It didn’t take long Friday to realize one Sheridan junior was headed for a career night.
The Sheridan boys’ basketball team picked up a much-needed home win by defeating rival White Hall 66-45 at Yellowjacket Arena.
Sheridan (12-6, 2-4 in 5A-South) junior Noah Romine scored a career-high 32 points in a tremendous individual effort to lead the Yellowjackets. He scored 18 of those points in the first quarter.
Romine said he knew it would be a big night for him once he hit 20 points. He credited his teammates with getting him open looks.
“The team got me a lot of shots,” Romine said. “They moved to the middle, cut, gave me the ball when I needed it. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the team.”
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Addison Reynolds and Nathan Carter each added 10 points for Sheridan. Jai’Chaunn Hayes led White Hall with 17 points, followed by 13 points from Jacoby Edwards.
White Hall (8-11, 3-3) took an early lead after Xavier Simpson hit a 3-pointer, but Romine hit one of his own to tie the game. Reynolds gave Sheridan its first lead, and Romine made it 7-2 with a quick steal and score.
Edwards tied the game for White Hall with a rare 4-point play, but Reynolds and Romine teamed up for a 7-0 run to give the Yellowjackets the lead for good. Romine scored the rest of Sheridan’s first-quarter points, and the Yellowjackets led 22-18 entering the second.
Romine is listed at 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and Sheridan coach Joe Scott said if he was taller, the entire state would know about him.
“The kid is an absolute bucket,” Scott said. “He’s got killer mentality. He’s got the swag that you need for a shorter point guard. We saw him in the preseason; he was killing us in practice. We knew this was coming.”
Romine reached 20 points with a pair of free throws with 3:47 remaining in the first half and gave Sheridan a 30-20 lead in the process. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 36-31 by halftime.
The Yellowjackets dominated the third quarter 19-4, turning a competitive game into a lopsided one. Hayes scored White Hall’s only field goal of the quarter with 3:45 remaining.
Scott said the Yellowjackets got good looks at the basket in the third.
“They extended their pressure a little bit,” Scott said. “We took good care of the basketball and we were getting looks around the rim. Man, we were crashing the boards so hard tonight. … We kept possessions alive. Defensively, we guarded really, really well in the third quarter, and we just kind of ran away with it from then.”
The Bulldogs cut into the deficit by starting the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run, but Sheridan didn’t let White Hall get closer. Romine hit a late 3-pointer to cap off his big night and received a curtain call in the final seconds, leaving the court to a huge ovation from the home fans.
Romine said having this big night at home in a rivalry game made it extra special.
“It’s awesome, especially in front of all the students here,” Romine said. “It’s just awesome. They loved it.”