Rufus King (Milwaukee, WI) built leads as large as 12 points in the second half before having to hold on for a 51-48 victory over East Rutherford (Forest City, NC) in the opening game of the 2012 Beach Ball Classic.
Trailing 46-40 with 2:25 to play, East Rutherford (9-2) scored six unanswered to knot the score at 46-46 with just 0:48 on the clock. Travis Waldroup-Rodriguez capped the run with a trey. Austin Mitchell-Malone connected on a pair of free throws to regain the lead for the Generals (7-0) with 39 seconds to play in regulation.
Following a turnover by East Rutherford’s Devonte Boykins, Jamell Posey hit one of two from the free throw line to push Rufus King’s lead to 49-46 with 0:11 on the clock. With the three-point lead, the Generals sent Jarvis Hopper to the lin where he connected on both freebies to pull East Rutherford to within one at 49-48 with just seven seconds to play. Following a pair of free throws by Posey, East Rutherford’s Rodderic Ross’ buzzer beating 3-pointer hit off of the front of the rim.
Malone-Mitchell led Rufus King with 19 points, while East Rutherford was paced by Waldroup-Rodriguez’ 14 points.
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