FAYETTEVILLE ACADEMY 53, HARRELLS CHRISTIAN 48
Eagles beat team for fourth time
• Fayetteville Academy advances in the NCISAA 2-A playoffs.
By Jaclyn Shambaugh FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
Fayetteville Academy hadn’t even gotten a week’s reprieve from facing Coastal Rivers Conference mate Harrells Christian when the two teams met for the fourth time this season in Thursday’s NCISAA 2-A playoff game.
“Everybody says it’s tough to beat a team three or four times,” Eagles guard John Michael Wright said. “You know what to expect, but you don’t know what to expect. You think they’re going to do one thing, and they change it, and you’ve just got to adjust to it.”
Indeed, the visiting Crusaders (19-6) offered up a different defensive scheme. Regardless, the result was the same as the first three meetings, with the Eagles walking away with the win.
Fayetteville Academy (23-6) claimed a 53-48 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2-A bracket.
The No. 7 seed Eagles will travel to No. 2 Concord First Assembly (21-10) on Saturday.
Wright set the scoring pace with 21 points despite not scoring in the first quarter.
“I think our intensity on defense wasn’t as high (at the start of the game),” Wright said. “We let them come out strong. We told ourselves we weren’t going to let up during the game, but we just let up.”
Compounding the issue was Harrells’ move to a triangle defense that Wright and Eagles’ coach Chip Bishop said was a new approach by the Crusaders.
“They threw some different defenses at us, and it caused us some problems,” Bishop said. “It was a tough win, but we’re pleased that it was a win, and we’re going to continue on.”
The Eagles are on three of those coming against Harrells.
The Academy topped the Crusaders on Feb. 2 in the second of their regular-season meeting, and again Saturday in the final of the CRC tournament.
Unlike Saturday’s game, which the Eagles won by a 22-point margin, Thursday’s contest was tight throughout.
The teams were tied at 12 to start the second quarter, but the Eagles swapped the zone defense they ran early for man-to-man in the second half.
“We were leaving too many people open,” Bishop said.
That switch helped the Eagles hold the Crusaders to nine points in the third frame.
Wright managed that on his own for the Eagles, scoring nine of his team’s 13 points in the quarter to keep the Academy ahead 37-32 to start the fourth.
The Eagles struggled at the line late, making eight of 15 free throws in the final quarter and allowing Harrells to creep closer.
With 31.5 seconds to play, Crusaders’ guard Jalen Washington scored on a putback, part of his team-high 14 points, to pull Harrells to within two points at 50-48.
But a pair of Harrells’ fouls and a turnover in the remaining time sealed the window of opportunity for the Crusaders.
Eagles beat team for fourth time
• Fayetteville Academy advances in the NCISAA 2-A playoffs.
By Jaclyn Shambaugh FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Staff writer
Fayetteville Academy hadn’t even gotten a week’s reprieve from facing Coastal Rivers Conference mate Harrells Christian when the two teams met for the fourth time this season in Thursday’s NCISAA 2-A playoff game.
“Everybody says it’s tough to beat a team three or four times,” Eagles guard John Michael Wright said. “You know what to expect, but you don’t know what to expect. You think they’re going to do one thing, and they change it, and you’ve just got to adjust to it.”
Indeed, the visiting Crusaders (19-6) offered up a different defensive scheme. Regardless, the result was the same as the first three meetings, with the Eagles walking away with the win.
Fayetteville Academy (23-6) claimed a 53-48 victory to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2-A bracket.
The No. 7 seed Eagles will travel to No. 2 Concord First Assembly (21-10) on Saturday.
Wright set the scoring pace with 21 points despite not scoring in the first quarter.
“I think our intensity on defense wasn’t as high (at the start of the game),” Wright said. “We let them come out strong. We told ourselves we weren’t going to let up during the game, but we just let up.”
Compounding the issue was Harrells’ move to a triangle defense that Wright and Eagles’ coach Chip Bishop said was a new approach by the Crusaders.
“They threw some different defenses at us, and it caused us some problems,” Bishop said. “It was a tough win, but we’re pleased that it was a win, and we’re going to continue on.”
The Eagles are on three of those coming against Harrells.
The Academy topped the Crusaders on Feb. 2 in the second of their regular-season meeting, and again Saturday in the final of the CRC tournament.
Unlike Saturday’s game, which the Eagles won by a 22-point margin, Thursday’s contest was tight throughout.
The teams were tied at 12 to start the second quarter, but the Eagles swapped the zone defense they ran early for man-to-man in the second half.
“We were leaving too many people open,” Bishop said.
That switch helped the Eagles hold the Crusaders to nine points in the third frame.
Wright managed that on his own for the Eagles, scoring nine of his team’s 13 points in the quarter to keep the Academy ahead 37-32 to start the fourth.
The Eagles struggled at the line late, making eight of 15 free throws in the final quarter and allowing Harrells to creep closer.
With 31.5 seconds to play, Crusaders’ guard Jalen Washington scored on a putback, part of his team-high 14 points, to pull Harrells to within two points at 50-48.
But a pair of Harrells’ fouls and a turnover in the remaining time sealed the window of opportunity for the Crusaders.
