Leesburg, Va. — Last season, the Rock Ridge High School boys basketball team played in seven games decided by one score; the Phoenix won just two of those seven games. So when Heritage High School pulled within a basket with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter of their tipoff tournament match up on November 30, Rock Ridge faced their first real test of the season.
“There were a lot of really close games last year that we were on the wrong side of, and we’re hoping we’re more experienced to win those games this year,” Rock Ridge head coach Jay Geyer said. “If we can, we’re going to be a pretty good team.”
[adrotate banner=”19″]Led by senior guard Alex Fitch – who scored 25 points and 8 rebounds – the Phoenix proved resilient, opening the lead back up to five then seven then eventually twelve to defeat the Pride, 63-51.
“He’s a blessing for us, because he’s just so consistent,” Geyer said. “Last year, it felt like our guys were waiting for him to do something, and now, he’s doing it in the flow.”
Where Rock Ridge really made their presence known was on the defensive side of the ball. The Phoenix drew more than half a dozen charges, led by senior guard Ryan Conrow who drew a school-record four offensive fouls.
“We knew coming in that they were going to run up and down and drive to the basket with their heads down,” Fitch said. “We wanted to step in and take charges to make them nervous about coming into the paint.”
Boys Basketball: Rock Ridge senior @alexfitch540 leads the Phoenix with 25 points, 8 rebounds. Sanderson adds 10 and 11. @RockRidgeHigh 63, @Pride_Hoops 51 FINAL #LoCoHoops
— LoCoSports (@LoCoSports) December 1, 2018
With all the charges drawn and a game plan to attack the basket, Rock Ridge got to the foul line 29 times connecting on 22 free throws.
“We knew that Heritage is physical, and they’re going to try to block shots,” Geyer said. “We wanted to attack the basket, and we got to the line which helped a lot tonight.”
On top of dominating the charity stripe, the Phoenix – and senior forward Andrew Sanderson, who quietly contributed a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards – controlled the glass, outrebounding the Pride, 38-24.
“We’ve been very focused on getting boards,” Sanderson said. “We’re a lot bigger team this year, so we need to execute on rebounding.”
After finishing their 2017-2018 campaign at 6-16, Rock Ridge is looking to get on a roll early and the win over Heritage gets them on the right track. The Phoenix (0-0, 1-1) are back in action on December 4 when they host Riverside (0-0, 2-0) in Ashburn. The Pride (0-0, 2-1) host Briar Woods (0-0, 1-1) on December 4 in Leesburg.
“We’re really coming together as a team. If somebody makes a mistake, we have positive body language,” Geyer said. “No matter where we are in a game, we’re still battling and staying together.”
Rock Ridge Stats
| Rock Ridge | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
Free Throws
|
| Alex Fitch | 25 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6-for-9 |
| Sam Larsen | 12 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10-for-11 |
| Andrew Sanderson | 10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4-for-6 |
| Evan Fitch | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-1 |
| Ryan Conrow | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Joe Simmons | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Phoenix Totals | 63 | 38 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 22-for-29 |
Heritage Stats
| Heritage | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
Free Throws
|
| Nathan Olafson | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Moustapha Sene | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Gio Seigler | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-for-0 |
| Max Jannes | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2-for-2 |
| Loic Ndjomgoue | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1-for-1 |
| Jacob Polight | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Drew Boyd | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Bobby Jeck | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Alex Tiokeng | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Arjun Wadehra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Brandon Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Pride Totals | 51 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 6-for-7 |