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BOYS BASKETBALL: Rochester improves to 2-0 with big win over Farmington

By DAN STICKRADT
Special to The Oakland Press

ROCHESTER HILLS — Rochester and Farmington conveniently share the same nickname, the Falcons. That was about the only similarity on the basketball court Friday night.

State-ranked Rochester pasted visiting Farmington to the tune of a 51-22 rout in an OAA crossover boys basketball contest.

Led by an experienced and towering array of players, Rochester moved to 2-0 on the season and won for the 23rd time in 24 games dating back to last season.

Kentucky-bound James Young, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, suffered through a cold 6-for-18 shooting night. Rochester made up for it with suffocating defense, pressing Farmington into 25 turnovers on the night and keeping the visitors from breaking the 20-point barrier until the final 45 seconds.

“The offense will come over time,” noted Rochester coach John Pleasant, who still returned six players from last season’s 21-2 team that tied a school record with 21 straight wins. “I don’t know if James will ever have a cold shooting night like that. The whole team shot poorly.”

Farmington was also held to a dismal 20.9 percent shooting (10-for-48 shooting night), with nine of its points coming in the fourth quarter after Rochester took out its regular rotation.

Young finished with a game-high 14 points, including four monstrous dunks, to go along with six rebounds, five steals, three blocked shots and three assists.

Arben Camaj, who stands 6-8, powered his way to six points, 10 rebounds and three more blocks on the inside. Junior forward Mike Murri canned nine points, 6-3 senior forward Manny Mendoza was a presence with five points and four rebounds and junior point guard had four points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals for Rochester.

The host Falcons were only 19-for-57 shooting (33.3 percent) but snared a 43-30 rebounding edge, swiped 18 passes and blocked six shots.

“What I did like was the way we played defense. We are doing things differently this season where we run different (defensive sets) and it is working,” offered Pleasant.

“We used a lot of guys tonight and I like our depth defensively. We have a lot of length with Arben and James and even Manny Mendoza. But we have a lot of quickness and on-the-ball defenders. Demetrius Magee is a very good on-the-ball defender, Jason Lee causes problems and Manny does a lot of the little things.”

Rochester opened with an 8-0 run before Farmington even knew what hit it and eventually the home-standing Falcons boasted a commanding 13-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, the host Falcons were in complete control with a 31-6 advantage.

Rochester used its depth with 13 players reaching the court in the first half and 10 scored points in the contest. A total of 12 players grabbed at least one rebound.

Farmington, in the midst of a rebuilding campaign, was simply overmatched by the taller and superiorly athletic Falcons. Senior forward Valentino Kalaj finished with seven points and nine rebounds for Farmington.

Last Updated: 12/14/2012 10:38:06 PM EST

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