Greenfield denied holiday title by Fayetteville Academy
By Tom Ham
Senior Staff Writer
Opportunity after opportunity worked their way in the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team’s direction during Thursday night’s championship game of the annual Greenfield Christmas Tournament before a capacity crowd in the cozy Greenfield School gymnasium.
However, Fayetteville Academy, with just seven (six varsity) players available, refused to succumb to mountainous adversity and escaped in an 89-86 thriller to prevent the Knights for celebrating the championship for the first time since 2011.
A pair of free throws from 6-foot-4 senior Jonathan Gauer with 4.3 seconds left accounted for the game’s last points and the Eagles celebrated when 6-5 Greenfield junior Elijah McCadden’s deep 3-point attempt didn’t have a chance.
The Eagles of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 2-A Coastal River Conference climbed to 11-2, while Greenfield of the NCISAA 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference dropped to 8-5.
Gauer, who fired in 25 points and amassed 66 points in the Eagles’ three tourney wins, was proclaimed the most valuable player.
Gauer was joined on the all-tounament team by sophomore teammates John Michael Wright and 6-6 William Onyeodi, the 6-5 junior Greenfield duo of Coby White and McCadden and third-place Wayne Country Day’s Jamal King.
Wayne Country Day claimed third place with an 107-72 romp against Durham Faith Assembly. Lake Country (Texas) Christian salvaged fifth place with a 59-54 win against Raleigh Grace Christian; and, in the seventh-place game, Charlotte Victory Christian edged Neuse Christian, 61-54.
“I really believe defense and resiliency won the game for us,” commented elated second-year Fayetteville head coach James Strong. “They are a really good team with a super player (White). But I thought our five was better than their five.”
Veteran Greenfield head coach Rob Salter cited the “little things” as decisive.
“We do the hard things like diving on the floor for a loose ball, but couldn’t do the little things like hit our free throws,” he remarked. “Free throws should be the easiest part, but we didn’t do it. We’ve got to make free throws and we’ve got to rebound. We got killed (38-25) on the boards. We missed some big free throws in the fourth quarter and they stepped up and made theirs.”
The Eagles owned the biggest lead of 49-41 late in the first half. The advantage see-sawed in the second half, but foul problems mounted for the Eagles. A a call of a foul that disqualified the 6-2 Wright with 5:12 remaining left the Fayetteville bench furious. Also, 6-9 senior Emmanuel Izunobar exited with his fifth foul in the final minute.
“I thought their guy fell down and (Wright) happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Strong noted. “I didn’t think we could win after that, but it happened. We gutted it out.”
Said Gauer: “It was a big loss, but we had to keep playing. We called a time-out and coach told us seniors that you’ve got to lead us. He put fire into me and the other guys. We were determined that we had come too far to lose.”
Greenfield knotted the score at 75-75 on freshman Dji Bailey’s 3-pointer.
With Wright absent, the Eagles answered with the next five points as provided by Gauer and senior guard Demetrius Jones.
The Knights crept as close as 86-84 on White’s putback with 27 seconds showing and at 87-86 on 6-4 senior Dorieon Suggs’ follow shot with 5. 3 seconds remaining. But Gauer and Jones converted enough free throws to keep the Eagles out front and Gauer got the job done with a pair of pressure-packed foul tosses with 4.3 seconds to go.
Gauer was complemented by Onyeodi with 22 points, Wright with 19 and Izunobar with nine points and 12 rebounds. Onyeodi claimed 11 rebounds.
Overshadowed was a monster 38-point performance from White, who was the tournament’s leading scorer with 122 points in three games. Suggs managed 15 points and nine rebounds. McCadden and 6-4 freshman Trey Pittman netted 10 points each. The Knights benefited from clutch buckets and plays from Bailey, Pittman, Bryson Baker and senior Cedric Kirby. Greenfield played just seven of its nine players.
“I’m just blessed,” Gauer exclaimed of being tabbed the MVP. “I have worked hard to get this. But I just wanted to get the win.”
But Suggs will leave Greenfield without playing on a championship team in the holiday tournament.
“Very disappointing,” he said. “We didn’t capitalize on game-winning plays. We didn’t box out, missed free throws and everybody didn’t execute. It was just lack of focus.”
