Boys basketball: No. 8 Jupiter stops No. 10 Atlantic

Friday, January 14, 2011
by Jeff Greer

Taylor Jones / Palm Beach Post

More photos from the game

For almost three quarters Friday night, everything seemed to go Atlantic's way.

The 10th-ranked Eagles were dominating the paint and keeping No. 8 Jupiter's leading scorers at bay, holding comfortable leads of up to 10 points.

But then Jupiter (10-4) came roaring back. The Warriors flipped a switch late in the third quarter and raced their way to a 67-55 comeback win over visiting Atlantic.

Jupiter outscored Atlantic 38-11 over the game's final 10 minutes thanks to an avalanche of big plays, highlighted by Bobby Hain's 13-point fourth quarter.

"It's a big win," said senior guard Josh Schattie, who had 12 points and eight rebounds. "We just had to lock down on defense, and defense always leads to offense."

Hain had been quiet for much of the night before his big fourth quarter. The 6-foot-7 guard had been playing in the post in place of injured center Grant Pelchen and forward Tyler Cameron, but Cameron's return from a shoulder injury allowed Hain to spend more time away from the basket.

He finished 7-of-11 from the field, including three three-pointers, and grabbed eight rebounds.

"That's Bobby being more of the player that he is, out on the wing," Jupiter coach John Andersen said. "That's (Cameron) being back, taking pressure off (Hain)."

The Warriors' defense woke up during the run, too, keeping Atlantic to 20 second-half points. The Eagles were 9-of-32 after the halftime break.

"We were too impatient when we had the lead," Atlantic coach Brad Flaig said. "We just didn't take care of business."

Atlantic's Richardson Myrthil had 16 points and 14 rebounds, but fouled out in the fourth quarter.

Jupiter is now 4-2 in a competitive District 9-6A, and the win helps the Warriors keep pace with Atlantic (10-4, 2-1 in 9-6A) and Santaluces, which improved to 5-1 in the district (10-5 overall) with a 66-54 win Friday over Royal Palm Beach.

The win also erased Jupiter's two-game skid that had Andersen a little worried about his team.

"This was almost a must-win for us," Andersen said. "Every season, you always have peaks and valleys. We started weathering the storm and got a huge win against the best team in our district."