Rome Free Academy’s newest 1,000-point scorer heats it up in boys basketball win over Henninger

Junior Uzziah Grimes has provided the offensive spark for his Rome Free Academy boys basketball team all season.

On Thursday night, his game-high 37 points pushed him over the 1,000-career-point mark and helped deliver a 97-62 victory over Henninger in a non-league matchup.

“He came off the bench for us as a freshman, and I think five games in, he won the starting spot and you could see early on the kid was very gifted and could score,” RFA coach Nick Medicis said. “But man, the improvement he has made and the work he puts in the offseason, you knew it was going to happen eventually just because the kid works so hard.”

Grimes, along with fellow team captains junior Deandre Neal and sophomore Surafia Norries, have been playing varsity for the last three years but they have been playing together for even longer.

“It’s kind of strange to think that our captains and leaders are guys that are going to be here again next year,” Medicis said. “ They’ve slowly matured and they’ve taken on the leadership role and I think the way they’ve done things ... I think the team’s kind of gravitated to that. They’re trying to match the work that these three have put in over the last couple of years and this group’s really bought into that.

“These guys have been playing together since they were in third and fourth grade. If you look back at pictures when they were coached by Uzziah’s father in fourth-grade tournaments, it’s pretty much the exact same kids.”

Medicis said he knows his team can score points but he believes his team is at its best when the defensive intensity is dialed up.

“This team can go as far as the defense will take them,” he said. “It’s been a work in progress, I guess is the best way to put it. We’ve really buckled in and the guys have bought into playing defense and it’s got to be a staple in our program. The scoring takes care of itself. We score a lot of points, but we score most of those points off our defense.”

On Thursday, freshman Luke Hammon finished with 14 points, and Norries and Neal contributed 10 and nine points, respectively.

Henninger was paced by sophomore Milen Williams’ 16 points and junior Juelz Lewis’ 13.

RFA (10-2) hits the road for a matchup against Oneida at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Henninger (1-11) travels to Fulton for a 6:45 p.m. matchup on Friday.

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