All Rights go to ESPN and Winter Park High School
Undefeated New Jersey powerhouse Elizabeth St. Patrick set the tone with tenacity early on Friday night and used its relentless thirst for rebounds and stops to turn back host Winter Park 75-66 in a nationally televised basketball matchup.
But Winter Park star Austin Rivers said good came out of the loss because the Wildcats (15-5) learned how to turn up their own intensity level in the second half against the towering Celtics (9-0).
Rivers poured in 25 of his 38 points in the final two quarters as Winter Park clawed its way back into the game against a team ranked No. 2 in three major national polls.
Winter Park, Florida's defending Class 6A champion, cut a 20-point second-quarter deficit to six in the final two minutes before running out of time.
"In the grand scheme of things I think this game helped us a lot," Rivers said. "St. Patrick plays hard the whole game. That's one thing I tip my hat to them for. We matched that, overmatched that, in the second half."
St. Patrick standout Michael Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7 small forward who signed with Kentucky in November, scored his team's first seven points and the Celtics ran out to a 23-8 first quarter lead. That margin ballooned to 38-18 by the half as St. Pat's dominated inside and used textbook fastbreak play.
Gilchrist, long and strong, had 23 points and 15 rebounds.
"Their baskets were in transition and on offensive rebounds and those are just hustle plays," said Winter Park coach David Bailey. "I think they played a lot harder than we did in the beginning."
But Rivers brought a partisan home crowd of 1,600 back to its feet with a sensational 14-point third quarter. He made three 3-point shots, converted a 3-point play and set up teammate Austin Keel for a trey in a four-minute, 42-second spree as the Wildcats closed to within seven.
Rivers continued his tear in the final quarter and the Wildcats cut the gap to 69-63 in the final two minutes.
Afterward, Winter Park fans surrounded a courtside broadcast table to watch Rivers - who signed with Duke in November - be interviewed by ESPN broadcast analyst Jason Williams, a former Blue Devils great.
Негізгі бет Austin Rivers 38pts vs Michael Gilchrist 23pts-15rebs
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