Rodney Battle’s big night helps Carver advance to second round

Carver’s Rodney Battle didn’t have a perfect night for the Tigers against Burke County, still, the junior did more than enough to give Carver exactly what it needed.

Battle scored a game-high 29 points in Carver’s 96-76 victory over Burke County on Saturday night. The guard started the game strong with the Tigers’ first nine points and finished it as one of the major catalysts for the Tigers’ attack.

Battle said he had a notion Saturday could be something special and that this was his time to shine.

“It really felt good,” Battle said. “I tried to put the team first. We had to come up with something today to complete Round 1.”

Carver head coach Warren Beaulah said Battle’s latest showing was more in tune with what he showed himself capable of early on in his junior season.

“He’s a player,” Beaulah said. “He started off early playing like that, then the last couple of games we noticed he started to pick it up again. That’s what we expect from Rodney.”

Battle’s efforts stood out in the third quarter. With Burke County hanging tight, the Tigers hit their top gear, dropping 33 points to build a comfortable 12-point cushion. Battle was not alone in the offensive surge, as A.J. Watts, Daniel Melvin and Devin Flowers all chipped in to put the game away.

While the third quarter was the turning point, it also included Battle’s most glaring miss. But it was one he could laugh about at game’s end.

Battle saw an opportunity to throw an alley-oop to teammate Jalen King, who happens to be Battle’s cousin. Battle’s pass, however, was off the mark. As a testament to Battle’s entire night, the play still ended in points, as King dropped the ball in instead delivering a powerful dunk.

“I thought it was coming,” Battle said of the ‘miss.’ “I threw it to him, and I thought he was going to dunk it. I overthrew it and he finished it.”

Battle couldn’t contain himself due to the excitement of the moment after the game, smiling and saying he could hardly talk. The game was a chance for the Tigers to extend their season to at least one more game, and Battle came up big to make that happen.

As the Tigers await mid-week and another chance to show out, Battle said the message among the players is clear. Carver certainly showed themselves able to handle the playoff experience, but it won’t continue without execution going forward.

Battle was the hero in Saturday’s victory, but he’ll be the first to tell you he can’t let that showing linger too long in his head.

“(We’re saying) keep pushing and don’t get ahead of yourself,” Battle said. “We can’t get too comfortable, because I know we’re going to play some pretty good teams.”

This story was originally published February 18, 2017 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Rodney Battle’s big night helps Carver advance to second round."