Carver boys ride second-half surge to victory, quarterfinals berth

It’s very rare that a last-second shot in a blowout holds much significance. Carver head coach Warren Beaulah is hoping that’s not the case with his team’s latest buzzer-beater.

Jordan Seldon dropped a 3-pointer to cap Carver’s 61-44 victory against Marist on Thursday. Seldon’s shot was the perfect exclamation point for a second-half effort that helped the Tigers overcome a slow start and punch their tickets to the Class 4A quaterfinals.

Carver struggled out of the gates against Marist and trailed 14-8 after the first quarter. The Tigers answered and headed to the half tied 20-20 thanks to Daniel Melvin’s late layup, but Beaulah still felt his team had not played up to its potential.

“I think we got caught up in it and came out a little bit lackluster,” Beaulah said. “At halftime, we had a conversation, kind of a little harsh conversation. They realized what we had to do, and we came out and took off.”

Beaulah stressed to his players what a quick lead in the third quarter could do for their chances. Rodney Battle delivered that cushion in a hurry, dropping consecutive 3-pointers for a six-point lead.

The Tigers turned those buckets into a 12-0 run. By the period’s end, Carver built a nine-point advantage and had turned the tables on a Marist team that couldn’t slow down in the opening quarter.

Beaulah pointed to Battle’s big 3-pointers as the spark that set the tone rest of the game.

“From there, things just started falling into place,” Beaulah said.

Battle led the Tigers with 17 points, but Beaulah deemed Friday’s victory “a team effort.” A.J. Watts capitalized on his shot attempts and scored 15 points. Xaiyhir Jacobs came through several times as well, notching eight points.

When it was all said and done, nine Carver players scored. The last was Seldon with the walk-off 3-pointer.

As the team awaits word on when its next game will be and the opponent, Seldon’s shot is something Beaulah maintains may be a sign of things to come.

“I hope that was a lucky omen there,” Beaulah said. “Maybe that’s going to carry over to the next game, because we need a little luck.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Carver boys ride second-half surge to victory, quarterfinals berth."