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Rams pick up first win of season in style

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006

The Rockville boys basketball team won just two games last season, with its only regular-season victory coming midway through the year. The Rams picked up their first win of this season Friday with a convincing 66-49 victory over Wheaton at home. And they’re hoping it’s symptomatic of future success.

‘‘It feels great to get our first win,” said senior center Kevin McTighe, who scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds Friday. ‘‘Last year we didn’t get our win until something like the 15th game. It’s good to get that monkey off our back. It’s nice to get this win early. It gives us the confidence that we can play with the other teams.”

The Rams (1-2 record) struggled with youth and inexperience in 2005-2006. They just couldn’t match up physically with bigger and stronger opponents. Although they’re still fairly young this year, they do have some seasoned players to rely on in McTighe, senior forward Sean Canahuate, who led the Rams in scoring Friday with 14 points, and senior guard Joe York (7 points), among others. And Rockville is making large strides early on. It was prone to rush, commit errors and get flustered in the crucial moments last year. But Friday the Rams remained poised. Their increased maturity and all-around knowledge and understanding of what to do, was on display as they avenged last year’s loss to the Knights (0-3).

‘‘I think the biggest difference from last year to this year is that extra year of experience,” McTighe said. ‘‘It was our first year under Coach [Jack] Freeman’s system. But now we’re familiar with what he wants us to do. I think we played well as a team [Friday]. We’ve been frustrated at ourselves for not doing that. [Friday] was really the first time we put everything together and played as a team. And we got the win.”

Wheaton and Rockville battled to a 29-29 tie in a back-and-forth first half Friday. But the Rams’ pressure finally broke the Knights in the second half. And Rockville’s increased intensity on defense seeped into its offensive play. Passes were crisp. Shots were falling. The Rams outscored Wheaton, 24-13, in the third quarter to pull ahead 53-42 and went on a 13-7 run in the final quarter to clinch the win.

‘‘I didn’t even know we were on that run,” McTighe said. ‘‘We were so focused. Then all of a sudden I looked up at the scoreboard and we’re up by 15.”

Inconsistency hindered Wheaton’s success last season. And it’s been a problem early this year as well. The Knights (0-4 after a 73-60 loss to Sherwood on Monday) can compete for increments of time, as they did Friday. But have yet to put four quarters of solid basketball together on a given night.

‘‘In the second half, we basically couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Wheaton coach Steve Hood said. ‘‘To score 20 points in an entire half, that’s more like Rec League basketball. We actually had some open looks and some good shots. Guys just have to step up and knock them down. We don’t have a leader on the floor. And until someone is willing and ready to step into that role, it’s going to be difficult for us.”

Friday’s victory was certainly a morale-booster for the Rams. They spent the majority of last season trying to convince themselves they were capable of winning. Their newfound confidence and trust in themselves on the floor has been evident early on. They’re less hesitant to take risks and execute plays. And they’re hoping it carries them through the next stretch of the season, where they’ll face Montgomery 3A⁄2A⁄1A foes Kennedy, Paint Branch and Einstein, among others.

‘‘We didn’t get our first win last year until halfway through the season,” McTighe said. ‘‘So it’s nice to have it early. I think we ran our offense well. We were disciplined and passed the ball around well. We weren’t selfish. This’ll be a big boost for us.”