Home, not-so-sweet home
Tired Hornets can't keep up with Cyclones
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
With a key 1-A Carolina Christian Conference game on tap Tuesday night, the Community Christian School varsity boys basketball team held out a pair of key eighth-graders in Andrew Gattis and Michael Piccolo.
But even as the Cyclones’ third and fourth leading scorers watched from the sideline, CCS had no absolutely need for them Monday against host Eastern N.C. School for the Deaf inside Barney Williamson Gym.
Facing the team with which it shares a home court during the season, CCS quickly overwhelmed ENCSD’s six-player roster and marched to an easy 42-12 victory. The win brought CCS to 3-5 overall, while the Fighting Hornets dipped to 2-6.
ENCSD, playing without its starting point guard in Derrick Griffin due to a knee injury, often looked disjointed on the offensive end of the floor. CCS held the Hornets without a field goal in the second half and feasted on numerous second-chance opportunities. By mutual agreement, the clock ran continuously starting midway through the third quarter.
"We worked with our backups swinging the ball and our backups boxing out,” CCS head coach Ronnie Wells said. "We got some good minutes for a lot of people who, starting tomorrow night, probably won’t get many good minutes anymore.”
ENCSD did lead briefly in the game, taking a 2-0 lead on a wild hook shot from Luis Vargas that dropped cleanly through the net. But the Cyclones answered with a 17-2 run, with the last five points coming from sophomore Cameron Williams. Williams finished with 15 points, while junior Davis Stone added 10 — all in the second half. Stone was active underneath the basket in particular, converting several putbacks.
In the second quarter, when CCS wasn’t getting putbacks off of missed shots, it found easy finishes at the rim. ENCSD’s Luigui Manzanares briefly trimmed the deficit to 11 with a runner in the lane, but three consecutive layups — two from Williams — boosted CCS to a 17-point lead. The Cyclones took a commanding 31-8 lead into halftime.
Further hampering the Hornets were tired legs following a return from a three-game road swing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, over the span of five days.
"Tonight, we’re just worn out and tired,” ENCSD head coach Tony Adkins said. "There’s nothing else I can say. CCS, not to take anything away from them. They’re a pretty good team, but we were just worn out and tired. We haven’t even got our legs back from the weekend.”
The second half was played at an accelerated pace once Wells and Adkins agreed to run the clock for much of the second half. Williams completed his 15-point performance with a pair of third-quarter layups, and the Cyclones realized their biggest lead on a 3-pointer by junior Grant Webb in the fourth quarter. CCS boosted its advantage to 40-9.
With his team often overwhelmed in games, Wells welcomed the change of pace.
"Other teams don’t take it quite as easy on us,” Wells said. "But we fight. We fight to the end. You’ll see we play Cape Fear tomorrow night, and you know how big they are. They’re probably the biggest team in the state. They’re not going to take it easy on us.”
Added Williams: "We played solid today. But we’ve got to come out harder tomorrow.”
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
CCS (42)
Scott, Barefoot 2, Webb 8, Carroll, Haney 2, Stone 10, Winstead, Baines 3, Z. Williams 2, C. Williams 15.
ENCSD (12)
Manzanares 4, Vargas 2, Counil, Brayboy, Smith 6, Rodriguez.
Score by quarters:
CCS 17 14 6 5 — 42
ENCSD 4 4 1 3 — 12
Tired Hornets can't keep up with Cyclones
By Jimmy LewisStaff Writer
With a key 1-A Carolina Christian Conference game on tap Tuesday night, the Community Christian School varsity boys basketball team held out a pair of key eighth-graders in Andrew Gattis and Michael Piccolo.
But even as the Cyclones’ third and fourth leading scorers watched from the sideline, CCS had no absolutely need for them Monday against host Eastern N.C. School for the Deaf inside Barney Williamson Gym.
Facing the team with which it shares a home court during the season, CCS quickly overwhelmed ENCSD’s six-player roster and marched to an easy 42-12 victory. The win brought CCS to 3-5 overall, while the Fighting Hornets dipped to 2-6.
ENCSD, playing without its starting point guard in Derrick Griffin due to a knee injury, often looked disjointed on the offensive end of the floor. CCS held the Hornets without a field goal in the second half and feasted on numerous second-chance opportunities. By mutual agreement, the clock ran continuously starting midway through the third quarter.
"We worked with our backups swinging the ball and our backups boxing out,” CCS head coach Ronnie Wells said. "We got some good minutes for a lot of people who, starting tomorrow night, probably won’t get many good minutes anymore.”
ENCSD did lead briefly in the game, taking a 2-0 lead on a wild hook shot from Luis Vargas that dropped cleanly through the net. But the Cyclones answered with a 17-2 run, with the last five points coming from sophomore Cameron Williams. Williams finished with 15 points, while junior Davis Stone added 10 — all in the second half. Stone was active underneath the basket in particular, converting several putbacks.
In the second quarter, when CCS wasn’t getting putbacks off of missed shots, it found easy finishes at the rim. ENCSD’s Luigui Manzanares briefly trimmed the deficit to 11 with a runner in the lane, but three consecutive layups — two from Williams — boosted CCS to a 17-point lead. The Cyclones took a commanding 31-8 lead into halftime.
Further hampering the Hornets were tired legs following a return from a three-game road swing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, over the span of five days.
"Tonight, we’re just worn out and tired,” ENCSD head coach Tony Adkins said. "There’s nothing else I can say. CCS, not to take anything away from them. They’re a pretty good team, but we were just worn out and tired. We haven’t even got our legs back from the weekend.”
The second half was played at an accelerated pace once Wells and Adkins agreed to run the clock for much of the second half. Williams completed his 15-point performance with a pair of third-quarter layups, and the Cyclones realized their biggest lead on a 3-pointer by junior Grant Webb in the fourth quarter. CCS boosted its advantage to 40-9.
With his team often overwhelmed in games, Wells welcomed the change of pace.
"Other teams don’t take it quite as easy on us,” Wells said. "But we fight. We fight to the end. You’ll see we play Cape Fear tomorrow night, and you know how big they are. They’re probably the biggest team in the state. They’re not going to take it easy on us.”
Added Williams: "We played solid today. But we’ve got to come out harder tomorrow.”
jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 | Twitter: @JimmyLewisWT
CCS (42)
Scott, Barefoot 2, Webb 8, Carroll, Haney 2, Stone 10, Winstead, Baines 3, Z. Williams 2, C. Williams 15.
ENCSD (12)
Manzanares 4, Vargas 2, Counil, Brayboy, Smith 6, Rodriguez.
Score by quarters:
CCS 17 14 6 5 — 42
ENCSD 4 4 1 3 — 12
