Rockets' red glare

Reese bombs Pats with big fourth quarter

By Josh Glitz

18 January 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Sebewaing-- The thumb area of Michigan is certainly not known for top quality basketball.

It can supply it on occasion, however, and it certainly did on Friday night.

The undefeated Reese Rockets went into USA and emerged unscathed in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.

The Rockets staked a claim to supremacy in the GTC with a 63-45 victory.

The first quarter featured the strong play of the two stars for the Patriots, junior Brandon Bitzer and senior Tim Holland. These two were able to control the quarter and made life hard for the Rockets. The Rockets on the other hand were showing some jitters and struggled for the entire quarter. At the end of one the score was 17-9 in favor of USA.

With calmed nerves in the second quarter, the Rockets climbed back into the game. Senior guard Ty Graham got going and lead the resurgent Rockets on a comeback late in the second quarter to tie the game at 28-28 going into the half.

With the score returned to equilibrium the stage was set for a tight second half.

The Rockets were starting to heat up, and the Patriots were yet to figure out how to defeat the pressure that Reese was applying with every inbound pass.

The stars were also shining as Holland and Bitzer led the way for the Patriots and Graham and senior Isaac Zimmer guided the Rockets. With conference title implications, it was no doubt both teams were going to come out firing.

Reese continued their surge to start the quarter going on a quick 7-0 run that put them up 35-28. With Bitzer on the bench, the Patriots were struggling getting good looks on the offensive end, and Reese was taking advantage. When Bitzer returned USA closed the gap, but were not able to overtake the Rockets. Going into the fourth the score was 39-36 in favor of Reese.

The fourth quarter started out real tight as the teams traded baskets. Then disaster struck for the Patriots, as Bitzer fouled out with 5:09 left and USA down seven points. Without Bitzer the Patriots struggled the rest of the game. Meanwhile Reese seemingly couldn’t miss a shot. As a result, Reese closed on a dominant note opening up an 18-point lead to close the game.

Game and Player Notes

-         This game took a long time because there were a lot of touch fouls. However, it was on both sides, so while it made the game a little longer than I would have liked, they did a good job handling what was a pretty physical game at the Class C level.

-         Reese did a lot of flopping in the first half and I felt like I was at a soccer game. Fortunately the refs were not rewarding them for this behavior.

-         USA had trouble inbounding the ball all night. This is going to need to be worked on if they want to make it far in the playoffs. I do have to give Reese credit for the pressure they put on the ball, however.

-         Brandon Bitzer is a good point guard. He did not do much scoring tonight, but he was constantly putting his teammates in position to score. He also did a good job handling the pressure that Reese put on the ball. When he was in the game the offense flowed for USA, without him it was stagnant. He did a good job feeding the ball down low to Tim Holland, who was having his way in the paint. He finished the game with nine points and five assists.

-         Tim Holland is a load down low. He is only 6’2’’, but he is strong and surprisingly athletic. The Rockets did not have an answer for him all night. He was a force on the boards and showed soft hands around the basket on offense. While Ty Graham may have an argument overall, Holland had the best individual game tonight. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

-         Isaac Zimmer showed some grit tonight for Reese. He played tough defense all night and came up with a few key baskets early in the fourth quarter. He also had a few that helped put the game away in the end. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

-         Ty Graham was the biggest name I knew of going into this game. He was not all too impressive tonight, unfortunately. Don’t get me wrong, Graham is a good shooter, but he had trouble creating good shots for himself. He also did not show the ability to finish in the lane or at the basket like I hoped he wold. Granted, part of this may be due to the fact that he twisted his ankle and had to sit out a few minutes. Overall he is capable of lighting it up from the perimter and is capable of making tough shots. He closed the game strong, making up for a poor first half. Graham finished with 13 points and six rebounds.