Princeton-Bosse rivalry is building

Tigers win this round on Simmons' foul shots

It may have been Princeton High School's third game of the season and Bosse's second, but the electric atmosphere made Friday's basketball contest seem more like a sectional title was on the line.
With most of the crowd standing, Jordan Simmons hit two free throws with three seconds left to seal the Tigers' 71-68 victory at the Dog House. "We had to win this game because it was an important game and because of the crowd, too," said Simmons, a junior guard who was 5-for-6 from the line in scoring 12 points.
Princeton principal Jon Abbey estimated that nearly 800 Tigers' fans made the 30-mile trip to Bosse.
"We couldn't let them down, so I hit the free throws," Simmons said.
The Princeton-Bosse rivalry began to develop markedly last season after Bosse defeated the Tigers in the championship game of the Toyota Classic at Fort Branch and Princeton returned the favor in the Class 3A Boonville Sectional.
"We get them again in the Toyota Classic (this season)," Simmons said. "They talked a lot of stuff before the game. We came out and played hard."
Anthony Quarles hit a 17-footer from the left corner to give Bosse a 66-64 lead with 38 seconds showing.
Princeton's Jalen Packer missed a pair of foul shots with 23 seconds left, but Princeton's Rontray Chavis forced a jump ball with Brandon Darrett and the possession arrow was in the Tigers' favor. Packer inbounded to Rontray Chavis, who made the layup and an ensuing free throw to give Princeton a 67-66 advantage with 20 seconds to play.
Quarles hit a pair of foul shots to put the Bulldogs back in front, 68-67, with 12 seconds remaining. Simmons made the first free throw to tie the score, but missed the second with seven seconds left.
Dontray Chavis, Rontray's twin, grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit the first free throw to give Princeton a 69-68 lead, but missed the second with seven seconds still showing. A Princeton player tipped the ball back to Dontray Chavis. He passed to Simmons, whose free throws increased the Tigers' lead to three.
From just behind the halfcourt line, Quarles' 3-point attempt bounced harmlessly off the backboard before time expired.
Rontray Chavis poured in a game-high 25 points forPrinceton (3-0). Stanley Trice came off the bench to score 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-1).
"My kids grew up tonight," said first-year Bosse coach Shane Burkhart. "They didn't lose the game; coach Burkhart lost the game."
He said he didn't remind his players to block out on the late free throws.
"They left everything they had on the floor," Burkhart said. "They played with heart and passion. What a phenomenal effort. What a great rivalry."
Princeton coach Tom Weeks said both teams made big plays at big moments.
"We had to hit some key free throws at the end and we did that," he said. "We had some key rebounds. We had some young guys come up big. There is no quit in these guys and Bosse played a tremendous game."
Bosse plays Tuesday at Memorial. Princeton hosts Mount Carmel on that night.

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