Patriots charge past Swamp Foxes | Sports | Summerville Journal Scene

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Patriots charge past Swamp Foxes

Published Tuesday, February 07, 2012 5:35 PM

By Roger Lee
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Photo by: Roger Lee/Journal Scene

Fort Dorchester senior Rodney Gibbs goes strong to the hoop Friday.

Photo by: Roger Lee/Journal Scene

Fort Dorchester senior D.J. Benekin takes a jumper Friday.

The Fort Dorchester boys put on a show Friday night.

With Rodney Gibbs leading the way, an energized group of Patriot seniors set a fast pace for the game and never took their foot off the gas to lift the Fort to a 58-45 win over Ashley Ridge.

“We needed this game to get into the playoffs so we gave it all we got,” Gibbs said. “Now we need to stay focused and listen to our coaches so we can stay on track.”

Gibbs hit two three-pointers in the game and also thrilled the crowd with some powerful dunks en route to a 20-point night. He was on the glamorous end of a couple of alley-oop plays and made his share of blocks and rebounds.

But it wasn’t a one-man show. Point guard Bradley Frasier scored 12 points of his own and did a good job distributing the ball. Chris Rouse and D.J. Benekin both added eight points and Troy Bryant contributed four. Benekin also hit a pair of 3s during the game.

“Rodney and Bradley both played for us as freshmen so as our most experienced players we kind of look for them to lead but guys like Chris are also starting to step into a leadership role not just on the court but in the locker room as well,” Fort coach Leon Wheaton said. “We close our regular season Friday and these seniors know they don’t have but so many games left and they want to make the most of it.”

With the help of Benekin’s shots from behind the arch, the Patriots jumped out to an 11-5 lead and carried a 16-11 lead into the second period. Ashley Ridge pulled within three points, but then Gibbs picked up a couple of buckets from inside the paint and the Patriots took a 29-24 lead into the half.

Lorenzo Baker led a strong defensive effort for the Swamp Foxes early in the third and Ashley Ridge capitalized on some free-throw shots to cut the lead down to a point. Then the teams swapped baskets and entered the final period with the Fort up 35-34.

The Foxes stayed with the Patriots for a couple more minutes, but then the Fort pulled away again to take a nine-point lead. Ashley Ridge had to resort to fouling late in the game and the Patriots hit enough free throws to prevent a successful rally.

“If we always played like that we wouldn’t have the two region losses we have,” Wheaton said. “We recently switched to shorter, but more intense practices and I think it has helped. We want to pressure the ball and I think that affected some of their jump shots down the stretch tonight. We have enough depth to keep the pressure up and that wears on a team. We also did a good job on the boards.”

Fred Weeks led the Ashley Ridge shooters with 12 points and Romelo Doctor added 10.

The Fort improved to 15-7 on the season with a 3-2 mark in region play with the win while Ashley Ridge dropped to 4-15, 1-6. The Patriots close out their regular-season schedule Friday when they host Summerville. Ashley Ridge closed out its schedule Tuesday against Colleton County.

Fort Dorchester 58, ASHLEY RIDGE 45

Fort Dorchester (58): Rodney Gibbs 20, Brandon Frasier 12, Chris Rouse 8, D.J. Benekin 8, Baptiste Staggers 5, Troy Bryant 4, Dameriez Moorer 1.

Ashley Ridge (54): Fred Weeks 12, Romelo Doctor 10, Clark Batts 7, Kenyon Morrison 6, Frankie Heyward 5, Lorenzo Baker 4, A. Z Walker 1.

Contact Roger Lee @ 873-9424 ext. 213 or rlee@journalscene.com

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