HPCA boys post OT playoff win
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Things weren’t looking so good for High Point Christian early.With one of its stand-outs sidelined and another starter leaving the game with a serious injury early, it struggled its way through a rough first half.But, behind a stellar performance by Landon Sutton, it figured things out in the second half to keep its season alive.
The Cougars — after trailing by nine at half-time and 13 early in the second half — rallied to take the game to overtime, took the lead for good on a 3-point play by PJ Underhill with 9.8 seconds left, and fended off Cary Christian 77-75 on Tuesday at HPCA in the first round of the NCISAA 3A boys basketball playoffs.
“I’m really proud of especially our seniors,” HPCA coach Joseph Cooper said. “David Butler, Drake Carrick, Landon Sutton, Jackson Powell — guys who wouldn’t let us lose. We were down and it didn’t look good. We were turning the ball over more than what we should. We were stagnant and we could’ve easily folded. I was really proud that they continued to fight.
“Obviously, it’s tough when Evan goes down early in the game. He’s a starter and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with him, and hopefully we get a good report tonight. I think it took a little bit for that to wear off and for us to start competing again. But I’m real-ly proud of the urgency we played with in the second half.”
Sutton scored 42 points — scoring 26 in the third and fourth quarters and then the first five of his team’s points in overtime — and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Cougars (15-14), who will face sixth-seeded Gaston Christian, which beat Carolina Day 65-57, in the second round Thursday in Gastonia.
“Of course, in the playoffs, it felt great to win and know that it was a tough game for us to pull out,” Sutton said. “We figured out a way to come back and get it into overtime. And we played well in overtime to win it.
“Defense was definite-ly first,” he said of the difference in overtime. “We rebounded well. We had some turnovers, but hitting free throws and making shots definitely helped. So, I thought ever yone played really well to get the win.”
Drake Carrick added 13 points and eight rebounds, followed by David Butler with nine points — including a critical 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation that finally gave HPCA the lead after it outscored the Knights 26-14 over a 9 1/2 minute stretch to get within one with 5:22 left in reg-ulation
.The Cougars were already without standout KJ Garrett due to an injury but became even more shorthanded when junior starter Evan Toland suffered what appeared to be a neck injury two minutes into the game. He got caught underneath an opposing player as they chased a loose ball in the back-court.During a lengthy stoppage, Toland was attended to by the athletic trainer and eventually he was stretchered out by the EMTs. The injur y knocked back HPCA and it quickly fell behind — trailing by 11 during a cold-shooting second quarter before inching back within 32-23 at half-time.
“Our mindset changed at halftime, definitely,” Sutton said. “We wanted to play for Evan, who got hurt during the game. Coach actually wanted us to attack the basket a lot more in the second half, so that helped. Getting free throws and making layups, that kind of helped the 3s start falling.”
The Cougars, after trailing by double digits early in the third, clawed within four heading to the fourth and got within one four times midway through the quarter. A 3 by Sutton with 49 seconds left got HPCA back within one once again and, after a turnover, Butler drilled a 3 from the corner to give it the lead.
“It was a really big shot,” Sutton said. “I don’t know if I could’ve done it. But it took a burden off us, a lot of pressure. And we knew that we had a chance when he hit that. So, it helped.”
Cary Christian (14-10) made an off-balance layup with 19.3 seconds left and both teams missed in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime. The Cougars quickly jumped ahead, scoring on their first three possessions and twice built three-point leads into the final minute.But the Knights twice scored to lead by one during a flurry of back-and-forth scores inside the final 45 seconds. But Butler answered with a layup with 32 seconds left and Underhill scored on a layup and a foul with 9.8 seconds left to give the Cougars back the lead.
After each team turned the ball over, Car y Christian had one last possession. But, with Jackson Powell defending well in front, Butler stripped away the ball as the Knights tried to force up a 3-pointer from the left wing, and HPCA dribbled out the final seconds.
“They’re a resilient bunch,” Cooper said. “First losing KJ is tough. For us to play one way all year and then now all of a sudden adjust our style of play com-pletely. We’ve thrown ever ything out and are starting from scratch. So, for the guys to buy in quickly with one or two practices, we’ll do that again and get ready for Thursday.”
