BLOOMFIELD HILLS — The Eaglets of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep had led Brother Rice by as much as 14 points in their CHSL Central Division clash Tuesday night.
In a span of less than two minutes opening the fourth quarter, it had been whittled down to a single point, 47-46.
A pair of free throws by Luke Newman, a basket by Xavier Thomas and a triple by Mikkos Stewart rattled the Eaglets, who missed four shots and committed three turnovers.
Coach Todd Covert hastily called a time out.
Asked what he told his crew, he laughed: “Oh, it wasn’t anything special. I just told them to calm down. We’d sped things up a little too much.”
Refreshed by the 60-second pause, the Division 1 No. 3-ranked Eaglets went on a 13-5 run over the remaining 6:23 for a 60-51 victory to raise their record to 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the Central.
Sophomore Jack Crighton sparked the recovery with a 3-pointer from the corner followed by a basket by junior Harrison Ogochukwu.
Sophomore point guard Kareem Rozier (6) and junior forward Julian Roper (2) combined for eight free throws to close it out.
“We’re getting tougher mentally,” Covert said. “We play a heck of a schedule. Maybe there was one game it was easy to coach. Playing in the Catholic League is a battle, especially on the road.”
Roper had a game-high 20 points. “He was phenomenal,” Covert said, “on both offense and on the boards.”
Nine came in the first half. Along with 10 from Lorne Bowman II, they were responsible for 19 of St. Mary’s 30-21 halftime advantage.
Bowman ended up with 15 points. “He gutted it out,” Covert said. “He had the flu and didn’t practice all week. I didn’t know he was going to play until early this afternoon.”
Rozier had 14 on a pair of threes and eight free throws.
Brother Rice had a ragged first half, trailing 24-11 after the opening eight minutes. The Warriors were stifled by the Eaglets’ tenacious defense in the second quarter, enduring a 3-minute, 19-second scoreless stretch.
“We were nervous,” coach Rick Palmer said. “This is a learning experience playing in a big-time environment (a packed gym).”
The Warriors (8-3, 2-2) made a game of it. “We played hard,” Palmer said, “but there are no moral victories. We’re past that.”
Six-foot-five freshman forward Xavier Thomas had 13 points and Mikkos Stewart 10.
Senior Jon Brantley totaled nine points on three (of the team’s eight) triples. He sat out most of the fourth quarter after being whistled for his fourth foul late in the third quarter.
“I asked the players, 'Who wants to play St. Mary’s again?' (on Feb. 14) and they raised their hands. But, I said first we have a big game coming Friday,” Palmer said. Warren De La Salle comes in to avenge a 79-67 beating the Warriors administered two weeks ago on the Pilots’ floor.
St. Mary’s will be taking its act to the west side of the state to play Hudsonville (10-0, ranked No. 8 in Division 1). They play at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at Grand Rapids City High School as part of a six-game showcase.
