Utica Shocks Fraser
February 18, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, the Ramblers hosted the Utica Chieftains in their 15th game of the year. Coming in at 5-9, the Ramblers needed to win nearly every game to finish with a .500 or better record. They had played Utica once before this year and lost at Utica by a score of 55-46.
Fraser stumbled out of the gate to start this one off. They were down 12-2 in the first until a Rambler timeout straightened the team out. Shawn Jackson scored the next six points for Fraser as they closed the gap to 12-8 to end the first quarter.
Shawn Jackson (21) of Fraser runs down court after hitting a three pointer to extend Fraser’s lead.
The Ramblers continued their run by out scoring the Chieftains 14-5 in the second quarter. That gave them an overall scoring run of 20-5. Fraser played good defense in the second quarter and it led to many transition baskets. Two of those baskets were scored by senior Trevor Fudge. Sebastian Tavilieri hit a corner three pointer as the clock wound down in the second to give Fraser a 22-17 lead at half. Shawn Jackson led all scorers with 10 points at halftime.
The scoring continued for Sebastian Tavilieri, who’s known by his teammates as Seabass, as he hit another clutch three pointer to stretch Fraser’s lead to 30-23 with about 3:36 in the third quarter. A few baskets by each team would end the third quarter and give the Ramblers a 35-30 lead going into the fourth.
The fourth started off with a bang as Utica’s Parker Chmiel hit a three to bring the Chieftains within two. Shawn Jackson answered right back with a three of his own. That brought Fraser’s lead to 39-33 and gave Jackson 16 points on the night. The threes were flying late in the game as Caden Ebeling (son of Fraser teacher Mrs.Ebeling) hit one to bring the deficit to one basket. Marcus Rice made a lay up and a foul shot that came with it, but that would be the last free throw any Rambler would make. With 2:20 left in the game Utica took the lead and would hold on to win 46-44. This was in part because of six straight free throws missed by seniors Marcus Rice and Matt Harper. This would cost the Ramblers the game and their sixth win of the year.
They say free throw shots are the easiest points to make, but that was not the case Tuesday night. The Ramblers went 5-13 from the charity stripe and is the main reason for why they took their tenth loss of the year. At this point a chance at a .500 record is out the window, but the Ramblers still need to win these upcoming games as they will help come early March when the team plays in Districts.
Utica is now 8 and 2 in their last 10 games and 8-7 overall for the year. They look to keep up the pace when they take on Port Huron Northern at home Thursday night.
Fraser will try to get their sixth win of the year when they head to Mt.Clemens February 24th to face the Bathers. These two teams met earlier this year at Fraser and Mt.Clemens came away with a 63-45 win. Come out next Tuesday at 7:30pm to see the Fraser Ramblers in one of the last games of the year.
