By Rob Potter
ROSCOE — January19, 2010 — The second and third quarters proved to be pivotal in Thursday night’s non-league basketball game between the Harpursville Hornets and the host Roscoe Blue Devils.
Harpursville, a Section IV Class C team, outscored the Blue Devils 21-11 and 20-12, respectively, in those two quarters on its way to recording a 61-49 victory.
After senior guard Nate Brock made a 3-point shot in the last second of the first quarter to give Roscoe (1-10) an 11-9 advantage, the Hornets began the second period with a 12-4 scoring run.
Harpursville’s Chad Baxter and Mason Dean both swished 3-pointers in the first minute of the quarter. Tyler Boudreau added five points to help the Hornets take a 21-15 lead with 2:20 remaining until halftime.
Brock swished another 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in the half to cut the Blue Devils’ deficit to single digits at 30-22.
In the third quarter, Baxter netted two more 3-pointers and Stephen Edwards scored some baskets inside the lane as Harpursville (2-7) pushed its lead back into double digits.
But the Blue Devils kept playing hard in the fourth quarter, outscoring the visitors by a 15-11 margin. Junior guard Adam Hendrix scored 11 of Roscoe’s 15 points during those eight minutes of play.
Baxter led the Hornets with 19 points, while Boudreau finished with 14 points and Dean added 11 points.
“We played very well tonight,” Harpursville Coach Shawn Riley said.
“And I thought that number 10 did a great job for them,” Riley added.
Riley was referring to Hendrix, who registered a double-double of a game-high 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Brock finished with 18 points for the Blue Devils. He also had five assists.
“Harpursville has a solid team,” Roscoe Coach Fred Ahart said. “Defensively, we wanted to try and stop Tyler Boudreau, who is a fine player. But to Harpursville’s credit, several other players stepped up for them and did a good job.”
Ahart also credited his players for giving 100 percent out on the court after the Hornets took their double-digit lead.
“I was proud of our team for the way we came back,” he said. “I thought the fourth quarter was our best quarter.”