Team Captain Jerice Crouch

SOUTHWEST TRIBUNE

Leading most of the game and losing it in the very last seconds of the 4th quarter has become a common theme for the Rochester RazorSharks, the defending Premiere Basketball League(PBL)Champions.

After winning the PBL Championship in 2017, the RazorSharks decided to move to the North American Premiere Basketball League (NAPBL), where the level of play is second only to the NBA.

However to be fair, the struggle to close out games can squarely be placed on the team’s revamp roster, where over 90 percent of the RazorSharks players are new. And to add insult to injury, the incoming players in most cases, hasn’t been on the team for more than a month.

Point Guard Jerice Crouch, the only returning player from the 2017 roster, has played with the RazorSharks for 11 years.

Chemistry among teammates takes more time in basketball than many of the various sports. It’s fair to say the players are learning on the job.

Getting into the game.

Last night, the score was tied in the 4th quarter after the RazorSharks made several big baskets to take the lead, only to surrender it back to the Yakima Sunkings, who eventually sunk a 3-pointer in the final seconds to hand the Sharks their fourteenth loss of the season.

The good part is, anyone who attends a RazorSharks game will get their money’s worth.

The players for the Sharks and others playing in the NAPBL are athletic, animated, exciting and every team seems to have multiple sharp shooters. Most games go right down to the buzzer. And that’s what most basketball fans enjoy watching: Competition!

Rochester RazorSharks sharp-shooting Guard Matt Hart didn’t waste no time warming up last night against the visiting Sunkings. Hart a new-comer, has been stroking the 3-ball with striking precision. His two 3-pointers in the opening minutes set the tone early that the Sharks came to play. He dropped 22-points in the game

Other new-comers like Treyvon Jackson with 23 points was very energetic and able to draw multiple fouls early in the game on Sunkings players by going hard to the basket and stepping back at times to drain a three.

However, the Sunkings big men kept their team close with a dominant performance in the paint, which continued to be a problem in the 2nd Half, before RazorSharks Team Captain Jerice Crouch began to Will his team to a win, by applying pressure defense on the Sunkings ball handlers that caused turnovers and ignited fast-break opportunities. And wide-open shots from behind the 3-point line.

Crouch, the highest scorer on the floor last night dropped 32-points in the game.

The impressive play by Hart and Crouch ignited the play of other team players like Bernard Edwards, who dropped 15-points and Wayne McCullough. Going into halftime with a 10-point lead (65-55), Hart and Crouch continued to cook in the 3rd quarter, but the Sunkings big men continued to give them problems in the paint, coming back to close the 10-point lead to a single point at 90-89.

Both teams played hard and competitive throughout the fourth quarter matching basket after basket. With the game tied with seconds on the clock, the Sunkings came down the court with the probable last possession of the game and hit the nail in the coffin 3-pointer. Final score: RazorSharks 116, Sunkings 119.

You can catch the sure to be exciting rematch between the RazorSharks and the Sunkings tonight March 8, 2018 at 7:05 pm, Blue Cross Arena.

Courtside: $25.00

General Admission: $5.00

Children Under 10: Free