The game may have been too close for comfort for the Rainmakers coaching staff, but the team pulled out a win nonetheless.
Only eight points decided the first meeting between the two teams, as the Charles Hays senior boys Rainmakers beat the visiting DP Todd Trojans by a final score of 56-48.
Assistant coach Ryan Bishop attributes the tight game to a slow start from his usually high flying team.
“I think we came out flat, we haven’t played a game in 13 days, it’s quite a long time in the middle of a season to not have any games,” Bishop said.
Liam McChesney shouldered the load for his team throughout the low-scoring affair, putting up 27 points, good for just under half of his team’s total.
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McChesney fought through countless double teams late in the game to get key buckets and keep his team in the lead, finishing some nice alley-oops for a much-needed boost.
Having those players who can finish in sloppy games and find a way to pull out wins is a key ingredient on great basketball teams and Bishop said he sees that in his guys.
“These guys can play, at the end of the day even if the offence breaks down these guys do what they need to get it done,” Bishop said.
On the other side of the ball, the Trojans seemed to have a pretty simple game plan, get number 23 the ball. The man wearing that jersey was Cameron Sale and he scored 37 of his team’s 48 points. Including a herculean effort in the second half as he tried to single-handedly win the game for his side, scoring 25 of his team’s final 28 points.
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The impressive performance didn’t surprise Bishop though, and he knows his team has to match up better if they hope to win again Saturday afternoon.
“He’s their guy, it’s not like we didn’t know about the kid he is the guy we talked about all week in practice. Hopefully, we come out harder today,” Bishop said.
The team has yet to lose a non-tournament game this season, and Bishop knows the best is yet to come for his squad.
“That’s the scary thing, we could be better, on the offensive glass or in other places, but even when we play bad we find a way to win,” Bishop said.
The Rainmakers will face the Trojans again this afternoon at 1 p.m. in the Charles Hays gym.
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