Raleigh Charter girls win, boys fall to River Mill Academy basketball

Raleigh Charter celebrated Senior Night at home against Graham’s River Mill Academy and came away with a win for the girls and a loss for the boys.

The girls team clamped down on defense to squeeze out the 48-41 win. The boys team got off to a slow start and struggled to score and rebound all night, falling 55-40 to its NCAC 1A foe.

GIRLS

The Phoenix girls (12-10, 11-4) nearly blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter but used good defense and clutch free throw shooting to seal the victory over the Jaguars (17-8, 10-5).

At the beginning of the final quarter, River Mill came out quickly with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to two points. A combination of poor Phoenix shooting, turnovers and aggressive Jaguars play led to the comeback, but Raleigh Charter was able to slow the momentum.

In particular, the Phoenix started getting defensive stops in combination with trips to the free throw line.

“We stopped rebounding the ball as well as we were in the first three quarters and we allowed them to get to the line,” said senior Paige Huguely. “But then thankfully we played our game and started to try and run the clock out.”

Raleigh Charter didn’t even score a field goal in the final quarter, but 10 free throws were enough to pull out the win.

“That definitely shows how important playing defense is,” Huguely said. “That game in the fourth quarter was won on our defense.”

Huguely led the way with 12 points with five from the charity stripe in the fourth. The other senior, Ellie White, added four. Camryn McClure pitched in with 11 points, including three deep balls.

After the game, Raleigh Charter held a ceremony for the seniors on the girls and boys teams. Despite not having a gym to itself – Raleigh Charter played this “home” game at Cary Academy – Huguely said just being close to the team creates the home environment other schools have.

“It’s sad that it’s almost over,” Huguely said. “But looking back, getting to play with lots of different types of people and under coach Bobby (Lyons) and my dad this year was really, really fun.”

BOYS

Like the girls team in the fourth quarter, the boys struggled to score early on. River Mill (19-7, 11-5) took a 17-5 lead after the first quarter, and the Jaguars would protect it for the rest of the game.

With eight seniors on the Phoenix (11-11, 8-7) squad, coach Casey Hester wanted to play a deeper bench than usual, which led to more inexperience on the court and many different lineups.

Throughout the game, Raleigh Charter struggled to get open looks if it hadn’t already turned the ball over. The Jaguars played an aggressive zone defense, and the Phoenix kept looking to pass into the interior of that zone, but River Mill would often collapse and steal the ball. On the defensive end, Raleigh Charter could cause missed shots, but it rebounded poorly.

“The rebounds are the worst,” Hester said. “Turnovers are going to happen. The ones that killed us was giving up offensive rebounds. You can’t beat a team like that giving up second and third chance shots.”

Despite the problems all game, Raleigh Charter stayed in the game with glimpses of high energy. Senior Ryan Collins helped his team end the third quarter on a 6-0 run after a midcourt steal and buzzer beating-layup. In the fourth quarter, he cut the deficit to five points after a great pass from Will Blackburn through the heart of the zone found Collins for the layup and the foul.

However, River Mill just kept up the pace and closed out the game.

Though there’s still one more game remaining – at River Mill – Collins was able to reflect on his career.

“Every year we’ve gotten better,” Collins said. “We’re .500 this year. Every year we’ve set Raleigh Charter’s record for the best record.”

Hester, who’s been the coach for five years, has shepherded most of the players since their freshman years.

“I feel like they’re all my little brothers and I’ve been watching them grow up,” Hester said. “Hopefully helping them a little bit along the way. It’s been amazing.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Raleigh Charter girls win, boys fall to River Mill Academy basketball."