ZERRY CHRISTMAS! Plymouth’s Rue nets 30 in huge win over Howell
Better known as a rim attacker in his first couple years at Plymouth High School, senior guard Zerry Rue diligently worked on his perimeter shooting during the off season.
The hard work paid dividends Thursday night against Howell.
Rue torched the nets for 30 points, including five three-pointers, all of which he made with a Highlander defender’s hand in his face.
He also threw down a crowd-pleasing dunk in the first half that fueled Plymouth’s momentum train.
It turned out every single one of those threes were necessary as the Wildcats hung on to defeat Howell, 46-43.
Plymouth is now 2-4 and 1-0 in the KLAA West Division. Howell dropped to 4-2.
Confidence builder
Asked how confident he is when the ball is in Rue’s hands, Plymouth Head Coach Darien Bynum replied: “Very confident”.
“He’s a heckuva player,” Bynum added. “He’s our guy, so I trust him. He hit shots when we really needed him tonight and by hitting those shots, he helped open things up down low for us.”
Rue said it was nice finally playing a home game following five straight season-opening games on the road.
“There was great energy in there tonight,” Rue said. “We had four straight tough losses against good teams — Brother Rice was one and their ranked in the state — so we’re hoping a win like tonight can take us a long way.”
Repelling Howell’s late rally
After Isaiah Hooks’ layup put the Wildcats up 43-36 with two minutes remaining, the hosts had to hold on for dear life as the Highlanders stormed back to within three with just under a minute to play.
Howell had two three-point shots in the final five seconds to force overtime, but both caromed off the rim.
“We showed we can handle pressure well and we’ll only get better as the season goes on,” Rue said.
“When you play in close games like this,” Bynum added, “the things you can learn are invaluable.”
BRAVO!
Sophomore Eli Bravo complemented Rue’s big night with nine points. He scored twice on Kobe Bryant-esque baseline turn-around fade-away shots from 15 feet. Bravo also nailed a big third-quarter three.
“Eli shoots that fade-away a lot and sometimes I get made at him,” Bynum said, smiling. “But to his credit, he’s in the gym all the time practicing that shot, so much so that sometimes we have to kick him out of the gym.”
Howell, which many considered one of the co-favorites to win the conference this season, led 10-7 after one quarter before Plymouth roared back to deadlock the game at 18-all at the half.
Rue’s 11-point third quarter helped the Wildcats push ahead 34-32 before the home team displayed big-time poise and composure down the stretch.
Nice start in conference
“This win couldn’t have come at a better time since it was our first conference game,” concluded Bynum. “It’s nice to be 1-0 in the conference because we’ve struggled the past couple years.
“We played a tough non-conference schedule to get us ready for this moment. We came out tonight ready to compete. We played a little smarter, although we still have some stuff to clean up.
Senior Abdul Hammad hit two long triples to finish with six points for the winners.
Sophomore Avery Livermore led Howell with 17 points.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
