On December 11, 2014, Health Sciences went into Tapestry for the first of two battles with the Thunderhawks. The night belonged to Tapestry, particularly the later stages, as the Thunderhawks broke open a tight game to pull away late. Since then, Tapestry has been a staple of the small school poll and regarded as the team to beat among the charters. Health Sciences meanwhile, slipped under the radar. They went on to win 11 of their next 12 games, but played no ranked teams along the way to boost their stock. Instead, they were tucked behind Tapestry, who sat at the bottom of the small school poll, meaning Health Sciences was on the outside of it looking in. That should change now.
Health Sciences took a big early lead and then hung on late, scoring the game's final eight points in a 67-58 win over Tapestry. The win improves the Falcons to 14-3, while Tapestry falls to the same mark.
The Thunderhawks have just one game remaining, a road trip to Salamanca. The Falcons still have two games left this season, both against Global Concepts, another team that competes for the Charter Cup. If Health Sciences slipped up in one of those games, Tapestry could still claim the league prize by virtue of having a better charter record. However, if both teams finish with identical records within the charter ranks (splitting with each other and beating everyone else), the tie breaker shifts to overall record, according to Health Sciences coach Rick Mammoliti. Overall record is also how the charter scores determine power points for sectional seeding, unlike the other 88 Section VI schools, which only count league record to determine power points. The difference in records could be as slim as 16-3 vs. 15-3.
Freshman Tyrin Lott scored seven of his game-high 22 points in the opening quarter, which was all Health Sciences. The Falcons built an early 24-9 lead by playing aggressive and forcing turnovers, before Tapestry came storming back in the second quarter, getting within a basket, before going to halftime down just 33-29.
"We got a little tired running that trap, but we kind of live and die by that full court trap", Health Sciences coach Rick Mammoliti said. "We're not going to pull out of that".
After three quarters, the two were knotted at 45 apiece, as the second half turned into a competitive, see-saw battle in the city. After just three lead changes in the first half, the teams traded scoreboard advantages 14 times over the last 16 minutes, and were tied another six times. Clinging to a one-point lead with under 90 seconds to play, it was the Falcons who pulled away from their opponent this time. Kam Rashada (11 points) scored to give his team a three-point lead and then after a stop, the Falcons found Naz Flood (17 points) open in the corner, were he drilled a dagger 3-pointer. Health Sciences finished the game on an 8-0 run.
"If our press and our defense works, we're golden", said Mammoliti. "Our defense leads everything".
JoQuoine Fogan led Tapestry with 17 points, while DeJuan Owens added 13 points in the loss.
-centercourt
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