MONROE TWP. – Carter Bobbitt made a career decision at age 11, and it was a good one.
“I used to play street hockey,” Bobbitt said. “And it was fun, but I knew it wasn't going to get me anywhere, as far as college. And I always used to play basketball, at lunch, in recess. So I tried out for the team, I made it, and ever since then I've loved it. I always want to play it.”
All you've got to do is watch for a while, and you get that. Bobbitt plays the game like he loves it. If he's got to dive on the floor for a loose ball, he will. And if it means going up in traffic to bring down a rebound, Bobbitt's your man. He grabbed 11 of them, to go with 13 points, in the Pioneers' 59-56 win over Tri-County Conference Royal Division rival Williamstown Thursday.
The Pioneers' victory, coupled with Kingsway's loss to Timber Creek, gave Clearview the Royal Division championship.
For Bobbitt, a 6-2 sophom*ore, learning the high school game was a question of knowing where to place his emphasis. Clearview coach Rob MacKerchar gave him a helping hand, as he came into the program.
“He'd had some success early, as a middle school player, but he was one of the bigger kids in middle school, and a lot of times, those kids succeed early, but I it doesn't translate,” MacKerchar said. “So I challenged him last year to stretch out his game; work on his shot. He's a phenomenal shooter now, and a lot of that confidence comes because of the work he put in, in the offseason.”
That confidence enabled the 6-2 Bobbitt to step to the forefront, when the Braves finally managed to lock down Anthony Charles, who scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half.
Clearview took a 15-point lead on Charles' short jumper in the first minute of the second half, but Williamstown responded with six straight points.
Bobbitt found a little space on the left side and drove to the hoop to end that streak. He drew a foul in the process and finished off a 3-point play to restore the Pioneers' double-digit lead.
“His second half was huge,” Charles said. “Especially since they really made sure they took me out of the game. I couldn't get the ball at all, because they were all over me, and he was able to get the ball and make some really big buckets, to keep our lead.”
He restored it again in the final minute of the quarter. Sean Gallagher hit a pair of free throws to cut Clearview's lead to 46-38, but 16 seconds later, Jamel Yasin drove the lane, then sent a pass outside to where Bobbitt waited, wide open beyond the arc.
Perhaps his biggest contribution came on defense. The Braves went an on an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter and got within three on a 3-pointer by Gallagher with 3:02 left.
The Braves got the ball back on a travelling call and were playing for a tie, with Clearview holding a 54-51 lead. But Matt Bell deflected an errant pass out of bounds, and when the action restarted, Bobbitt knocked the inbound pass free and collected it. He passed it to Bell, who found Charles in stride for an easy lay-in.
“I just knew I had to try and get a stop on defense, especially since at that time, we couldn't score on a couple of possessions,” Bobbitt said. “The biggest thing was to lock in on defense and get it done.”
Williamstown had two more chances to play for a tie. A putback by Christian Mazzamutto got the Braves within two, at 58-56, and Mazzamutto pulled down a rebound a moment later, but Clearview's Jamel Yasin took a charge as he drove to the rack.
Charles added a free throw with 22 seconds left, and Williamstown's best chance fell short as Bell got a hand on Mazzamutto's 3-point attempt. Bobbitt pulled the loose ball down in the lane. He couldn't bring it under control but he didn't need to; time expired as it bounced toward the end line.
Bobbitt said just as MacKerchar had challenged him before his freshman year, he'd challenged himself before his sophom*ore season.
“I'm just trying to be more aggressive and step up,” he said. “I know we don't have that many big guys, so I knew I'd have to be that guy, and try to push all the guys on my team as well. I figured shooting was one of my biggest downfalls, so this past offseason I definitely got a lot of shots up. Just tried to put the ball in the basket.”
John A. Lewis is a sports writer for the Burlington County Times, Courier Post and The Daily Journal. E-mail him at jlewis@thebct.com or follow on Twitter @JohnLewis19. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.
