MICHAEL LINDSAY HIGH POINT ENTERPRISE
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian came in focused on starting the state playoffs well.The sixth-seeded Cougars pulled away early, led big into the second half and hung on down the stretch to beat 11th-seeded Durham Academy 74-60 on Tuesday at HPCA in the first round of the NCISAA 3A boys basketball playoffs.
“We talked all week about how this is like a street fight,” HPCA coach Joseph Cooper said. “We can’t ease into it. We’ve got to come out ready for it, because they’re such a hot-shooting team that, if they get up early, we’d have to come back on them. So, that was definitely a point of emphasis. And I’m pleased we came out and executed.”
Landon Sutton scored 15 points to lead the Cougars (13-13), who will visit third-seeded Christ School (21-12) in the quarterfinals either Friday or Saturday. Jordan Roberson followed with 13 points.Andrew Gordon added 12 points while Lance Boykin had eight points and 12 rebounds, as HPCA quickly jumped ahead 22-12 at the end of one quarter and led by as many as 29 in the third quarter.
“It was a great start for us,” said Sutton, a sophomore guard, “because usually we struggle in the first quarter and get a slow start. We knew it big-time game — win or go home. So, we had to play well, and we did.”
The Cougars, after a turnover on their first possession, scored on their next 13 consecutive possessions as part of a 20-4 run that stretched their lead to 31-12 with 6:18 left in the second. They pushed their lead to 42-21 into halftime.
HPCA kept its lead in the 20s throughout the third, leading 56-36 at the end of the quarter, before struggling through a spell of misses and turnovers in the fourth. The Cavaliers got within 11 at 68-57 with 1:26 left in the game.But the Cougars scored on three straight possessions in the final minute to seal the win.
“I’m going to be honest, we went (into halftime) saying we were already going to win and going to the second round,” Sutton said. “But I just kept telling them that the game’s not over. They came back on us the first time, but we stayed ahead and got the win.”
HPCA will next face the Greenies, one of the state’s traditional powers, in the quarterfinals. Christ School, which beat the Cougars 93-70 on Jan. 5, have six players 6-foot-4 or taller listed on its roster.
So, what will HPCA have to do to compete?
“Grow,” Cooper said with a laugh. “They’re loaded inside. It’s going to be a tough test. We’ve got to play defense like we did tonight. Really lock down and keep it low-scoring and obviously knock down some shots. ... It seems like our guys are locked in and it’ll be a good test. Hopefully, we can continue to be locked in.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com
SCORING SUMMARY
DA 12 9 15 24 — 60
HPCA 22 20 14 18 — 74
DURHAM ACADEMY : Randleman 14, Mendys 12, McCallie 10, Carpenter 9, M. Savarino 5, Sinclair 5, J. Savarino 3, Davis 2
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN : Sutton 15, Roberson 13, Gordon 12, Boykin 8, K. Watkins 7, Smith 5, Ledbetter 4, C. Watkins 3, Dalton 3, Stewart 2, Cobb 2
HIGH POINT — High Point Christian came in focused on starting the state playoffs well.The sixth-seeded Cougars pulled away early, led big into the second half and hung on down the stretch to beat 11th-seeded Durham Academy 74-60 on Tuesday at HPCA in the first round of the NCISAA 3A boys basketball playoffs.
“We talked all week about how this is like a street fight,” HPCA coach Joseph Cooper said. “We can’t ease into it. We’ve got to come out ready for it, because they’re such a hot-shooting team that, if they get up early, we’d have to come back on them. So, that was definitely a point of emphasis. And I’m pleased we came out and executed.”
Landon Sutton scored 15 points to lead the Cougars (13-13), who will visit third-seeded Christ School (21-12) in the quarterfinals either Friday or Saturday. Jordan Roberson followed with 13 points.Andrew Gordon added 12 points while Lance Boykin had eight points and 12 rebounds, as HPCA quickly jumped ahead 22-12 at the end of one quarter and led by as many as 29 in the third quarter.
“It was a great start for us,” said Sutton, a sophomore guard, “because usually we struggle in the first quarter and get a slow start. We knew it big-time game — win or go home. So, we had to play well, and we did.”
The Cougars, after a turnover on their first possession, scored on their next 13 consecutive possessions as part of a 20-4 run that stretched their lead to 31-12 with 6:18 left in the second. They pushed their lead to 42-21 into halftime.
HPCA kept its lead in the 20s throughout the third, leading 56-36 at the end of the quarter, before struggling through a spell of misses and turnovers in the fourth. The Cavaliers got within 11 at 68-57 with 1:26 left in the game.But the Cougars scored on three straight possessions in the final minute to seal the win.
“I’m going to be honest, we went (into halftime) saying we were already going to win and going to the second round,” Sutton said. “But I just kept telling them that the game’s not over. They came back on us the first time, but we stayed ahead and got the win.”
HPCA will next face the Greenies, one of the state’s traditional powers, in the quarterfinals. Christ School, which beat the Cougars 93-70 on Jan. 5, have six players 6-foot-4 or taller listed on its roster.
So, what will HPCA have to do to compete?
“Grow,” Cooper said with a laugh. “They’re loaded inside. It’s going to be a tough test. We’ve got to play defense like we did tonight. Really lock down and keep it low-scoring and obviously knock down some shots. ... It seems like our guys are locked in and it’ll be a good test. Hopefully, we can continue to be locked in.”
mlindsay@hpenews.com
SCORING SUMMARY
DA 12 9 15 24 — 60
HPCA 22 20 14 18 — 74
DURHAM ACADEMY : Randleman 14, Mendys 12, McCallie 10, Carpenter 9, M. Savarino 5, Sinclair 5, J. Savarino 3, Davis 2
HIGH POINT CHRISTIAN : Sutton 15, Roberson 13, Gordon 12, Boykin 8, K. Watkins 7, Smith 5, Ledbetter 4, C. Watkins 3, Dalton 3, Stewart 2, Cobb 2
