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NEW HAVEN -- It's a bird. It's a plane. No, it's Romeo Weems flying in to save the day.
The New Haven High School sophomore phenom partnered with senior Eric Williams to put on an impressive performance in New Haven's 84-51 victory over Warren Woods Tower on Tuesday.
The Rockets advance to the finals of the Macomb Area Conference Playoffs, which will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at Anchor Bay High School.
"I think this was a big game," Williams said after scoring 40 points a week after putting up 50 points in a win. "They are like our rivals. They were 15-2 and we were 16-1. They used to be in the (MAC) Gold. We wanted to win this one tonight."
While Williams lit up the scoreboard with an array of shots, Weems stole the show with highlight-reel play after play.
"If I don't have it going, he has it going," said Weems, who scored 19 points. "But when we both have it going, it's a scary sight. I think we played better, with more energy in the second half. We played better together and got on a roll."
Weems stole the show in the second quarter with an electric sequence that featured a dunk and a block, where he trailed the offensive defender by a large margin, only to make up the difference and block the shot at the rim.
The crowd rose to its feet and then continued to stand as they watched Williams light it up with an array of shots -- pull ups, mid-range jumpers, 3s, and of course, a thunderous dunk.
"We take pride in our defense," New Haven coach Tedaro France II said. "It's nice to see them get out and run and their hard work pay off. On that block, Romeo could have gave up on the play but he stayed with it."
New Haven led 25-13 at the end of the first quarter, 40-21 at halftime and 63-32 after three quarters. Their defensive was consistent throughout and Weems and Williams seemed to rise to the occasion time and time again.
In the fourth quarter, Williams and Weems traded dunks, with the latter nearly bringing down the house on a right-handed slam through the lane that left onlookers chatting.
"That should be on SportsCenter, let me go home and watch SportsCenter," one animated fan said. "Can you believe he caught that?" another wondered out loud.
Yes, Weems can fly, Williams can do it all and New Haven is here to stay. The next stop on the Rockets' path is Saturday when they will travel to Anchor Bay to face St. Clair Shores South Lake, which defeated St. Clair, 47-35.
Contact Joseph Hayes at (810) 989-6268 or at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Joseph_Hayes11.