Just as the third quarter ended, the fire alarm went off at Middletown High School, causing about a 20-minute delay in Friday night’s boys’ basketball game between the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks and the Middletown Middies.

But when play resumed, the Goldbacks’ offense caught fire and it started with Amarri Tice’s defense.

Tice picked off the inbound pass, drove to the basket was fouled and finished a three-point play, giving the Goldbacks their largest lead of the game as they rolled through the fourth quarter on their way to a 66-51 win.

“I think (the delay) fired us up,” said Tice, who led the Goldbacks with a game-high 18 points. “In the fourth quarter, I think we played harder than we did the whole game.”

All night, the offense flowed through Tice and Jah’Likai King, who finished with 16 points. Diamonte McMillan came off the bench to score 11 points.

The Goldbacks were also able to get the Middies into foul trouble as two of their top players – Jihad Robinson and Joel Marrero – to foul out.

“We had to see who was the weak link and foul them out,” King said. “We fouled out two of their main players. That’s how we took the win.”

For as fast as the Goldbacks finished, their start was as slow as the Middies took a 4-0 lead. Newburgh quickly came back but struggled to build more than a five-point lead.

“I felt good the whole game,” Newburgh coach Frank Dinnocenzio said. “Even though the game was tight, I felt like we were going to pull it through. I think our confidence is getting better. I think we know how to win the closer game. We’re not pressing anymore. We’re just playing.”

The Goldbacks took a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, but Middletown closed it to three points at half time and tied the game at 26 on a 3-poitn basket by Derrick Phipps with 6:23 left in the third.

“They kept switching from man and zone,” Tice said. “We had to switch up our zone to fit what they were doing.”

Then with 3:09 to go in the third, Arthur Harris hit a 3 to give the Middies a 1-point lead and then he hit a basket for a 34-31 lead.
Then the Goldbacks built some momentum with a 7-3 run to take a 41-36 lead after three quarters. That’s when the fire alarm went off causing the gym to be cleared.

“We were gaining momentum and then the fire alarm went off,” Tice said. “When we came back, we just wanted to come out there and finish the game.”
It was the second game the Goldbacks finished this week as they made a strong statement with a 58-49 victory last Tuesday over previously unbeaten Kingston to take sole possession of first place in the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I.

“Every time we win a game like this, or beat a team like Kingston, it’s a confidence builder for our guys,” Dinnocenzio said. “They feel good about themselves.”
King does.

“People have their eyes on us now,” he said. “I think we woke the section up.”