Arendell Parrott defeats Fayetteville Christian in CRC Tourney first round
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor KINSTON FREE PRESS
Arendell Parrott and Fayetteville Christian have had a penchant for playing close games this season. In the third matchup between the Coastal River Conference teams on Tuesday, the Patriots had a sizeable advantage and did just enough toward the end to stave off a Warriors comeback.
A.J. Banker scored 17 points, Patrick Mayo had 13 and Kris Wooten added 12 as Arendell Parrott defeated Fayetteville Christian 62-53 in the first round of the CRC Tournament. The No. 4 seed Patriots (13-13) will travel to Wilmington Friday to face top-ranked Harrells Christian.
The Warriors defeated the Patriots 58-55 on Jan. 12 in Fayetteville before the Patriots returned the favor in Kinston with a 61-57 victory two weeks later. In Tuesday’s contest, the game was tied four times and the lead changed hands thrice in the first quarter, with a basket by Joseph Spear giving Arendell Parrott a 14-12 advantage heading into the second.
Brennan Ganttied the game at 14 with a basket, but Mayo countered with a 3-pointer with 6:50 left in the second to give the Patriots a lead they would keep for the remainder of the contest. The teams stayed close, but up 21-20, Arendell Parrott closed the half on an 11-1 run. Wooten’s buzzer-beating perimeter shot gave the Patriots a 32-21 advantage heading into the break.
The Patriots would go up by as many as 13 in the third quarter and shot 55 percent, but the Warriors took advantage of 11 Arendell Parrott turnovers to claw back into the game. Utilizing a devastating full-court press, Fayetteville Christian cut the deficit to 45-40 after three and while the Patriots had only three turnovers in the fourth, the Warriors closed the gap to 52-51 after a Martaye Semble 3-pointer with 5:05 to play.
A stint of good defense and missed shots prevented either team from scoring until John McLawhorn hit two free throws and Wooten hit a basket to give Arendell Parrott a 56-51 advantage with 1:14 left. Free throws by Gant and Jaylen Green brought Fayetteville Christian within three, but the Patriots hit six of their final eight from the charity stripe to seal the game.
“We had to crack down and play hard defense,” Wooten said. “On offense, we had to be patient and find the weak spots in their defense.”
Arendell Parrott coach Wells Gulledge said the press had been an issue for the team throughout the season, but liked how the Patriots battled through adversity.
“In the first half, I thought our guys shared the ball well, knocked down some big shots and got separation,” Gulledge said. “In the second half, we know their press was going to come sooner or later and it was like our feet were stuck in concrete. We had several turnovers where if we had stepped to the ball, it might have prevented a bad play from happening.
“I have to give the kids credit in handling the press late — teams have used it in the past to make us uncomfortable, but we were able to battle through it.”
Sembly poured in a game-high 18 points for Fayetteville Christian.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter and Snapchat at @JuniousSmithIII.
Arendell Parrott 62, Fayetteville Christian 53
FC 12 9 19 13 — 53
APA 14 18 14 17 — 62
FAYETTEVILLE CHRISTIAN — Martaye Sembly 18, Sutton 9, Grey 6, Singleton 5, Ja’M. Green 5, Gant 3, Harris 3, Brown 2, Jay. Green 2
ARENDELL PARROTT — A.J. Banker 17, Patrick Mayo 13, Kris Wooten 12, Spear 7, J. McLawhorn 6, Rasberry 4, P. McLawhorn 3
Fouled out — Arendell Parrott — Rasberry
Technical fouls — None
Three-pointers — Fayetteville Christian: Sembly 4, Harris, Sutton. Arendell Parrott: Mayo 3, Banker 2, Wooten.
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor KINSTON FREE PRESS
Arendell Parrott and Fayetteville Christian have had a penchant for playing close games this season. In the third matchup between the Coastal River Conference teams on Tuesday, the Patriots had a sizeable advantage and did just enough toward the end to stave off a Warriors comeback.
A.J. Banker scored 17 points, Patrick Mayo had 13 and Kris Wooten added 12 as Arendell Parrott defeated Fayetteville Christian 62-53 in the first round of the CRC Tournament. The No. 4 seed Patriots (13-13) will travel to Wilmington Friday to face top-ranked Harrells Christian.
The Warriors defeated the Patriots 58-55 on Jan. 12 in Fayetteville before the Patriots returned the favor in Kinston with a 61-57 victory two weeks later. In Tuesday’s contest, the game was tied four times and the lead changed hands thrice in the first quarter, with a basket by Joseph Spear giving Arendell Parrott a 14-12 advantage heading into the second.
Brennan Ganttied the game at 14 with a basket, but Mayo countered with a 3-pointer with 6:50 left in the second to give the Patriots a lead they would keep for the remainder of the contest. The teams stayed close, but up 21-20, Arendell Parrott closed the half on an 11-1 run. Wooten’s buzzer-beating perimeter shot gave the Patriots a 32-21 advantage heading into the break.
The Patriots would go up by as many as 13 in the third quarter and shot 55 percent, but the Warriors took advantage of 11 Arendell Parrott turnovers to claw back into the game. Utilizing a devastating full-court press, Fayetteville Christian cut the deficit to 45-40 after three and while the Patriots had only three turnovers in the fourth, the Warriors closed the gap to 52-51 after a Martaye Semble 3-pointer with 5:05 to play.
A stint of good defense and missed shots prevented either team from scoring until John McLawhorn hit two free throws and Wooten hit a basket to give Arendell Parrott a 56-51 advantage with 1:14 left. Free throws by Gant and Jaylen Green brought Fayetteville Christian within three, but the Patriots hit six of their final eight from the charity stripe to seal the game.
“We had to crack down and play hard defense,” Wooten said. “On offense, we had to be patient and find the weak spots in their defense.”
Arendell Parrott coach Wells Gulledge said the press had been an issue for the team throughout the season, but liked how the Patriots battled through adversity.
“In the first half, I thought our guys shared the ball well, knocked down some big shots and got separation,” Gulledge said. “In the second half, we know their press was going to come sooner or later and it was like our feet were stuck in concrete. We had several turnovers where if we had stepped to the ball, it might have prevented a bad play from happening.
“I have to give the kids credit in handling the press late — teams have used it in the past to make us uncomfortable, but we were able to battle through it.”
Sembly poured in a game-high 18 points for Fayetteville Christian.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter and Snapchat at @JuniousSmithIII.
Arendell Parrott 62, Fayetteville Christian 53
FC 12 9 19 13 — 53
APA 14 18 14 17 — 62
FAYETTEVILLE CHRISTIAN — Martaye Sembly 18, Sutton 9, Grey 6, Singleton 5, Ja’M. Green 5, Gant 3, Harris 3, Brown 2, Jay. Green 2
ARENDELL PARROTT — A.J. Banker 17, Patrick Mayo 13, Kris Wooten 12, Spear 7, J. McLawhorn 6, Rasberry 4, P. McLawhorn 3
Fouled out — Arendell Parrott — Rasberry
Technical fouls — None
Three-pointers — Fayetteville Christian: Sembly 4, Harris, Sutton. Arendell Parrott: Mayo 3, Banker 2, Wooten.
