AMERICUS – The July 4 fireworks began a day early at the Dwight Harris Boys Club Basketball Summer League as the 17u Rockets defeated the 17u Warriors 59-56 in a thrilling overtime victory on Tuesday, July 3, at Ninth Grade Academy.

“We’ll take it. I don’t like the game being too close. My heart hurts,” 17u Rockets Coach Korby Moore said. “We did a really good job on the boards. We’re trying to get these kids ready for the fall.”

The 17u Rockets went on an 8-0 run to start the game, but the Warriors responded with a 15-7 run to tie the score at 15-15. It was a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the first half, and by halftime, the Rockets led 23-21. Lakeviyon Walker led the Rockets in the first half with 11 points. Milton McCoy had four first-half points. Both Kyvone Wilson and Shomari Gaines each had three first-half points and Chancery Jackson scored two first-half points.

For the Warriors, they were led in the first half by Adam Smith with five first-half points. Jacoby McCuller had four. Jequarius Mitchell scored three points and both Jaheim Banks and Latrayvion Bridges scored two points each.

Both teams traded baskets for the first few minutes of the second half, but the Rockets had a 28-23 lead. However, Jequarius Mitchell hit a three-pointer to cut the Rockets’ lead to 28-26. Mitchell would later hit another three-pointer to get the Warriors to within two points at 31-29. The Rockets could not expand their lead, as the Warriors stayed right with them. At one time in the second half, the Rockets maintained a 47-42 lead. However, the Warriors’ Jaheim Banks made two free throws and Jordan Wiley scored a basket to cut the Rockets’ lead to 47-46.

A couple of minutes later, the score was tied at 49-49, and the Warriors had the ball with 15 seconds left. Jaheim Banks was fouled and made both free throws, giving the Warriors a 51-49 lead. However, the Rockets’ Milton McCoy drove coast-to-coast for a layup to tie the score at 51-51 with seven seconds left. The Warriors had one last chance to win it in regulation, but Hashim Haughabook’s three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, forcing overtime.

In the overtime period, the Rockets went up by four on two free throws by Shomari Gaines and a basket by Lakeviyon Walker. Banks responded by scoring a basket to cut the Rockets’ lead to 55-53 with 46.7 seconds left in overtime. However, Walker scored again to put the Rockets back up by four at 57-53 with 27.8 seconds left. The Warriors tried to get back in it as Banks was fouled. However, he was only able to make one of two free-throws, making the score 57-54 Rockets.

The Rockets had the ball with 19.6 seconds left. Shomari Gaines was fouled and made one of two free throws. The Warriors’ Jordan Wiley responded by scoring to cut the lead to 58-56 with 12.4 seconds left. However, that would be as close as the Warriors would get as they fell to the Rockets 59-56 in overtime.

Lakeviyon Walker led all scorers with 24 points. The Rockets had another player in double-figures. Milton McCoy scored 10 points. Shomari Gaines scored nine points. Both Chancery Jackson and Kyvone Wilson each had four points, and both Martavious Johnson and Tabious Laster each scored three points to round out the scoring for the victorious Rockets. As for the Warriors, they were led in scoring by Jordan Wiley with a total of 13 points. Both Jequarious Mitchell and Jacoby McCuller each scored nine points. Adam Smith and Quandarious Hightower each scored five points, and Latrayvion Bridges scored two points to round out the scoring for the Rockets. “I thought it was a great game,” Warriors Coach Rundy Foster said. “It’s summer and we’re just trying to get the boys ready for the fall and winter.”

In the earlier game, the 14u Jazz took care of business as they defeated the 14u Warriors 55-41 on Tuesday, July 3 at Ninth Grade Academy. The Jazz jumped out to a 25-12 lead. However, the Warriors went on a 13-1 run to bring them to within one at 26-25. The Jazz, however, responded with a 10-0 run to go back up by double digits at 36-26. The Warriors were not able to cut the Jazz’ lead below double digits, and the Jazz went on to win 55-41.

The 14u Jazz had three players in double-figures. Ronquillo Wilson led all scorers with 17 points. Jared Lewis had 12 points and Demarcus Deriso scored 10. The 14u Warriors had two players in double-figures. Brandon Pope led the Warriors with 16 points and Cameron Evans had 13.