New Haven’s Romeo Weems and Ronald Jeffery III wear the numbers 1 and 0, respectively for the Rockets.
Combine the two digits and you get a perfect 10, which is what the two seniors were on Friday night against visiting Warren Mott.
Weems and Jeffery III combined 47 points, leading the Rockets to a 64-37 MAC White Division win over the Marauders, securing the division championship in the process.
“We knew coming in here that this game was for first place because Mott was a game behind us,” New Haven coach Tedaro France II said. “Our kids knew this was the championship game. We played great team defense on the defensive end, and it led to great offense.”
The Rockets dominated from the opening tap racing to a 29-9 lead after one quarter behind 14 points by Weems, and nine by Jeffery.
Weems added 13 more points in the second quarter, sparking a 21-9 New Haven spurt, pushing its lead to 50-18 at halftime.
“Romeo’s just a kid who works so hard,” France said. “He’s shooting the ball and defending at a high level. He’s a great scorer, but he also gets his teammates involved and makes them better by the way he plays.”
Jeffery led an 11-6 Rocket run in the third quarter with six points, which ended with New Haven comfortably in front 61-24.
“Ronald is having a great year, shooting the ball extremely well,” France said. “He’s one of the best unknown players in the whole state. He can play and he complements our team so well.”
Weems finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, five blocks and three steals, while Jeffery added 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Brent Wiles chipped in seven points, while Darrius Brooks finished with four assists. The win improved New Haven’s record to 13-1 overall, 9-0 league.
“I’m so proud of my group because they continue to play hard and unselfish,” France said. “We also defend at a high level.”
Warren Mott, which fell to 11-3 overall, 7-2 league, was led by De’Jon Gantz with 11 points, while Darius Willis added seven points, and Jermaine Bowie finished with five points.