Brother Rice defense stout as Warriors shut down Ferndale on the road

FERNDALE —‌ Birmingham Brother Rice basketball coach Rick Palmer knew his team was going to have to keep Ferndale off the boards heading into Friday night’s matchup on the Eagles’ home court.

Little did he know that’s exactly what Ferndale coach Juan Rickman had been preaching to his team.

In the end, it was the Warriors who used superior rebounding and lock-down defense to shut down the host Eagles, 54-44, in a battle of the two basketball powers.

“They were coming into the game getting about 50 percent of their misses (on rebounds),” said Palmer, whose team overcame an early deficit to take an eight point lead after the first quarter. “We really handled the defensive glass and limited them to one shot. For us to have 18 turnovers, which led to a lot of their points … to hold a team like that to 44 points in their own gym, our defense is where it needs to be.”

Ferndale junior Trenton Ruth opened the game up with a 3-pointer to bring the home crowd to its feet. But just a short time later, Brother Rice matched it with a 3 of its own, as the offense got things going. Seniors Ryan Frohock, Jonathan Blackwell and Xavier Thomas each hit a 3 and six different Warriors scored to help their team out to a 17-9 lead after the first quarter.

Ferndale kept things close in the second thanks to senior guard Cameron Reed, who scored seven of his team-high 15 points in the second quarter, as the Eagles trailed just 28-23 at halftime.

The Eagles stayed within five points through much of the third, but a three-point play by Blackwell, off an assist from Thomas, in the final minute of the quarter, gave the Warriors a 42-34 lead entering the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer by senior Curtis Williams extended the lead to 11 points and Brother Rice never looked back. Williams scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors improved to 4-0 on the season.

“We knew if we wanted a shot, we’d have to rebound. We did a poor job tonight,” Rickman said. “I don’t have the stats in front of me, but they probably had 35 to 40 percent of their points off offensive rebounds. We didn’t come up with the loose balls and offensive rebounds and they made us pay. You’ve got to rebound to give yourself a shot.”

Ruth finished with nine points and Christopher Williams added eight while pulling down a team-high seven rebounds for Ferndale.

Brother Rice entered the game allowing just a shade over 50 points a game. It’s been a source of pride early in the season, as the team’s offense has tried to find some consistency. On Friday, the Warriors limited Ferndale to just 21 points in the second half.

“I thought, defensively, we were really good and we’ve been very good all year. If that helps us get through the turnovers, or helps us get through a bad shooting night, that’s good,” Palmer said. “Unfortunately, that’s the second or third time this year I’ve said our defense was really good, while we didn’t quite execute offensively. If I had to choose one right now, I’m glad our defense is where it is. Our offense will come. We’ve got way too good of players for it not to.”

Warren Marshall had 11 points and Thomas finished with eight points, eight rebounds and 11 assists for Rice.

“I just think tonight (Thomas) made the right play more often than not,” Palmer said. “Everybody played hard, but I thought he was focused on winning basketball, which is big. When he’s at his best, we’re pretty good.”

Photo gallery from Birmingham Brother Rice at Ferndale boys basketball

Rickman’s team is now 1-3, the first time a Ferndale team he’s coached has started with that poor of a record. The good thing is that he and his team have identified the problems early.

“We just don’t do enough of the other little things consistently during the game to make up for our turnovers,” Rickman said. “Things like limiting blown assignments, (getting) loose balls, rebounding, making layups, making free throws, we just have to do those things consistently throughout the game.

“We had spells during the game that I call, ‘Nap time,’ where we take a nap in some of those areas. With our schedule, you can’t take a day off. There’s no team where you can say, ‘We should win that.’ We have to bring it.”