FREDERICK — Joe Wise tipped a lazy pass at the top of the key, grabbed it, charged the basket and threw down a thunderous dunk as the fans erupted.
The Frederick Warriors were still down three at that point, but it was clear momentum was on their side. They rode that energy to a 74-69 win over Roosevelt on Thursday — and into the school’s boys basketball history book.
“We got 16 wins, which is a school record,” said junior Austin Rivera, who had 15 points. “We’re really happy about that.
The Warriors’ come-from-behind win also moved them into a second place tie with the RoughRiders in the 4A Tri-Valley League standings, a half-game behind Windsor. They’ve won seven straight and are peaking with a game to go.
“We’re getting hot at the right time of the year,” coach Larry Frank said.
This one wasn’t easy. The Warriors (16-6, 10-3) trailed for most of the game and by as many as nine points late in the third quarter. But they had weathered Roosevelt’s hot shooting and then turned up the defense when they were down 51-42 with 11 minutes left.
“We didn’t think they could shoot that well all game long but they did shoot well in the first half,” Frank said.
The combination of Cameron Weber and Michael Mitchell was potent for the Roughriders (13-9, 10-3). The pair combined for 45 points — 28 by Weber — but when Mitchell fouled out with 5:23 left the game had already turned for Frederick.
Lucas Adams scored eight of his nine points to start a 19-4 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters and Rivera hit a big 3-pointer that gave Frederick a 61-55 lead with 6:10 left. The Warriors forced six turnovers in the first two minutes of the fourth.
“We threw a different defense on them and it worked,” said Christian Martinez, who had 15 points. “We trapped them and had some forced passes that we got our hands on.”
Frederick stopped attacking the basket and tried to bleed the clock, and Roosevelt used that to rally. Weber converted a three-point play that gave the RoughRiders a 67-66 lead with 1:54 left but Martinez answered with two free throws and Jayden McGraw hit a layup with 1:10 left to put Frederick back in front 70-67.
After Weber hit a short jumper, Martinez hit 3 of 4 foul shots to give the Warriors a cushion.
“We persevered, did some good things and made the free throws in the end,” Frank said.
The Warriors finish the regular season at Skyline on Tuesday and don’t plan on a letdown.
“We feel like we need to finish out on a bang,” Rivera said.
Frederick 74, Roosevelt 69
At Frederick HS
ROOSEVELT (13-9, 10-3)
Weber 8 9-12 28, Mitchell 6 3-3 17, Hernandez 2 4-7 9, Walter 4 1-2 9, Rivera 2 0-1 4, Reinick 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 17-25 69.
FREDERICK (16-6, 10-3)
Rivera 6 2-2 15, Martinez 2 10-11 15, McGraw 4 3-6 11, Adams 4 1-7 9, Wise 4 1-2 9, Therrien 1 4-6 7, Miller 3 0-0 6, Gomez 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 21-24 74.
Score by quarters:
Roosevelt 17 20 16 16 — 69
Frederick 16 15 21 22 — 74
3-point field goals — Roosevelt (6): Weber 3, Mitchell 2, Hernandez; Frederick (3): Rivera, Martinez, Therrien. Total fouls — Roosevelt 25, Frederick 18. Fouled out — Mitchell, Reinick. Technical fouls — Miller.
