The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

No. 6 Miners turn away top-ranked Rams, 47-39
* Sindy: 'I think we're this good'

By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
FROSTBURG, Jan. 31 -- The 12 members of the Mountain Ridge varsity boys basketball team filed out of the Miners locker room by ones and twos, showered and dressed in button-down shirts with ties.

Though encouraged to follow the lead of tight-lipped coach Dave Hobel, the emotions of several players betrayed them. They walked with a bit of a swagger and almost-hidden smiles on their faces.

The Miners had plenty to be happy about. They had just finished scrapping their way to a 47-39 win over top-ranked Southern Garrett on Monday night in Frostburg.

The loss was the first in 10 Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference games for the Rams and just their fourth loss in 15 games this season.

The win highlighted the start of an apparent turnaround for Mountain Ridge, which moved up to No. 6 from No. 8 in the weekly PhDispatch.com Power Rankings on Jan. 22 among the nine AMAC schools.

The Miners began their season with only a single win through the first seven games and only two victories in 11 games.

But practice makes perfect, said Mountain Ridge center Cody Sindy.

"We just gotta keep getting better every practice," Sindy said. "we've been getting better at every practice after the Fort Hill game (a 53-52 season-opening loss). I think we're this good."

After each of four quarters Monday, the Miners have every reason to believe just that as they prepare for Wednesday's road game at No. 2 Bishop Walsh in Cumberland.

Mountain Ridge led 17-15 after eight minutes of play and though the Miners gave up the lead just once - 18-17 just 16 seconds into the third period - they never exactly had the win secured until there was less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Whitaker hit a 3-pointer to give Mountain Ridge a 20-18 lead and slumping D.J. Ritchie's bucket tied it at 20-20 for the Rams. It was the last time Southern Garrett managed to knot the score.

Whitaker sandwiched another basket in between two by Montana Bradley that gave the Miners a 26-20 lead. Southern's Joey Kisselovich hit two free throws with 1:55 left on the clock to close out the first-half scoring

The teams traded field goals to open up the low-scoring third period -- combined, the Miners and Rams tallied just 15 points after a 16-point second quarter -- before Cody Sindy hit his only 3-pointer of the game to give Mountain Ridge a 31-25 lead with 4:58 left in the third.

Whitaker followed up with 1:10 to go with the second of his three 3-point field goals to give the Miners a nine-point advantage. Again, though, the Rams stayed in the game by closing out the period on a 4-0 run, including a field goal by Ritchie and two foul shots by Calvin Hilliard.

With eight minutes left in regulation, only five points separated the two teams as the Miners led, 34-29.

Southern closed to within three points just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter Kisselovich scored to pull the Rams within 34-31. But Sindy answered with a field goal of his own, another one under the net.

Kisselovich hit the Rams' next two baskets, the second one again keeping the game within three points, but a 7-0 run finished off Southern Garrett.