Fourth-quarter surge helps East thump Carroll
Ron Allen probably walked a mile or two pacing up and down the East sideline.
Nowhere along the way did the Blue Aces' boys basketball coach find what he was looking for.
East's recent identity crisis isn't exactly a secret in the City League, and the Aces certainly didn't find one in their 61-44 victory over Bishop Carroll at home on Tuesday night.
But they're getting closer.
"We can get better, though," East's Ja'ln Williams said. "We need to come out playing strong. We have to come out like it's the championship game, instead of waiting for the other team to get out in transition."
After dropping 5 of 6 games midway through the season, East has won its last three.
A noticeable dropoff in play has plagued East in first halves recently.
Against Carroll, East had eight turnovers and made 6 of 26 shots in an 18-17 deficit.
Then for whatever reason, the fourth quarter releases the potential.
"They really start playing uninhibited and not so cautious and not trying to put the ball in the hole," Allen said. "Just playing free and playing with confidence, that's where our production comes from."
Allen couldn't remember the last time East was contained under 20 points at halftime. Carroll coach Lonnie Lollar thought the difference in halves was where the Eagles played defense.
In the first half, Carroll played defense in front of its bench. In the second, East made 13 of 19 shots and scored 44 second-half points.
"On one side of the floor, we do a great job defensively," Lollar said. "When we're not at that end of the floor and not able to talk them through things, that's where we struggled."
For the first three quarters, only a banked-in Ja'ln Williams three-pointer at the buzzer separated the teams.
But the basket seemed to flip the switch for East. The Aces scored on eight straight possessions to break open the game.
"They know it's time," Allen said. "If we're going to separate ourselves from the opponent. We need a spark. We need a big turnover."
This time the Aces found it. East still isn't where Allen wants it, but it's slowly working itself out of the slump.
"We haven't actually found a way to start the game good," East's Randall Rogers said. "We got to figure out what that is. Hopefully, we'll find it here pretty soon."
Bishop Carroll6 12 14 12 -- 44 East8 9 18 26 -- 61
CARROLL: Darland 1 2-2 5, Sueper 1 0-0 3, Rohleder 7 0-0 14, Slagle 0 1-2 1, Bell 4 3-4 11, Dreiling 2 1-1 5, Bieberle 0 0-0 0, Law 1 1-1 3, Palmore 1 0-0 2, Haffner 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 (2) 8-10 44.
EAST: Williams 3 4-6 12, Duque 0 0-1 0, Rogers 2 4-4 10, Carter 5 5-7 15, Jackson 3 3-4 9, Johnson-Reed 0 0-0 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, Johnson 3 0-0 7, Melbert 2 0-0 4, Graham 0 0-0 0, Griffin 1 0-0 2, Samilton 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 (5) 18-24 61.