Rams rally to beat Jackets, set up Lincolnton rematch

GASTONIA — Highland Tech’s upcoming rematch with Lincolnton wouldn’t have nearly the significance if the Rams didn’t beat Bessemer City on Friday.

It took a late rally to make sure that didn’t happen.

Highland Tech found itself trailing the Yellow Jackets by five with four minutes remaining but closed the game on a 13-6 run to claim a 63-61 home win.

“Give all the credit to Bessemer City,” Rams coach Butch Blalock said. “Coach (Danny) McDowell’s a heck of a coach and he’s got those kids playing well. We knew it was going to be a dogfight.”

Highland Tech (11-5, 8-2 Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference) stayed two games behind league leader Lincolnton heading into Tuesday’s home game against the Wolves. Lincolnton won the first meeting 70-54.

On Friday, Jevon Patton had 25 points and 10 assists while Josh Neely came three points shy of a season high with 18 points as the Rams swept the regular-season series against their rivals. Highland Tech had dealt the Yellow Jackets a 60-39 defeat on their home court in December.

Bessemer City (7-9, 3-7) put itself in position to exact revenge when it scored on three straight possessions for a 55-50 lead with 4:03 remaining. Highland Tech took the lead moments later after two baskets each by Neely and Joe Deese, putting the Rams ahead 58-57 with 1:44 left and setting up a back-and-forth finish.

Highland Tech went ahead for good, 62-61, on Neely’s putback with 29 seconds remaining. The junior forward finished with 14 rebounds.

“Coach is always saying follow the ball,” Neely said. “It’s my job to get rebounds, so I did.”

Bessemer City then missed on the other end. Patton grabbed the rebound, and trapped in the corner near the Bessemer City bench, signaled for timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining.

After the timeout, Highland Tech successfully inbounded across the court to Demetrious Lewis, who streaked to the basket but was fouled with 1.2 seconds left. Lewis made 1 of 2 shots to put the Rams ahead 63-61. On Bessemer City’s inbound, the referee ruled that the ball hit rafters, giving Highland Tech an inbound. Bessemer City stole it, but with only 1.2 seconds remaining didn’t have time to get off a shot.

Justin Wright scored 17 to lead four Bessemer City players in double figures. Jhalen Adams added 13 points, Brad James 12 and Michael Meeks 11 for Bessemer City, which travels to North Lincoln on Tuesday.

For Highland Tech, Patton also registered five steals on another productive night for the junior guard. Deese finished with six points and 10 rebounds while Lewis scored nine points for the Rams.

Girls: Highland Tech 59, Bessemer City 26 — There was no such thing as a close game for Highland Tech this week. Three days after scoring a season-low in a 46-11 loss to North Lincoln, the Rams got back in the win column with a dominating 59-26 home victory against Bessemer City on Friday.

Maia Black (10 points, 11 assists), Jessica McBee (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Kyla Walker (10 points) scored in double figures to lead a balanced offense.

Coach Jerry Jordan has been tinkering with the lineup lately, and he started three freshmen (Jenesai Mohammed, Madison Armstrong and Walker) and two seniors (Domonique Edwards and Zoe Ellis) on Friday.

“I’m excited about my freshman class,” Jordan said. “I see them daily getting better and tonight the kids I started, they came out and played well.”

Mikalia Butler, coming off a two-game absence, recorded six points, eight rebounds and six assists. Armstrong (10 rebounds), Ellis (11 rebounds) and Carlene Robinson (12 rebounds) all contributed to a huge night on the boards for Highland Tech (7-9, 5-5).

Madison Carter scored 12 points to lead Bessemer City (2-15, 0-9).

Phillip Gardner: 704-869-1843; twitter.com/gazettephil