Romine’s 32 power Sheridan past PA

SHERIDAN – On the first night of the Sheridan Classic, senior Noah Romine didn’t have his best performance.

He made up for it Friday night as he led the Sheridan boys’ basketball team to a 67-45 win against Pulaski Academy at Yellowjacket Arena.

Sheridan (5-2) coach Joe Scott said Romine shot 0 for 10 from the field in the Yellowjackets’ 43-40 win against Jacksonville on Thursday, but he didn’t let it bother him and got back to playing to his abilities Friday.

“He’s confident in himself,” Scott said. “His teammates are confident in him. His coaching staff’s confident in him. He has the green light. He has the keys to our car. We trust him with everything we got.”

Romine scored a game-high 32 points against the Bruins with five assists. Most of that came in the first three quarters as he sat much of the fourth with the game well in hand.

Ten other Yellowjackets scored, though none had more than 6 points. Ethan Anderton, a junior, had 6, while senior Gavin Hobson scored 5.

Romine said his mindset coming into Friday’s game was to keep shooting the ball.

“I had a terrible game (Thursday),” Romine said. “I couldn’t even hit a free throw. … Just having that mindset of coming out shooting and knowing I can do whatever I want to do when I put my mind to it.”

Pulaski Academy (1-1) scored first to lead 3-0, but Hobson tied it with a 3-pointer, then senior Nathan Carter gave Sheridan the lead. The Yellowjackets led 10-5 before Romine hit his first of six 3-pointers. Sheridan ended the first quarter and started the second on a 12-0 run with Romine scoring 10 of those points.

Sheridan led 42-20 at halftime, at which point Romine had 22 points. The Yellowjackets made eight 3-pointers, all in the first half.

The Bruins began the second half on a 9-2 run before the Yellowjackets settled in. Scott said he would take the blame for the slow start.

“I told them I’d give them some rest if they got it to 30,” Scott said. “They’re teenage boys. They probably don’t want the rest. They probably want to stay out on the coach, but I was looking at it as a coach. We have a game tomorrow at 1:30. We need the rest. It’s a quick turnaround on back-to-back-to-back nights. They didn’t come out in the third with the effort and energy we needed.”

The Yellowjackets’ reserves went on a 10-0 run in the fourth against Pulaski Academy’s reserves, though the Bruins followed with a 6-0 run late.

Pulaski Academy sophomore Koa Rockwell led the Bruins with 14 points, while senior KJ Colen had 12.

Cabot 55, Pine Bluff 42

An scoreless third quarter cost Pine Bluff the lead and the game Friday night.

The Zebras fell 55-42 to Cabot during the Sheridan Classic at Yellowjacket Arena.

Pine Bluff (2-4) led 22-18 at halftime but didn’t score in the third quarter.

Cabot (1-7) nearly matched its first half output by scoring 15 in the third to take a lead it didn’t relinquish.

Panther senior Colton Rosenbaum scored a game-high 20 points, while junior Parker Gray followed with 14.

Pine Bluff senior Deriyon Graydon led the Zebras with 15 points, followed by senior Braylon Morden with 13.

Neither team scored until roughly 2:30 into the game when Cabot senior Grayson Kerr hit a 3-pointer.

The Zebras finally got some offense going afterward. Shots by junior Quintin Roy and Graydon gave Pine Bluff the lead as part of an 11-0 run. Cabot didn’t score again until the final minute of the quarter, after which Pine Bluff led 13-7.

The Panthers cut the lead to 17-15 in the second but didn’t tie it. A 3-pointer in the final seconds by Morden sent the Zebras into halftime with a 22-18 advantage.

The Zebras went cold in the third quarter, and Cabot shut them out 15-0 to take a 33-22 lead into the fourth. Pine Bluff quickly ended its drought with a shot 16 seconds into the fourth but couldn’t get any closer than 33-26 as Cabot held on to win.