Big block by Romeo clinches victory for Bobcat boys
By Staff
Dion Romeo may have been the only person in the gym who thought Dion Romeo could block Fauquier High's Jerrelle Benimon.
The 6-foot-7 Benimon, co-Player of the Year in the Cedar Run District last season, had drawn fouls and made layups all night Friday despite being surrounded by Battlefield defenders. So with five seconds remaining in the game and only Romeo between him and the basket, Benimon seemed sure to make the game-tying layup.
But Benimon's shot never reached the rim thanks to the stretched arm of Romeo and the Battlefield Bobcats went on to win 63-60 in Haymarket.
"I was thinking, 'I can’t foul him,' but I’ve got to go for the block," Romeo said. "I saw it right there, so I just went up and defended and blocked it hard."
Romeo had plenty of time to plan his approach. With 13.8 seconds on the clock, Benimon rebounded a missed free-throw on the other end of the floor, dribbled up court and cut left near the three-point line to evade a group of Battlefield defenders. That left only the 6-4 Romeo in the lane to stop Benimon from making the score 62-62 with a left-handed layup.
Romeo timed his leap perfectly, tipping Benimon's shot with his fingertips and giving Battlefield possession with 4.8 seconds remaining.
"I didn’t see him," Benimon said. "I thought I just had an easy layup... I just went kind of lazy. I could have went up strong, but I didn’t."
Romeo was fouled after making that big block and made one of two free throws to give Battlefield a three-point lead. Benimon then missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the game.
“I’ve had big blocks but not on to stop the game-tying shot," said Romeo, a senior forward. "It felt good. The crowd was shaking; the energy."
That was Romeo's only block of the game. Benimon, meanwhile, had a game-high six blocks, a game-high 31 points (none in the first quarter) and a game-high 11 rebounds. But one foiled layup negated it all.
“We should have won. We’ve been playing pretty well," said Benimon, a senior post player. "We didn’t shoot too well this game, but the last couple games we’ve been shooting real well."
The Falcons (3-2 overall, 1-1 district) had averaged almost six three-pointers per game to begin the season, but made only one of 17 attempts against Battlefield (3-1, 2-0).
“That makes a big difference. If we can hit some of those outside shots tonight they’ve got to come out a little bit more and that opens it up for Jerrelle," FHS coach Wayne Brizzi said. "We hit a couple outside shots, it’s a different game."
Josh Simons had been Fauquier's best threat from the outside, but he finished with only seven points after averaging 13 entering the game. Fellow guard Joey Geary added five points, well off his average of 12.
The Falcons played the first four minutes against Battlefield without Geary or Benimon — usual starters — because they had missed practice prior to the game, Benimon said.
The Falcons trailed 9-3 when Benimon entered the game and 17-12 after the first quarter. But the Fauquier star didn't miss another minute of the game and helped the Falcons take their largest lead midway through the second quarter at 31-25.
Junior guard James Robinson (22 points), Romeo (14 points, six rebounds) and the Bobcats' defense managed a rally, though. They held Fauquier to seven points in the third period with a 1-2-2 zone defense and the 49-42 lead with which they began the fourth quarter was just enough to make Romeo's late block meaningful.