Ridgecroft off to 7-2 start
Published 12:44 pm Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Ridgecroft School raced out to seven straight wins.
The Rams, however, have suffered two narrow setbacks – one in overtime – as they stand 7-2 for the season.
Following a championship at the Lt. Nick Brantley Scholarship Tournament and a pair of non-conference wins, Ridgecroft easily dispatched of Tarheel Independent Conference foe Pungo Christian Academy by a 68-34 final.
The Rams scored 23 points in the first quarter and led 41-15 by the intermission. They went on to an easy victory to move to 1-0 in the league.
Michael Byrum led the way for Ridgecroft with 21 points while Julian Becker added 20 and Max Boone chipped in 10 points.
David Talley led the Raiders with 11 points.
“We played great team defense and caused 29 turnovers,” Rams’ first-year skipper Chris Hill said.
The winning streak kept going against Terra Ceia Christian School in what Hill described as a “dominating performance.” The Rams won 58-29.
Ridgecroft again jumped out to an early lead, taking a 17-7 advantage after one quarter. They led 33-12 at the intermission.
Becker was the leader on offense for Ridgecroft with 23 points while Byrum added another 14 and Austin Foster chipped in 13 points.
Kyle Hendrix was Terra Ceia’s leader with nine points.
Friday saw the Rams square off with Shannon Forest Christian School and the visitors edged Ridgecroft 56-54.
The Rams trailed 18-9 after one quarter and 31-22 heading into the halftime locker room.
“We started slow and weak in the first half,” Hill said. “After that, we established our play and dictated the game’s tempo.”
The Rams closed to within 40-37 by the end of the third quarter and Becker took a game-tying shot at the buzzer, but it rolled around and fell out as time expired.
Hill said despite the loss, it was a “great game.”
After falling by two points, the Rams then went to overtime with Faith Christian School before bowing out 64-55.
Ridgecroft led 19-12 after one quarter and 32-25 at the intermission. The Rams held a 44-41 lead after three quarters and were still up by three (50-47) with 15 seconds to play.
Faith Christian committed a foul and sent the Rams to the line in the double bonus, but both shots came up short and Faith had a three-pointer at the buzzer and sent the game to overtime.
Hill said after having the momentum most of the game, it swung completely to the home team in overtime as Ridgecroft suffered the nine-point loss.
Overall, the Rams stand 7-2 and are 2-0 in the league.