WEST PORTSMOUTH — On a night when former West and Michigan State star Trevon Pendleton had his jersey retired, and Minford star Brandon Rowe was destined to score his 1,000-career point, the actual basketball game appeared to be an after thought.
However, after a back-and-fourth affair, the Minford Falcons topped the West Senators 64-56 Friday night.
“I thought West played really well and we were very sloppy,” Falcons head coach Josh Shoemaker said. “We didn’t shoot it well from the foul line. We didn’t rebound well in the first half. But in the end, our kids made good plays down the stretch and won the ball game.”
Despite the loss, Senators head coach Scott Davis was extremely proud of the effort from his team.
“We were down six with three minutes left and I told them to keep battling,” Davis said. “I couldn’t be more prouder of my kids. They never quit tonight. They worked hard. They played hard. To play a team like Minford and to play that well, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Minford (9-1, 5-0) was led by Rowe, who scored his 1,000-career point in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 25 points.
“I thought he was really aggressive in the second half,” Shoemaker said. “We were hitting outside shots, so we got to the rim and got to the foul line, and made plays to win the game.”
West (3-7, 1-4) was led by LT Maynard who scored 15 points.
“LT just got hot there at the end and I told him if he got an open shot that he had a green light,” Davis said. “So, he got hot and started hitting them. We just had to foul there at the end of the game and it kept us from getting into a rhythm. But like I said, I’m so proud of these boys. They didn’t quit.”
Davis can see his team’s improvement but he still wants to see them cut down on the turnovers.
“We need to work on mental mistakes,” Davis said. “Turnovers have been our nemesis since day one. We’ve been working on it and getting better. We are going to continue to work on the mental part of the game.”
Box Score
Minford 8 20 22 14 — 64
West 14 10 19 13 — 56
Individual Statistics
Minford — McCormick 3-3-9, Rowe 7-9-25, Kelley 6-5-18, Alley 4-2-10.
West — Patrick 5-1-12, Howard 2-0-6, Maynard 5-1-12, Finley 2-0-4, Boggs 3-2-8, Frazier 4-1-10, Opperman 2-0-4.
Three-point field goals — Minford 5 (Rowe 2, Kelley 3); West 5 (Patrick, Howard 2, Maynard, Frazier)
Records — Minford 9-1 (5-0); West 3-7 (1-4).
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