ROGERS — The regular season didn’t start until Friday night for Rogers’ boys basketball team, so the Mounties will have to make up for some lost time
An overtime game to start things off will help matters. Alonzo Porchia hit a tie-breaking free throw, and Aidan Chronister beat the shot clock with a long 3-pointer to help Rogers secure a 50-48 victory over Van Buren in Mountie Arena.
“When you’re as young as we are, that 4 minutes can sometimes be very valuable,” Mounties coach Lamont Frazier said. “It’s another opportunity to get some experience that, when you go to practice, you really can’t duplicate it.
“We had another bad third quarter, but we have some guys that have been through the battle before. They stepped up and provided enough energy, provided enough production to get us back in the game and give us the opportunity to play 4 more minutes.”
Chronister, one of two freshmen on Rogers’ roster, hit a bucket with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left in overtime to give Rogers (1-0) a 46-44 lead, the Mounties’ first since early in the third quarter. Van Buren (3-2) then tied the game again with a Jaxon Cazzell putback moments later.
That lasted until Porchia was fouled and hit the second of two free throws to put the Mounties ahead with 1:43 remaining, then Chronister hit his long 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to make it a 50-46 game with 27 seconds remaining. Cazzell hit two free throws with with 9.7 seconds left, but Rogers was able to run out the clock and take the win.
“The positive to what we did was we took advantage of opportunities,” Frazier said. “We started getting stops. We created an environment in which we really wanted. Our shot selection was off a little bit, but our guys’ tempo was big.
“We took some quick shots, but it was all in an attempt to get the tempo up. We knew if we got the tempo up that it was probably going to be advantageous for us because our guys would be more comfortable and loose.”
The Mounties, however, had to battle back from a double-digit deficit after Drew Brasuell’s bucket gave Van Buren a 40-30 cushion early in the fourth quarter. Rogers completed the comeback as Chronister scored his first points on a three-point play with 1:08 remaining, then Porchia’s bucket with 33 seconds left tied the game.
The loss was Van Buren’s second this week against a 6A-West opponent in which the Pointers had the lead going into the fourth quarter. Van Buren led by one Tuesday night against Fort Smith Southside before suffering a 71-59 loss.
“We haven’t figured out how to finish games,” Van Buren coach Brad Autry said. “We didn’t know last year, and we still don’t know this year. So when you get into a tight game and it’s winning time, you have to be able to execute offensively to get a good look and convert. You also have to get stops, and you have to get defensive rebounds.
“We haven’t figured how to do that. We had this game won and had it under control. We turned the ball over at least three of the last four trips down the floor. We were at the free-throw line with 14 seconds left to take a two-point lead and missed the front end of a 1-and-1.”
Porchia had 15 points and Rex Krout added 11 for Rogers, which will play three games at home during the Arvest Hoopfest next week. Cazzell led Van Buren with 19 points, followed by Brasuell with 11.