The RimRockers defeated the ABA Texas Chaparrals,
loss to the North Texas Fresh
Janaury 18, 2010 - 7:30am
By Jonathan Bentley
After a close loss to the New Mexico All-Stars in its season opener on December 19th, the RimRockers Play2Win's basketball team celebrated an 131-121 victory over the Texas Chaparrals on Saturday, January 16th in Euless, Texas. Thanks in large part to an aggressive offense, the RimRockers were able to keep its lead over the Chaparrals throughout the entire game.
Starting power forward Reece Hampton started off the game with three quick baskets, pushing the RimRockers (10-2) ahead of rival Texas Chaparrals (12-3) early in the first quarter. Hampton led the team with 17 points in the first half (and a game total of 33 points), scoring on the buzzer to give the RimRockers a 67-44 lead before halftime.
“We played well,” Hampton said of the RimRockers’ offense. “We are a strong offensive team. We had some good looks and made open shots.” Following an Chaparrals timeout halfway through the second quarter, the RimRockers ramped up their offense significantly. The Chaparrals’s two leading scorers, (# 2) Jenkins and (# 4) Johnson, contributed nine and eight points respectively in the second quarter, fighting to catch up to the RimRockers.
But it was not enough to get ahead going in to the second half, Wade Elliott, TJ Tate, Kelvin Moore, Carl Washington, Felix Aquiar and tryout participant Rob Smith lead a second half scoring surge with a 22-7 run, and Hampton topped it off with a thunderous tip-in dunk on the final possesion of the third quarter.
RimRockers Play2Win Head Coach Jonathan Bentley was very pleased with the win.“We was a little sluggish coming on,” Bentley said. “But we got it together and overall we played well.”
Following their 10-point victory, The second game of the double header was against the ABA North Texas Fresh. This game featured the players who attended the RimRockers' Open Player Tryouts and were brought in to test their mettle against the Fresh.
The Fresh came out with a defensive minded attitude and started the game with an 11-2 run. A scrambling full court defense kept the Rim Rockers at bay with the Fresh taking a 45-19 point lead at half-time. After that time, the Fresh never loooked back, ending the game ahead by 39 points.
Point guard JB Smiley upheld his point-scoring reputation, earning the RimRockers' 11 points against the Fresh in the first half. Center Wale Adeyemi also contributed considerably to RimRockers’ offensive prowess, earning a team-high of 17 points on Saturday.
Bentley, acknowledging the relatively young team, commented on how the rookies were adjusting to their first exposure to semi-pro basketball. “They’re handling the nerves of the game pretty well for the most part,” Bentley said. “They settled down and did their job in the second half.”
Their job was to maintain their composure and work together as a team, in the second half, they certainly did so. When starting two guard Charlie Reese accompanied the tryout participants on the court, he lead the RimRockers’ second half surge including a game-changing block that let the Fresh know the next time we play them again we will be ready. The game ended in a 93-54 victory for the Fresh.
Jonathan Bentley, Director of Basketball Operations and Head Coach, expressed confidence in the team for their upcoming games. “We have a lot of potential and I like our attitudes,” Bentley said. “The players listen and learn and want to get better, and I think we’ll continue to improve.”
The team hopes to for another victory this Friday when it will play the New Mexico All-Stars in the New Mexico Classic Series in Albuquerque, NM. “I feel good going into the season,” Jonathan Bentley said. “We’ve really come together as a team. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, but I think we’ll get stronger as the season carries on."
For more information the RimRockers Play2Win and/or upcoming basketball games, log on to: www.gorimrockers.com or call us 915.538.8930
