Blue Devils are enjoying a strong season
The 2006-2007 version of the Ewing High School varsity boys’ basketball team will never forget its 66-65 loss to
Rancocas Valley Regional High School ...
The 2006-2007 version of the Ewing High School varsity boys’ basketball team will never forget its 66-65 loss to
Rancocas Valley Regional High School in the championship game of the Blue Devil/Red Devil Holiday Tournament which
Ewing hosted at Emil Wandishin Gymnasium at the end of December.
The Blue Devils will never forget it because head coach Shelly Dearden won;t let them.
Ewing was in control of the game versus the undefeated Red Devils with a five-point lead and 55 seconds left. Then the
unthinkable happened. Rancocas Valley forced four consecutive turnovers and scored on three of them to shock the
home team.
Red Devils guard Derick Jones started the turnaround when he was fouled after a steal and made two free throws cut
the Blue Devils; lead to 65-62.
On Ewing's next possession, RV big man Kelvin White stole the ball and assisted on a scoop layup, which cut
the home team’s lead to one point with 20.7 seconds remaining.
Rancocas Valley immediately pressed the Blue Devils, who coughed up the ball once more. That turnover was costly as
White got open ahead of the pack for a slam dunk, which gave the visitors just their fourth lead of the game.
Ewing still had time to try to get back on top, but after White swatted away a 3-point attempt by Will Brown with 2.8
seconds left, Jones knocked away the attempted inbounds pass to keep the Red Devils’ record unblemished.
I can't believe we could have a five-point lead with 55 seconds left and lose the game Dearden
said.
During a timeout with 55 seconds left, I told them, ‘Just keep it spread out. Keep moving the ball and
get it to Pervis [Donaldson, 21 points] because he’d been hot or to Anthony Hunter [because he'd just hit
two foul shots before that [to give the Blue Devils a 65-60 lead with 1:11 left].We gave it away. We gave up the
ball.
It was the kind of loss which a good team never forgets because it never should have happened in the first place. And
remember the Ewing players did when they returned to the court Jan. 5 for a big showdown with defending NJSIAA
Group III state champion Hamilton West. The Blue Devils, who had taken the Hornets to overtime a year ago, made no
mistake about it this time around as they defeated Hamilton, 75-53.
A showdown with Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division-leading Trenton on the road four days later did not go as
well as Ewing would have liked. But the 79-70 loss the Blue Devils suffered that night at Tornado Alley also served to fuel
them. Ewing won five consecutive games after that defeating Westampton Tech, 82-68; Allentown, 95-44;
Nottingham, 67-55; West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 86-45; and Burlington City, 89-78.
What was the biggest difference in the Blue Devils over that three-week period? We're playing more as a team now, Ewing
6 foot-3 senior forward Will Brown said after noting that he definitely remembered the game with Rancocas
Valley.
We are just getting used to the pressure we need to be able to face.
Heading into a home game with Steinert Jan. 23, the Blue Devils had a 9-3 record, meaning they had already
accomplished what last year's team missed out on – locking up a berth in the
state tournament.
That's been our goal all along, Dearden said. Now that we're in, we want to try to
get the best seed we can and keep growing as a team.
Considering her squads only other loss (72-65) came at West Windsor-Plainsboro South in its season opener,
Ewing figures to get stronger as it prepares for states and the Mercer County Tournament, which begins Feb. 12.
As seniors like Brown, Donaldson, Hunter and 6-foot-2 guard Antoine Rogers take turns scoring in double figures, along
with constantly improving 6-foot-5½ junior forward/center Stephen Shimko, the Blue Devils should prove to be a force
with which to be reckoned in the postseason.
And, in the back of their minds, they will always remember that hard-to-swallow championship game loss to Rancocas
Valley.
With just over 10 seconds left and the clock running down, we just had to hold the ball, Dearden said,
reflecting once more. We didn't play smart basketball at the end of that game.
The Ewing boys’ basketball players and their coaching staff will strive to ensure that does not happen anymore
this season, especially as they head into their biggest games in February and March.
See more
at http://mercerspace.com
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