Romulus 93 Pershing 91: The number one and number two teams in the state collided in what could be a game that produces the Class A state champion. The Doughboys beat Romulus the second game of the season 83-76, but this is a different Romulus team from then. It was evident that the game was going to be a track meet with 11 points scored in the first 1:30 of the contest and 44 just in that quarter. The fourth quarter in this game is where the fun was. Leading by eight with 4:10 left in the contest, Romulus thought as if they were going to cruse to the finish line. But this is Pershing we are talking about. Coach Wydell’s boys don’t quit, the Doughboys responded with a 12-5 run of themselves to cut the deficit to one with 2:40 left in the contest. Pershing held a one point lead with 1:10 left to go in the contest after a basketball by Justin Tillman. But the dreams of a state championship took a tremendous hit when senior wing Jalon Plummer hit probably one of the biggest shots of his life on the next trip down for Romulus. That gave Pershing a 90-88 lead forcing a time-out to be called. However, the game was not over. Pershing junior guard Darsean Woodson picked up the ball of a Romulus turnover with seven seconds left and was fouled with a chance to tie the game. Woodson rolled in the first one, but was unable to connect on the second one. Rhode Island commit E.C. Matthews was fouled after the miss and hit one of two free-throws to extend the lead to two. Mr. Basketball candidate Kahlil Felder was unable to get off the game winning three with 2.3 to go in the contest giving Romulus the return trip to the Breslin Center.
E.C. Matthews lead Romulus with 29 points including 11 of them in the first quarter. “I was just feeding in what was giving to me. I was just wanted to be aggressive and just attack and create for others,” said Matthews after his monster game. This is no uncharted territory for the Eagles. Last year, Romulus beat the Doughboys at this very arena only to fall to Rockford in the next game. Coach Oats knew that this was a big one. But it is not one to celebrate for. The real celebration for Romulus will begin if they win they next two games. When asked what the team will do to prepare for a return trip to the Breslin Center, Matthews added “We are seniors now, we have been here before, so we know what it is like we are not going to make the mistakes we did last year.”
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