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By: Brian Smith

A tale of two different games seemingly taking place on the same court. Chambers Academy went down 16 to 2 to visiting Hooper Academy after the first quarter, but a completely different level of effort and execution almost brought the Rebels back to win, falling 62-52.

It was wild to see such different results during different quarters. An up-and-down first period included almost nothing Chambers Academy attempted going well. Turnovers galore, missed short-range shots, and a spotty defense allowed the Colts to have several run outs for layups and easy buckets during their halfcourt offensive sets. Midway into the second quarter, the score was 25 to 6 and all hope seemed lost. Not so fast.

An 11-1 run that included Jake Reames scoring nine points helped the Rebels close the gap. Instead of taking 3-point shots, Reames focused on driving the basketball to the hoop. To finish the run, a difficult baseline floater went down and Reames was fouled. After knocking in the free throw, Chambers Academy was down 26-15.

At halftime, Hooper Academy led 34 to 21, but at least the Rebels were in contention. With four minutes left in the third quarter, the visitors completed their own 7-0 run to push the lead to 47-30. Chambers Academy did not quit and actually stormed back yet again.

Reames was in the thick of the action, and so were teammates Bryce Modling and Brady Forbus. Shots started falling on the offensive end of the court. They also exerted more effort toward the defensive end again, and that fact spearheaded a rally.

Pressuring the basketball full court and trapping when possible, a 12-4 run cut the lead to 51-42 as the game headed into the final stanza. Consecutive 3-point makes by Reames got the crowd back into the game and the score was 55 to 48 with 5:30 to play. At that point, Hooper Academy’s defense clamped down and the home squad just couldn’t buy a bucket. It’s like the game reverted to the first quarter.

What made matters worse was Hooper Academy’s offense kept the ball near halfcourt and didn’t shoot. With no shot clock and using good passing for much of the rest of the game, the Colts took the air out of the basketball and the life out of Chambers Academy.

Reames led all scorers with 24 points, while Modling had 10 and Forbus 8.