AUBURN - Auburn has capitalized at the offensive end of the court all season. But when Liverpool answered almost every bucket in Friday night's Section III, Class AA quarterfinal, the Maroons had to turn up the intensity on defense.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Auburn forward Jimmy Pitts drives past Liverpool's TJ Davis in the third quarter of Auburn's 62-51 victory in the Section III quarterfinals on Friday at Auburn High School. The Maroons will play undefeated Utica Proctor in the semifinals on Thursday.
Auburn forward Jimmy Pitts drives past Liverpool's TJ Davis in the third quarter of Auburn's 62-51 victory in the Section III quarterfinals on Friday at Auburn High School. The Maroons will play undefeated Utica Proctor in the semifinals on Thursday.
After trailing 29-28 at halftime, the Auburn boys basketball team was cohesive on defense and sunk the important buckets in a 62-51 come-from-behind win.
Auburn plays top-ranked and undefeated Utica Proctor in the semifinals Thursday.
Jimmy Pitts led the Maroons with 22 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks.
Struggling defensively in the first half, the Maroons managed to keep the score close, holding the lead at the end of the first quarter, 18-14. The Warriors played a strong second quarter, answering every shot the Maroons made.
By the second half, the Maroons defense came onto the court looking for the win. The Maroons defense held the Warriors to only 22 points second-half points.
“We played tough defense with a really good second half,” Auburn senior Dave Foltz said. “We played them hard and strong.” The Warriors missed some crucial shots from the charity stripe as they tried to take thelead back after trailing the end of the third quarter, 45-37.
“We started rebounding better and they couldn't score from the foul line,” Pitts said.
The Maroons went 5-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and made some big-time shots. With 3:35 left in the game, Malcolm Bryant converted an uncontested fast-break hoop to increase the Maroons lead to 58-42. The Warriors answered with a couple field goals and a 3-pointer with only 38 seconds left but it wasn't enough.
“It was a great win, the kids played really hard,” Auburn head coach Al Giannone said. “We played great offensively the entire game and really strong defensively in the second half. We just got it together and they played like a team.”
Foltz earned 14 points with two 3-pointers, seven rebounds, one steal and five assists for the Maroons.
Also scoring for the Maroons, Bryant picked up nine points, eight rebounds and three assists, Ben Race tallied eight points, Damien Whitaker scored six points, 13 rebounds, three steals and four assists, Nicholas Granato finished with three points and two rebounds, Ismail Brooks earned two rebounds and one assist and Kevin Hoercher contributed one rebound and one steal.
“It was a really good game, it felt good to win it,” Whitaker said. “We are better than ever now and I'm confident about our next game.”
The Maroons move on to play in the Section III Class AA semifinals Thursday.
Auburn plays top-ranked and undefeated Utica Proctor in the semifinals Thursday.
Jimmy Pitts led the Maroons with 22 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks.
Struggling defensively in the first half, the Maroons managed to keep the score close, holding the lead at the end of the first quarter, 18-14. The Warriors played a strong second quarter, answering every shot the Maroons made.
By the second half, the Maroons defense came onto the court looking for the win. The Maroons defense held the Warriors to only 22 points second-half points.
“We played tough defense with a really good second half,” Auburn senior Dave Foltz said. “We played them hard and strong.” The Warriors missed some crucial shots from the charity stripe as they tried to take thelead back after trailing the end of the third quarter, 45-37.
“We started rebounding better and they couldn't score from the foul line,” Pitts said.
The Maroons went 5-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and made some big-time shots. With 3:35 left in the game, Malcolm Bryant converted an uncontested fast-break hoop to increase the Maroons lead to 58-42. The Warriors answered with a couple field goals and a 3-pointer with only 38 seconds left but it wasn't enough.
“It was a great win, the kids played really hard,” Auburn head coach Al Giannone said. “We played great offensively the entire game and really strong defensively in the second half. We just got it together and they played like a team.”
Foltz earned 14 points with two 3-pointers, seven rebounds, one steal and five assists for the Maroons.
Also scoring for the Maroons, Bryant picked up nine points, eight rebounds and three assists, Ben Race tallied eight points, Damien Whitaker scored six points, 13 rebounds, three steals and four assists, Nicholas Granato finished with three points and two rebounds, Ismail Brooks earned two rebounds and one assist and Kevin Hoercher contributed one rebound and one steal.
“It was a really good game, it felt good to win it,” Whitaker said. “We are better than ever now and I'm confident about our next game.”
The Maroons move on to play in the Section III Class AA semifinals Thursday.
