Hamilton Heights rallies back to defeat Bartlett, 85-83

<p>Bartlett was the physical team for the first two and a half quarters Friday night against Hamilton Heights, but the Hawks didn’t waver.</p> <p>The Panthers built a double-digit lead four times, but Hamilton Heights wouldn’t go away. Down 67-58 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Hawks rallied back to defeat Bartlett, 85-83, to give the Panthers (11-1) their first loss of the season in the Ultimate South Showcase.</p> <p>Ole Miss signee <strong>Antavion Collum</strong> scored five straight points, then point guard <strong>Jefferson Walker</strong> made two free throws to give Bartlett its largest lead of the second half at 61-48, but Hamilton Heights’ junior point guard <strong>Jordan Rawls</strong> scored 10 points to pull the Hawks within 63-58, and things got better for Rawls and his teammates after that.</p> <p>Rawls was named the most valuable player of the game after finishing with a game-high 25 points to go along with his four assists.</p> <p>Bartlett had some missed opportunities on the offensive end and some costly turnovers late in the game. Hamilton Heights took advantage of that and finally took its first lead of the game off a basket from power forward <strong>Jason Jitoboh </strong>at 71-70.</p> <p>Collum made 1 of 2 shots from the line to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 72-71. Bartlett would get it down to one-point again when Walker nailed a 3 from the corner (78-77), but Jitoboh quickly scored on the other end. Andrew Williams’ two made free throws, plus 1 of 2 made foul shots from Jitoboh sealed the win for the Hawks, who trailed for the entire game until the late surge in the fourth quarter.</p> <p>Jitoboh finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Junior wing Samson Ruzhentsev added 18 points and four rebounds. Drew finished with 11 points and five rebounds.</p> <p>“We’re down 14 in the third quarter, and I have to sit on the bench, because of the technical at halftime,” Hamilton Heights coach Zach Ferrell said. “Jordan Rawls stepped up big time and really made a big push after we got down early. Then, Sam and Jason stepped up and made some big shots.</p> <p>“What really changed the game for us in the fourth quarter was we started stringing some stops together in a row. That’s what we had to do.”</p> <p>For the first two and half quarters, Hamilton Heights (13-1) struggled to find rhythm on either end of the court, while the Panthers were connecting on all cylinders. Bartlett jumped out to a 21-8 lead in the first quarter. Walker scored eight of those points. That momentum carried over into the second quarter where the Panthers kept making shots from the perimeter.</p> <p>Wynne Brown Jr. and shooting guard <strong>Jake Manley</strong> made two 3s apiece to help build the 44-34 lead. It was short-lived, because Rawls drained a half-court shot to cut his team’s deficit to five.</p> <p>Bartlett lived at the free throw line in the second half, going 13 for 18 from the foul line, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.</p> <p>“We’re right in the ball game. If we make a free throw here or there, we’re on the different side of this thing,” Panthers head coach Dion Real said.</p> <p>Walker led the Panthers with 18 points. Collum had 15. Rodney Mason III added 13. Brown finished with 12.</p> <p><strong>Physical play</strong></p> <p>Both teams played physical throughout the game. There were a lot of whistles blown. There were also some technical fouls given out to both teams. Yet, both programs found a way to avoid any ejections in the game.</p> <p><strong>3 takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li>Collum is playing with an injured right hand. The injury has affected his outside shooting. Because of the injury, he has become more of a slasher. Collum has been wearing black tape around the wrist and thumb area of his hand. He managed to go 5 of 6 from the free throw line.</li> <li>Bartlett has to play another physical team on Saturday in Springdale Prep, which lost 78-42 to Christian Brothers Friday night. The Panthers have to find a way to keep a double-digit lead once they build one.</li> <li>Hamilton Heights will play Memphis East in one of the evening games Saturday night. Both teams are coming off huge wins against high quality opponents.</li> </ul>