- May 3, 2024
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Sharks coach David Howard watches his team from the bench. Photo by Ray Boone
Atlantic team captain Kevin Beans misses a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. Photo by Ray Boone
Atlantic forward Dewarren Bolden attempts a layup against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
The Sharks Dewarren Bolden blocks a shot against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
The Sharks' Dewarren Bolden dunks the ball against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
Sharks guard Jordan Sears dribbles the ball against the Buccaneers. Photo by Ray Boone
Sharks guard Kenneth Weatherspoon sneaks in a layup against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
Down three points with 15 seconds left in the game, Sharks forward and team captain Kevin Beans rose up for a potential game-tying 3-pointer. He was wide open on the left wing, and the shot felt perfect coming off his hand.
“I thought it was going in,” he said. “Every time I shoot, I think it’s going in.”
He missed.
Beans’ shot clanked off the front of the rim, and the Buccaneers grabbed the rebound. A free throw with five seconds remaining sealed Atlantic’s loss — its second in a row.
Mainland toppled the Sharks 53-49 on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 24, at Atlantic High School.
Beans, who scored a team-high 17 points against the Buccaneers, couldn’t remember the last time Atlantic lost back-to-back games. Sharks coach David Howard, who has coached Atlantic since 2013, said it’s never happened since he’s been with the team.
“That’s just the character of this team,” Howard said. “They believe we can win every time we compete. But, it’s tough to lose at home. We usually don’t lose too many home games. It was just an unfortunate night.”
The Sharks played catchup for most of Wednesday night. They were only down five points at the half, thanks to a deep, swishing 3-pointer by Beans shortly before the teams headed to the locker rooms.
In the third quarter, the Sharks made a run, sparked by a dunk by 6-foot-4 forward Dewarren Bolden, which cut the gap to two points. Atlantic eventually took the lead 41-37 by the end of the period.
But in the fourth, the Buccaneers’ Taron Keith and Rodney Rhoden took a stand. Keith burned the Sharks for three triples and a game-high 18 points, and Rhoden scored 10 points, highlighted by a game-changing, breakaway dunk with five minutes left in the game.
“Right now, we’re just not playing well,” Howard said. “We played well enough to win tonight. We just missed a lot of little assignments, and every time we did, they killed us. They really punished us for it.”
After the Sharks’ previous defeat — a loss to Mainland, which sank a layup at the buzzer to win 58-56 on Friday, Jan. 19 — the team was heartbroken. Now, they’re at a loss for words.
“We’re in a slump right now,” Beans said. “And if we keep losing now, we’re going to end up at the bottom, and we don’t need that.”
