The Caroline team relishes its victory over Midlothian. (Photos by Dawn Haun)
By Scott Richards
CP Correspondent
In the beginning of the 2014-15 boys basketball season, the Caroline Cavaliers took the Midlothian Trojans to task with a score of 66-41. With a season of experience behind them and the stakes a little higher, the game played Monday in Milford was much more competitive, with Caroline winning 59-49 the first game of the Conference playoffs.
With this victory, the Cavaliers were scheduled to go to the next level of the playoffs to be played at J.R. Tucker High School in Richmond.
Because this was a Conference playoff game, the loser goes home and the season is over for them. Caroline played the game that has brought them success in the past—pressing, fast-paced, and taking advantage of mental mistakes made by their opponent. The difference between this game and the game between these two schools at the beginning was that Midlothian grew up this past season. Not wanting the season to end, they put forth a decisive effort that left the outcome in question until the last minute. It was evident by their play they did not want to go home for good.
The Cavs’ A.J. Derricott eyes the basket.
After a first quarter that caught Caroline flat-footed and behind 20-17, they lit up the boards in a total team effort that gave a scrappy Midlothian team a run for their money, coming back with a 13-7 run in the second and a 19-10 run in the fourth that put the game away.
Vondell Green put on quite a show, scoring from both inside and out as he racked up 18 points, which included two treys. In addition to scoring, his defensive pressure was strong as he made Trojan players wary of crossing his path. After being set down in the fourth quarter with foul trouble, Green remained supportive, cheering and yelling advice to his teammates on the court. Green later re-entered the game and finished.
AJ Derricott planted himself under the basket and stood his ground, staying out of foul trouble while making his presence known. The two other pillars of the team, Darius Young and Mark Loving, added fire to the team effort playing hard-nosed basketball against a very tough press that at times overcame the Cavalier efforts. Loving demonstrated for the Trojans his “Dr. Dunk,” slamming the ball home and raising himself up above the rim.
Some of the greatest displays of effort came from guards Myles Stephens and Jaquan Monroe, along with forward Shareef Gardner. Their efforts on both the defensive end of the court as well as pushing offensively left Midlothian backpedaling many times during the night. Gardner’s efforts were to be commended considering he arrived at the gym 30 minutes prior to game time due to participating in a regional track meet.
The Cavaliers came back strong after a slow first quarter. Perhaps this was a warm-up for the next game scheduled against Monacan on Tuesday of this week. As was the case in their game against Midlothian, there is no room for error—the loser goes home.