The Richard Montgomery boys basketball team took a short drive down Wootton Parkway to find the 4-5 Wootton Patriots waiting for them, hungry for redemption from last season’s 78-64 Rocket win.

The boys, led by senior captains Evan Threet and Jordan Stover, were more than ready to add another win to RM’s 7-1 record in their nearly undefeated season blemished by a 67-62 loss to Bladensburg High School in the annual Brad Pinchback Tournament over winter break.

“We just wanted to play hard and keep our minds in the right place,” said senior guard Jashon Hawkins, who would go on to score 22 points for his team that night and sink six three-pointers.

Senior Zaire Mitchell-Paden took the tip-off for the Rockets, batting it back to Stover to start. The back-and-forth beginning to the game would foreshadow the rest, with a Rocket turnover giving Wootton possession, then a Patriot mishandle quickly following suit that allowed Mitchell-Paden to grab the opening point.

RM’s advantage seemed to end as soon as it began. Missed shots and rebounds, along with several unforced turnovers plagued the Rockets throughout the first half.

Wootton wasn’t having much better luck at the other end of the court. Countless of their offensive efforts were denied by the well-oiled machine RM called their defense, fueled by hustle and strong communication.

The first half ended 27-22 with RM in the lead.

“They were playing really good defense,” said head coach David Breslaw. “But we were taking a lot of questionable shots, which wasn’t exactly what we wanted.”

The Rockets seemed to be playing down to Wootton’s level–the players out on the court Tuesday night definitely weren’t the same ones who battled undefeated Bladensburg over the break.

“Coach [Breslaw] just said to slow the ball down, get open shots, and control the clock,” said Hawkins. “If we could put all that together we knew we would win the game.”

5’9” Hawkins would meet his match during the second half in Ryan Warshaw, Wootton’s 5’8” guard who, like Hawkins, led his team in scoring that night, 12 of his 18 points made from three-pointers.

The third quarter started out rough for the Rockets, with two turnovers within the first minute of the game that allowed the Patriots to creep up on RM’s five-point lead.

Wotton had closed the margin to a single point before a traveling call handed possession to the Rockets, which resulted in a three-pointer from junior Daryn Alexander that jump-started RM’s offensive momentum.

Guards Alexander and Threet continued to be a supporting force in their offense, Alexander with a total of nine points and Threet with eight.

The steady energy throughout the final quarter gave the Rockets the chance to settle in and pull ahead. Mitchell-Paden wrapped up their 56-47 win with one of his signature dunks, adding another two points to the six he had already scored that night.

Despite the win, the Rockets were less than satisfied with their performance.

“We just want to cut down these turnovers and all sorts of rebounds that we’ve been giving up,” said Breslaw. “It’s like we’re playing against ourselves, and we’re not accomplishing any of our goals with this kind of game.”

“We go after loose balls, we play hard defense, we box out, we rebound,” Hawkins listed. “We always just try to work harder than the other team…hopefully we can stay focused, keep that same mentality, and we’ll come out with the win.”

The Rockets will travel to take on the 1-8 Wheaton Knights this Friday, following the girls varsity basketball game at 5:30 p.m.