The RM boys basketball team was in their element. The buzzing crowd, the glistening gym floor, the familiar black and gold surrounding them—for the first time this season they were finally home.
All of their games had been away up until Wednesday’s matchup against Clarksburg, but that didn’t stop the team from winning every single one of them. First, Gaithersburg. Then, what had been The Washington Post’s seventh team in the state—Episcopal. After that, Blair.
But that night they were hungry for more.
“We weren’t really thinking about the past games. We were just concentrated on winning,” said Head Coach David Breslaw.
Senior Zaire Mitchell-Paden took the tip-off for RM, his towering 6’6” frame making it look easy. After that, it took less than fifteen seconds for Jashon Hawkins to sink a three-pointer for the first basket of the game. “Offensively, we just wanted to get the best shots as possible,” senior Jordan Stover said. “We tried not to rush anything.”
While RM continued to rack up points on the scoreboard, a disorganized Clarksburg offense seemed to lose possession every time they gained it.
Anchored by guards Daryn Alexander and Evan Threet, the Rockets fended off the Coyotes in the beginning of the first quarter with ease. It wasn’t until RM was up 8-0 that a foul on Hawkins gave Clarksburg two points from a free throw, which seemed to bring the Coyotes back to reality.
Clarksburg turned to their star player, senior Ian Krishnan, during the second quarter to make up for the late start in the first. Before the half ended, Krishnan had scored seven points and made several key defensive plays.
“[Krishnan’s] skills, we knew coming in, were great,” said Breslaw. “We just wanted to focus on taking him out of the equation and playing our own game.”
The second period was more back-and-forth compared to the first, with several RM turnovers and fouls giving the Coyotes more scoring opportunities. Luckily, the Rockets managed to end the half with a lead of 33-29.
“We emphasized hustle plays during the half, because it didn’t really look like we wanted the ball much,” Breslaw said.
Clarksburg started off the third quarter with possession and used it to take the second half’s opening point. Mitchell-Paden answered back moments later with a huge dunk, and the crowd erupted into cheers. A relentless Rocket defense allowed the team to pull ahead of the Coyotes as they ended the quarter, 54-43.
The five starters—Stover, Hawkins, Mitchell-Paden, Alexander, and Threet—returned to the court for the final period. Clarksburg fought ferociously for control of the ball throughout the remaining minutes, but still were left unable to gain momentum. However, the Rockets stayed composed, with major offensive efforts from Alexander, Mitchell-Paden, and Threet.
A two-pointer from sophomore Miles Gally sealed up the 78-62 Rocket win as well as their number one spot in the county, a position they don’t plan on giving up.
“We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and playing as a team,” continued Stover. “We know we can’t win by ourselves.”
Next Monday, the Rockets will play at Northwest, who they narrowly beat last year, and who are currently 1-3.
“They’ve always been a very athletic team. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep up and not give into their pressure,” Breslaw said. “It doesn’t matter what teams we play in the future, but the most important thing is that we’re getting better.”
