RAIDERS RISE ABOVE KNIGHTS 77-43-GAME HEARD ON ESPN 99.1FM
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Rome’s Julius Berry (21) finds some tough sledding during the early going. Jeff Pexton-MHTS-PGI Photo It was CNY National Proctor against Tri-Valley league member RFA at the Michael J. Arcuri Athletic Complex. Fans old enough to remember the old Central Oneida League always get pumped up for this matchup. Harvey, who was named the Monster Energy Drink Player of the Game, finished with 27 points on the evening. The 27 point outburst, by Harvey, was more than twice his seasonal average of 12 points per game
Naronn Harvey (10) slams one home for Proctor.
The senior forward had four three pointers and five thunderous slam dunks in his bag of tricks as his Raiders won the big rivalry game between the two largest schools in the area. Along with Harvey’s gaudy stats we should add one more that really impressed longtime Proctor coach Norm Stamboly. The stat was under the heading of steals. The lighting quick Harvey picked the pockets of several unsuspecting Knights as he sped up court for break away buckets time and time again. J’Von Evans also played great defense and helped disrupt the out of rhythm RFA offense all night long, also chipped in nine points for the well-balanced home team. Clifton Tracy also scored nine points for the victors. How good was the Proctor defense? Good enough to hold RFA‘s top scorer, Spencer Kahler to just five points, well below his season average of 11.8 per game. 
Proctor jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game and never looked back. It was evident early on that the Roman’s could not match up with the inside size and overall team speed the Raiders possess. Proctor came to play as the Raiders used full court pressure to take the Knights out of the game and break this one wide open early. Chris Simmons chipped in 20 points and 16 boards for the Raiders, who beat RFA for the second time in less than a week, defeating the Romans 65-30 back on 12/22 in the Copper City.
RFA‘s Nathan Rosa (34) sets up for a long three. Rosa finished with 11 points for the Knights.
The Raiders built leads of 24-6 after the first quarter and 38-12 after the first sixteen minutes in the books. Harvey scored 20 of his game high 27 points and slammed home all five of his dunks in the first half. One in particular brought the house down as Harvey delivered a long-range windmill dunk with a splash of panache. Factoring in tonight’s win, Proctor is (2-2) in its last four games this season and (3-3) overall, having lost to New Hartford and Henninger in back to back contests before rebounding against RFA. At the half, Proctor head coach Norm Stamboly told My Hometown Sports – ESPN Radio 99.1 FM that he was pleased not only with the way his team played offensively, he was even more happy with the tenacity of his team’s defense, which led to the fast break opportunities for the entire opening two periods of play. Stamboly went on to basically guarantee that his team would stay focused for the second half, which they certainly did. Black Knights head coach Nick Medicis also spent some time with us at the intermission and said that while you can’t coach against the sheer height that Proctor was throwing at his team, you sure can coach heart. Medicis said that his Black Knights were now playing for pride. Pride of self, school, family and City. Two Black Knights who took those words to heart were Nathan Rosa and Randy Pearson who both had big second half’s to add the RFA cause. Rosa who drained three long-range bombs finished with eleven points while Pearson slashed his way to ten points on the night. Unfortunately for RFA, the home-standing Raiders came out roaring again in the third period as Howard and teammates Ephram Wright and Chris Simmons combined for all of Proctor’s 22 points and the boys from Utica built a 60-27 lead after three quarters of play. RFA got a buzzer beater three pointer at the end of third from Randy Pearson to get a big cheer from the fans who made their way over Route 49.
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Proctor’s Francis Cherry (33) goes up for a fourth quarter bucket.
The fourth verse of tonight’s basketball ballad was the same as the first three as Proctor outscored RFA 17-16 in the final eight minutes to breeze to a 77-43 victory over their long time regional rivals. Following the game, Naronn Harvey told MHTS – ESPN Radio 99.1 FM that he was very proud of his team’s effort, adding that this Proctor team is pretty new to each other and they’re still trying to get used to each other on the court. Harvey, a senior, will be heading to Georgia Highlands College in the fall, where he plans to play college basketball. With the loss, RFA drops to (2-8) on the season, while Proctor improves to (3-3). The Black Knights return to action on January 2nd, when they travel to Baldwinsville. Proctor, meanwhile, will have to wait a week before hosting New Hartford in what should be a highly spirited affair. Proctor will be looking to avenge a 58-46 loss to the Spartans on December 14th. 
Proctor 77 Rome Free Academy 43 Box Score 1 2 3 4 Final RFA 6 6 15 16 43 Proctor 24 14 22 17 77
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Proctor’s Naronn Harvey (10) gets set for liftoff early in the contest. Jeff Cooke gives chase.
Naronn Harvey-Monster Energy Drink Player of the Game.
