Mitchell Smith and No. 7 Van Buren woke up just in time for the Pointers to avoid an upset Friday night.
Smith, the Pointers' 6-10 junior post player, scored eight of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and Van Buren scored 14 of the game's final 16 points to escape a jammed-packed Rockets gymnasium with a 44-34 victory in 7A/6A-Central play.
Catholic (3-13, 1-4) led 32-30 with 5:49 left after a free throw by Duncan Diaz, but Smith scored the next six points -- four coming from free-throw line -- and Van Buren (14-4, 5-0) was on its way to its seventh consecutive victory.
"The momentum definitely changed," Van Buren Coach Randy Lloyd said of the game's final six minutes. "We weren't attacking the basket. They made some shots [in the third quarter] and their crowd was into it. ... They missed a couple of shots in the fourth quarter and this game might have changed and went the other way."
Catholic was 7 of 9 from the floor in the third quarter when the Rockets turned a 20-13 halftime deficit into a 30-28 advantage to start the final eight minutes. The Rockets, however, missed their first six shots of the fourth quarter and were held to only two free throws in the quarter's first 7:28.
"Our kids played so hard tonight and played like a team," Catholic Coach Todd Ezzi said. "A couple of shots, here or there, or a missed free throw by [Van Buren] would have put us right back into it."
Van Buren was 4 of 8 from the floor and 8 of 8 from the line in the final quarter.
Jason Harms, who scored the Pointers' first nine points all on three-pointers, finished with 13 points. Catholic's Will Hancock scored 11 points while Chad Wharton added eight.
Van Buren was 15 of 32 from the floor; Catholic was 13 of 26. Catholic outrebounded Van Buren 18-13.
VAN BUREN (44)
Harms 4 2-2 13, Kinney 1 2-2 5, Dye 2 0-0 4, Smith 6 5-8 17, Hawkins 1 0-0 2, Salisbury 0 0-0 0, Barlow 1 0-0 3, Beckner 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 9-12 44.
CATHOLIC (34)
Fox 0 0-0 0, Stone 1 2-4 4, Wharton 3 0-0 8, Diaz 1 1-2 3, Harville-Thomas 2 0-0 4, Purifoy 2 0-0 4, Hancock 4 0-0 11, Mathis 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 3-6 34.
Van Buren;14 6 8 16 -- 44
Catholic; 8 5 17 4 -- 34
Three-point goals -- Van Buren 5 (Harms 3, Kinney, Barlow). Catholic 5 (Hancock 3, Wharton 2). Team fouls -- Van Buren 10, Catholic 16. Fouled out -- Harville-Thomas.
Sports on 01/24/2015