As Kadarius Gunnerson (1) keeps an eye on Hewitt-Trussville’s Corey Cox (22), Trey Hilliard (00) drives the ball down court in the Rockets’ 66-53 season opening win Friday night.

By Robert Carter

The North Jefferson News



The first game for Gardendale boys basketball coach Mark Cornelius felt as good as his last game as a Rockets player.

At least part of it, anyway.

The third quarter was the key for Cornelius’ squad, as they scored 23 points while holding Hewitt-Trussville to just a pair of free throws as the Rockets stormed their way to a 66-53 victory in Friday night’s season opener.

“I enjoyed the third quarter immensely,” Cornelius said afterward. “That quarter showed how good we can be.”

The period was the bright spot in a game where both teams often lost their focus and their cool. The contest got off to a rocky start, with officials calling two pairs of double personal fouls and a double technical before five minutes had been played.

G’dale

The foul trouble plagued Gardendale early, as point guard Drew Faile was tagged with his third foul ten seconds into the second period, then picked up his fourth 27 seconds into the second half — right after he wowed the crowd with a slam dunk. Forward Nigel Ramsey, sometimes taking Faile’s place as point guard, had three fouls before the half as well.

Faile saw very little second half action, and finally was benched with five fouls midway through the fourth quarter with a technical foul added as he made his exit.

“Faile was a good player who had a bad game,” Cornelius said. “I’ll still give him the ball on Saturday night.”

But Ramsey stayed out of trouble the rest of the way, finishing the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

While the third quarter gave the Rockets the cushion they needed, they strayed a bit in the final period, allowing Hewitt to make things respectable toward the end as they trimmed a 25-point deficit to just 11 points late.

“We lost our focus in the fourth. We did some silly things (like getting) technicals,” Cornelius said. “But we only had eight days of practice going into tonight, so I’m happy.”

Kadarius Gunnerson scored 11 points and Clint Guin added 10 for Gardendale.

Matt McCollough paced the Huskies with 12 points, and Ryan Austin added 11.

NOTE: The Rockets game with Walker, scheduled for Friday night, has been moved to Saturday because of a conflict with Walker’s football playoff game. The scheduled girls game is cancelled, with no makeup announced.