Justin Klein

The crowd was roaring, cheering on their team the Richard Montgomery Rockets. One of

the closest games this season had everyone on their feet. It was so loud, you couldn't hear

yourself breathe. This was the St. Andrew's game, the team's record was 2-2, and this

game was thought to be the turning point to the season, according to player Evan Threet.

At the start of the season, after a 69-61 loss to Gaithersburg High School, and an even

closer 43-40 loss to Blair High School, the team was struggling. Communication on

defense was a weak point for the Rockets. Multiple player injuries including rolled

ankles, getting hit on the head, broken fingers, and getting poked in the eye, plagued the

team. The team got together and decided to have a meeting without their coach. They

talked about their challenges and goals for the team. According to Threet, after this

meeting the feeling was that "we were hungry, we wanted to win. Nothing was going to

stop us."

Now the team was playing St. Andrew's, at the brink of showing themselves that they

could do it. They could come together and win. St Andrew's roster has three division I

athletes. The Rockets had been preparing since summer and fall league for this game. A

win would give them the confidence they needed going into the rest of the season.

After back and forth baskets, the Rockets broke away with a couple of key three-pointers

and the game was sealed. The final score: 57-48. Richard Montgomery had won.
The Rockets determination and hard work in the end has propelled them to be a winning

team with a current record of 15-4. According to player Gerami Sadeghi, "in the end, it

just came down to the hard work and resiliency of our guys. We didn't start out the best

but we picked ourselves up worked hard every day, and being together every day made us

really come together on the court."