Mason, Wave sink Prince George
By Taylor Howsmon
Jan 23, 2012, 13:37
PRINCE GEORGE — The Prince George Royals have a Herculean task ahead of them to finish the season. Included in their eight final games are matchups with district-top-dogs Petersburg, Meadowbrook and Thomas Dale. The first of those tests came Friday night as the Royals welcomed the state’s top team, Petersburg.
Despite a great fourth-quarter effort, the hole that Prince George was in from the second and third periods was too great to climb out of. Thanks to a stellar effort by Frank Mason, the Crimson Wave were able to hold off the Royals, 90-73.
The final score doesn’t tell the full story. Prince George closed a 22-point lead to 10 in the final minutes. The effort it took to get back into the game didn’t leave enough for the Royals to get all the way back.
“When you get down by 20 to a team as good as Petersburg, you lose a lot of energy,” Prince George coach Dave Hettinger said. “Having to score three baskets to their one is tough after that.”
Mason, Petersburg’s leading scorer, only had seven points through the first three quarters. But the senior elevated his game in the fourth, scoring 17 to keep the Wave out of reach. Although Mason didn’t score, his teammates were excellent, particularly in the second quarter. Petersburg hit seven three’s in that stretch, hitting nine for the night, one of their highest outputs of the season.
“We found some momentum and found a groove there,” Petersburg head coach Rick Hite said. “Our guys shot it with confidence ... And we want them to shoot with confidence when the chances are there ... Fortunately they were going down.”
Petersburg took a 15-11 after the first quarter, where Prince George’s Braxton Evans nailed three from outside. That second quarter was the big difference in the game. The Wave outscored the Royals 27-14 to take a 42-25 lead into the halftime break.
Prince George fought, but couldn’t chip away at the lead in the third as Marcus Hoosier paced Petersburg to a 66-43 lead by the fourth.
But something changed as the teams started the final period. An Evans three started a 23-12 run through the first five minutes of the quarter. That run, cut the Petersburg lead to 78-68 with 2:51. The electric crowd was beginning to believe their team could do the impossible and all the momentum was on the home team’s side.
“Good shooters are never out of a basketball game ... They wouldn’t go away,” Hite said. “I told our team that Prince George was not going to lay down for us. They are too well coached and they have a lot of heart and integrity.”
With the score 80-70, a time out was taken by Hite. As the teams came to the bench, Hettinger bolted onto the court, yelling at his team ‘do you believe?’ over and over.
“Our students chant ‘I believe that we will win’ before every game and I wanted to send a message to our guys that they need to believe,” he said. “I said that everybody behind us believes, now the guys in the uniforms have to believe ... I was proud of the way we battled down to the end with them.”
Unfortunately for the first-year coach and their incredible fans, Petersburg had too much Mason for the Royals to get any closer. The senior scored eight points in the final two minutes, including four from the foul line and an unreal reverse lay up. Desperation heaves by Evans missed, and by the final horn, the lead was back at 17 for Petersburg. The loss was tough, but the effort in the final quarter showed something to Hettinger about his team.
“We’re not going to face a better team than them and our guys stood toe to toe with them,” he said. “I’m proud of the effort.”
Evans was terrific for Prince George, finishing with 25 points and knocking down six three-pointers. Hite was impressed with the Royals’ senior.
“I’m amazed by his conditioning because we’re throwing different people at him and he’s still getting looks,” he said. “He has unlimited range ... he’s one of the best players in our district by far.”
A.J. Shelton scored 22 to go along with Evans’ effort. Mason led Petersburg with 24 and Hoosier added 20.
Box Score
Petersburg 15 27 24 24 — 90
Prince George 11 14 18 30 — 73
Petersburg: Maxwell 12, Hoosier 20, Hicks 5, Mason 24, Miller 13, Holmes 0, G. Thomas 0, Pair 6, Adams 2, McIntyre 0, Byers 8. Prince George: Strickland 9, Dawsey 0, Evans 25, Fullman 3, Shelton 22, Bell 7, Turpin 7, Rose 0.
