Rosewood falls behind, rallies past Princeton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 12, 2016 1:48 PM

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PRINCETON -- Daniel Mitchell insists he didn't peel the paint off the locker room walls during halftime Thursday evening.

Boy, did Rosewood sure look like a different team in the second half.

Senior Ethan Chapin torched the nets for a game- and career-high 29 points, the Eagles overcame a double-digit deficit and knocked off archrival Princeton, 59-51, on Thursday evening.

It was the Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season finale for both teams.

"We struggled to make shots early on in the game and they didn't. They shot the ball really well in the first half," RHS head coach Daniel Mitchell said. "We hung around."

Kelvin Woodard buried his first three 3-pointers of the game and helped the Bulldogs claim a 23-11 advantage around the midway point of the second quarter. The Eagles slowly shaved the deficit behind two 3-pointers from Zack Barnes and trailed 27-20 at the break.

Woodard shot 4 of 6 from behind the arc in the opening half.

"He really busted his butt," PHS head coach Jeff Davis said.

Rosewood climbed to within 30-29 on Barnes' two free throws with 5:18 left in the third quarter. Princeton's Grey McCoy, one of seven seniors recognized before tip-off, drained an uncontested 3-pointer from the right corner.

Noah Grantham drew a foul on a three-point attempt and drained three free throws to forge a 33-33 tie. Barnes got fouled on a step-back jumper and put Rosewood in front.

Chapin's conventional three-point play extended the Eagles' advantage to 40-35. The Bulldogs fought back and grabbed a 41-40 lead on the strength of 3-point shooting from Matt Daughtry and Chris Sauls.

"We played better tonight," Davis said. "We played them the last time and we slept walked, didn't even try. When we play like we can, we don't look like a 1-23 team. I was proud of their effort."

The archrivals staged a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter that included three ties and two lead changes within a 90-second period. Rosewood (10-12 overall, 9-5 CC) took command with a 6-0 run that included two offensive putbacks from Chapin and a Barnes steal at midcourt that led to a transition layup.

"A big turnover," Davis said.

Barnes finished with 19 points against a diamond-and-one defense that also allowed Chapin to score the ball. Chapin connected on 11 field goals, including eight in the paint.

Princeton (1-23 overall, 1-11) closed the gap to 54-51 with two free throws under the one-minute mark. Tucker Chapin and Marquail Al-montaser sealed the outcome with a combined 4-for-4 effort at the charity stripe.

"It was a must win for us to try to stay in the hunt for that last automatic (playoff) berth to get that three seed," said Mitchell, whose team got the defensive stops at key times and claimed a decisive a 16-7 advantage at the free throw line.