New Haven seniors Romeo Weems and Ronald Jeffery III went out with a bang in their final regular-season home game on Wednesday night.
Oh, and both players reached a couple milestones in the process.
Weems scored 34 points, and Jeffery II added 29, going over 2000 and 1000 career points, respectively, leading the Rockets to a hard-fought 74-58 non-league win over defending Class C state champion Detroit Edison Academy.
“Ronald needed five points to get to 1000 career points tonight, and Romeo needed 13 points for 2000 career points,” New Haven coach Tedaro France II said. “Watching both of them come in here as freshmen and watching them get better and better each year has been great. It’s an honor to coach great kids like that.”
Weems had a quadruple double, adding 12 rebounds, 10 blocked shots, 10 steals and five assists in the contest, while Jeffery III chipped in six rebounds, five steals, three assists and two blocked shots. Together they combined to score all 40 second-half Rocket points.
“They’re a little better than what I thought,” DEA coach Brandon Neely said. “I knew they shot the ball well. Romeo Weems does a great job of doing everything. He leads his team and doesn’t force shots. He does everything right.”
DEA, with only one senior on its squad, gave the Rockets all they wanted, especially in the first half, which ended with New Haven holding a 34-24 lead.
“This was a test for us,” France said. “We had Flint Beecher here the last two years before the playoffs, but I wanted to get the defending Class C state champions here this year. Edison is a team that knows how to win and are well coached.”
However, Weems and Jeffery III took over in the third quarter, pacing a 21-14 run, including 12 by Jeffery III, extending the Rockets advantage to 55-38 heading into the final quarter.
Besides Weems and Jeffery III, New Haven also received nine points, five assists and four rebounds from Trenell Payne, and two points by Brent Wiles. The win ended the Rockets’ regular season record at 19-1 overall. New Haven will host next week’s boys district tournament.
“Our team played well as a team, especially on defense,” France said. “We’re peaking at the right time. We’re getting there day by day and brick by brick. If we can continue to work hard and play hard together, we can do some good things this year.”
DEA, which fell to 13-7 overall, was led by Brian Taylor with 20 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, while David Hughes added eight points.
“We’re just a young basketball team with only one senior,” Neely said. “That always shows up in these types of games. We must learn how to take care of the ball and push the post. We’re learning as it goes along.”