BY MICHAEL LINDSAYENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Things weren’t looking so good for High Point Christian early.With one of its stand-outs sidelined and another starter leaving the game with a serious injury early, it struggled its way through a rough first half.But, behind a stellar performance by Landon Sutton, it figured things out in the second half to keep its season alive.
The Cougars — after trailing by nine at half-time and 13 early in the second half — rallied to take the game to overtime, took the lead for good on a 3-point play by PJ Underhill with 9.8 seconds left, and fended off Cary Christian 77-75 on Tuesday at HPCA in the first round of the NCISAA 3A boys basketball playoffs.
“I’m really proud of especially our seniors,” HPCA coach Joseph Cooper said. “David Butler, Drake Carrick, Landon Sutton, Jackson Powell — guys who wouldn’t let us lose. We were down and it didn’t look good. We were turning the ball over more than what we should. We were stagnant and we could’ve easily folded. I was really proud that they continued to fight.
“Obviously, it’s tough when Evan goes down early in the game. He’s a starter and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with him, and hopefully we get a good report tonight. I think it took a little bit for that to wear off and for us to start competing again. But I’m real-ly proud of the urgency we played with in the second half.”
Sutton scored 42 points — scoring 26 in the third and fourth quarters and then the first five of his team’s points in overtime — and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Cougars (15-14), who will face sixth-seeded Gaston Christian, which beat Carolina Day 65-57, in the second round Thursday in Gastonia.
“Of course, in the playoffs, it felt great to win and know that it was a tough game for us to pull out,” Sutton said. “We figured out a way to come back and get it into overtime. And we played well in overtime to win it.
“Defense was definite-ly first,” he said of the difference in overtime. “We rebounded well. We had some turnovers, but hitting free throws and making shots definitely helped. So, I thought ever yone played really well to get the win.”
Drake Carrick added 13 points and eight rebounds, followed by David Butler with nine points — including a critical 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation that finally gave HPCA the lead after it outscored the Knights 26-14 over a 9 1/2 minute stretch to get within one with 5:22 left in reg-ulation
.The Cougars were already without standout KJ Garrett due to an injury but became even more shorthanded when junior starter Evan Toland suffered what appeared to be a neck injury two minutes into the game. He got caught underneath an opposing player as they chased a loose ball in the back-court.During a lengthy stoppage, Toland was attended to by the athletic trainer and eventually he was stretchered out by the EMTs. The injur y knocked back HPCA and it quickly fell behind — trailing by 11 during a cold-shooting second quarter before inching back within 32-23 at half-time.
“Our mindset changed at halftime, definitely,” Sutton said. “We wanted to play for Evan, who got hurt during the game. Coach actually wanted us to attack the basket a lot more in the second half, so that helped. Getting free throws and making layups, that kind of helped the 3s start falling.”
The Cougars, after trailing by double digits early in the third, clawed within four heading to the fourth and got within one four times midway through the quarter. A 3 by Sutton with 49 seconds left got HPCA back within one once again and, after a turnover, Butler drilled a 3 from the corner to give it the lead.
“It was a really big shot,” Sutton said. “I don’t know if I could’ve done it. But it took a burden off us, a lot of pressure. And we knew that we had a chance when he hit that. So, it helped.”
Cary Christian (14-10) made an off-balance layup with 19.3 seconds left and both teams missed in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime. The Cougars quickly jumped ahead, scoring on their first three possessions and twice built three-point leads into the final minute.But the Knights twice scored to lead by one during a flurry of back-and-forth scores inside the final 45 seconds. But Butler answered with a layup with 32 seconds left and Underhill scored on a layup and a foul with 9.8 seconds left to give the Cougars back the lead.
After each team turned the ball over, Car y Christian had one last possession. But, with Jackson Powell defending well in front, Butler stripped away the ball as the Knights tried to force up a 3-pointer from the left wing, and HPCA dribbled out the final seconds.
“They’re a resilient bunch,” Cooper said. “First losing KJ is tough. For us to play one way all year and then now all of a sudden adjust our style of play com-pletely. We’ve thrown ever ything out and are starting from scratch. So, for the guys to buy in quickly with one or two practices, we’ll do that again and get ready for Thursday.”
