The Sonic Drive-In Player-of-the-Game for Friday, February 21, was Jalen Speer of The Rock (Gainesville) boys’ basketball team.
Speer, a senior and Florida A&M signee, scored 21 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and The Rock rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to upset nationally-ranked Hamilton Heights (Chattanooga, TN), 93-83, in overtime.
Senior Kendall Latney (12 points), who got fouled on a 3-point shot, hit three free throws with 15.5 seconds to play to give the Lions an 80-78 lead. However, University of Florida signee Samson Ruzhentsev (16 points) hit a shot with 1.6 seconds to play to tie the game at 80-80 and force overtime.
F – @TheRockHoops 93, @HHhawksbball 83 (OT) – @GatorsMBK signee Samson Ruzhentsev (16 points) hit a shot with 1.6 seconds to play in regulation to send the game into OT, but the Lions (22-9) rally from a 16-point 2nd half deficit to stun the nationally-ranked No. 8 Hawks (24-3). pic.twitter.com/fyLD2WBDso
— The Prep Zone (@ThePrepZone) February 22, 2020
Speer hit one of his three shots behind the arc in the overtime period as The Rock outscored the Hawks, who were ranked 8th in the country by ESPN, 13-3 in overtime.
Junior Kyle Duke added 22 points for The Rock, while junior Dominiq Penn led Hamilton Heights with 23 points.
The Rock, the No. 3 seed in the SIAA, will host No. 6 seed Oldsmar Christian on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. in the state semifinals.
Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.
