vemuri hit a three from the left corner to score the first points of the half, pulling the Blue Devils within two. But it was the closest Stanton would come to taking the lead, as Englewood proceeded to go on a 19-3 run. Stanton burned two timeouts trying to stop the Rams' run, but the effort was futile. In just five minutes, the Blue Devils went from being in a one-possession game to being down 18.

Stanton faced an uphill climb at the start of the forth. However, after initially trading baskets, Stanton managed to score six unanswered and cut the lead to nine with 3:14 to go, prompting a timeout. Senior guard Jaron Dains came off the bench to give Stanton an unexpected boost in the final minutes, repeatedly driving to the right side of the hoop scoring points ion the paint. Sensing an opportunity, the Blue Devils further closed the gap to 47-42 as the clock dipped under a minute to play. 

With 18.9 seconds remaining Vemuri hit a big three-pointer to cut the lead to 47-45. On the ensuing Rams possession, Junior forward Jerry Massaquoi went to the line to shoot one-and-one. Massaqoui sunk the first free throw, but missed the second, giving the Blue Devils the ball on their own baseline down three with 7.2 seconds to play. However, on the critical possession that followed, Stanton forward Jaron Dains was forced out of bounds on the right sideline, giving the ball back to Englewood before the Blue Devils had a chance to put the ball in the hands of one of their shooters. A pair of free throws by Englewood senior Ja’Corey Wilcox with 4.3 seconds remaining iced the game. 

The Rams five-point margin of victory was smaller than their 56-41 victory in their last matchup against Stanton. Englewood (3-12) gets its first back to back wins of the season and now heads home to play Sandalwood high school Tuesday. For Stanton (3-12), this is the first of four consecutive home games; the Blue Devils take on Episcopal School of Jacksonville Wednesday.