Bozarth’s bucket ignites game-changing run for QND boys in victory over Palmyra

QUINCY — Blake Bozarth’s teammates have seen his aggressive side in practice.

And they know he’s more than just a spot-up 3-point shooter.

“Most games, he doesn’t find the opportunity to attack off the dribble,” Quincy Notre Dame junior point guard Jake Hoyt said. “When he does, he’s pretty good at it.”

Bozarth was effective getting to the rim when the Raiders needed it most.

Despite holding the Palmyra boys basketball team scoreless the first 5 minutes, 30 seconds Tuesday night while building a 9-0 lead, the Raiders lost their edge less than three minutes later. Bear Bock’s driving layin from the right wing with 7:20 remaining before halftime gave the Panthers a 12-11 advantage.

It was gone for good 25 seconds later.

Bozarth saw an opening from the high post, drove hard to the right side of the basket and converted to kickstart a 17-2 run that gave the Raiders a 28-14 lead at halftime and propelled them to a 50-30 victory at the Pit.

“It’s more of a situational thing,” Bozarth said of his opportunities to attack off the dribble. “You have to be able to step up and make plays. Tonight, shots weren’t falling as much in my favor, so you have to be able to score some other way. The whole team did a great job sharing the ball.”

Bozarth’s lone field goal was the jolt the Raiders needed. QND scored on seven of its final eight possessions of the half and made seven consecutive field goal attempts. Three of those shots were 3-pointers from Hoyt, Jackson Stratton and Charlie Lavery.

The Raiders had gone 3 of 12 from the field with four turnovers prior to Bozarth’s basket. They had six empty possessions prior to that as well.

“He’s not going to be the fastest getting to the basket,” QND coach Kevin Meyer said. “He’s not Blazin’ Bozarth, but he can get downhill pretty quick. He has good body control. The other thing is he has this wingspan where he can reach out, especially left-handed, and get some shots off that way.”

Meanwhile, Palmyra’s only field goal of the final seven minutes of the half came from Bock on a runner from the left wing. The Panthers played without three injured players who have started this season and didn’t have anyone score more than six points.

Bock and Adam Goodwin both finished with six points.

“Something we’ve been harping on for the past three weeks has been our defensive rotations,” Meyer said. “Can you defend without giving up easy backdoors and rotations and still get out on shooters? I thought we did a decent job of that.”

It fueled the ability to answer Palmyra’s push that gave the Panthers the momentary lead.

“We see ourselves as a defensive team,” Hoyt said. “When teams make runs on us, we have to be able to clamp down and stop the runs, then start one of our own.”

Getting to the basket is a vital part of that. The Raiders scored all nine second-half field goals in the paint with Jake Wallingford scoring seven of his game-high 12 points in the second half. Stratton added 11 points, and Alex Connoyer had eight.

“We got in our huddle and said we needed to quit going 1-on-1 and play as a team and share the ball,” Bozarth said. “When we ran our offense, we got open shots. That’s what led to us pulling away.”