By Tom Ham
Senior Staff Writer
Opportunity after opportunity worked their way in the Greenfield School varsity boys basketball team’s direction during Thursday night’s championship game of the annual Greenfield Christmas Tournament before a capacity crowd in the cozy Greenfield School gymnasium.
However, Fayetteville Academy, with just seven (six varsity) players available, refused to succumb to mountainous adversity and escaped in an 89-86 thriller to prevent the Knights for celebrating the championship for the first time since 2011.
A pair of free throws from 6-foot-4 senior Jonathan Gauer with 4.3 seconds left accounted for the game’s last points and the Eagles celebrated when 6-5 Greenfield junior Elijah McCadden’s deep 3-point attempt didn’t have a chance.
The Eagles of the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 2-A Coastal River Conference climbed to 11-2, while Greenfield of the NCISAA 1-A Coastal Plain Independents Conference dropped to 8-5.
Gauer, who fired in 25 points and amassed 66 points in the Eagles’ three tourney wins, was proclaimed the most valuable player.
Gauer was joined on the all-tounament team by sophomore teammates John Michael Wright and 6-6 William Onyeodi, the 6-5 junior Greenfield duo of Coby White and McCadden and third-place Wayne Country Day’s Jamal King.
Wayne Country Day claimed third place with an 107-72 romp against Durham Faith Assembly. Lake Country (Texas) Christian salvaged fifth place with a 59-54 win against Raleigh Grace Christian; and, in the seventh-place game, Charlotte Victory Christian edged Neuse Christian, 61-54.
“I really believe defense and resiliency won the game for us,” commented elated second-year Fayetteville head coach James Strong. “They are a really good team with a super player (White). But I thought our five was better than their five.”
Veteran Greenfield head coach Rob Salter cited the “little things” as decisive.
“We do the hard things like diving on the floor for a loose ball, but couldn’t do the little things like hit our free throws,” he remarked. “Free throws should be the easiest part, but we didn’t do it. We’ve got to make free throws and we’ve got to rebound. We got killed (38-25) on the boards. We missed some big free throws in the fourth quarter and they stepped up and made theirs.”
The Eagles owned the biggest lead of 49-41 late in the first half. The advantage see-sawed in the second half, but foul problems mounted for the Eagles. A a call of a foul that disqualified the 6-2 Wright with 5:12 remaining left the Fayetteville bench furious. Also, 6-9 senior Emmanuel Izunobar exited with his fifth foul in the final minute.
“I thought their guy fell down and (Wright) happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Strong noted. “I didn’t think we could win after that, but it happened. We gutted it out.”
Said Gauer: “It was a big loss, but we had to keep playing. We called a time-out and coach told us seniors that you’ve got to lead us. He put fire into me and the other guys. We were determined that we had come too far to lose.”
Greenfield knotted the score at 75-75 on freshman Dji Bailey’s 3-pointer.
With Wright absent, the Eagles answered with the next five points as provided by Gauer and senior guard Demetrius Jones.
The Knights crept as close as 86-84 on White’s putback with 27 seconds showing and at 87-86 on 6-4 senior Dorieon Suggs’ follow shot with 5. 3 seconds remaining. But Gauer and Jones converted enough free throws to keep the Eagles out front and Gauer got the job done with a pair of pressure-packed foul tosses with 4.3 seconds to go.
Gauer was complemented by Onyeodi with 22 points, Wright with 19 and Izunobar with nine points and 12 rebounds. Onyeodi claimed 11 rebounds.
Overshadowed was a monster 38-point performance from White, who was the tournament’s leading scorer with 122 points in three games. Suggs managed 15 points and nine rebounds. McCadden and 6-4 freshman Trey Pittman netted 10 points each. The Knights benefited from clutch buckets and plays from Bailey, Pittman, Bryson Baker and senior Cedric Kirby. Greenfield played just seven of its nine players.
“I’m just blessed,” Gauer exclaimed of being tabbed the MVP. “I have worked hard to get this. But I just wanted to get the win.”
But Suggs will leave Greenfield without playing on a championship team in the holiday tournament.
“Very disappointing,” he said. “We didn’t capitalize on game-winning plays. We didn’t box out, missed free throws and everybody didn’t execute. It was just lack of focus.”
