Charlotte Latin overcomes Durham Academy’s hot start
BY STEVE LYTTLE AND LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
Durham Academy overwhelmingly won the first four minutes of its boys’ basketball game Friday night at Charlotte Latin.
The Hawks dominated the rest.
Charlotte Latin absorbed an early shot from the visiting Cavaliers but rolled to a 57-40 nonconference victory.
The Hawks (5-2) held Durham Academy (3-2) to a single basket over a nine-minute stretch in the first half and found their shooting groove after a shaky start.
“We’ve got a solid group of seniors, and once they found themselves tonight, they played really well,” Charlotte Latin coach Chris Berger said. “A lot of what we did offensively was set up by solid defense.
“Our team held a really good Durham Academy team to 40 points.”
Friday’s game was a match of two solid teams built fundamentally different.
Charlotte Latin replaced last season’s senior-heavy roster with another team led by seniors. They can shoot effectively from the outside but also have a strong inside game.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers rely on guards for much of their offense. And they have freshmen starting at point guard (Jayde Braswell) and center (Wyatt DeGraaf).
“We came out and hit our first few shots, and we had some confidence,” Durham Academy coach Tim McKenna said. “And they (the Hawks) were missing theirs.”
The Cavaliers jumped to a 13-2 lead in the opening four minutes. Then they went cold from the floor, missing 10 of their next 11 shots.
“Once the shots stopped falling, I think we lost our rhythm,” McKenna said. “And give Latin credit. Their defense played a role.”
While Durham Academy went cold, Charlotte Latin heated up. The Hawks went on a 21-2 run over nearly nine minutes, making 8-of-12 from the floor. That made it 23-13, and Charlotte Latin was never threatened again.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Graham Calton, Charlotte Latin: A 6-5 senior forward, Calton finished with a game-high 19 points and grabbed four rebounds. He hit on 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Toby Harris, Durham Academy: Harris, a 6-6 senior guard, scored a game-high 20 points and had eight rebounds. Harris had 11 of the Cavs’ 20 first-half points.
Jaylen Jones, Charlotte Latin: Jones, a senior guard, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Hawks’ second-quarter surge and finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ Charlotte Latin made only 6-of-16 shots from the floor in the first quarter. The Hawks shot better than 50 percent (16-of-30) for the rest of the game.
▪ Starters Toby Harris and Cole Sinclair accounted for 34 of Durham Academy’s 40 points, including 18 of the Cavaliers’ 20 second-half points.
▪ This was Durham Academy’s finale in 2020. The Cavaliers will take a holiday break, then resume play Jan. 7 against nonconference foe Trinity Academy and Jan. 8 against Triangle Independence Schools Conference opponent Ravenscroft School.
▪ Charlotte Latin is back in action next week, facing Christ School on Monday and Rabun Gap School on Tuesday. Both of those contests will be in the Warrior Classic at Metrolina Christian.
BY STEVE LYTTLE AND LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
Durham Academy overwhelmingly won the first four minutes of its boys’ basketball game Friday night at Charlotte Latin.
The Hawks dominated the rest.
Charlotte Latin absorbed an early shot from the visiting Cavaliers but rolled to a 57-40 nonconference victory.
The Hawks (5-2) held Durham Academy (3-2) to a single basket over a nine-minute stretch in the first half and found their shooting groove after a shaky start.
“We’ve got a solid group of seniors, and once they found themselves tonight, they played really well,” Charlotte Latin coach Chris Berger said. “A lot of what we did offensively was set up by solid defense.
“Our team held a really good Durham Academy team to 40 points.”
Friday’s game was a match of two solid teams built fundamentally different.
Charlotte Latin replaced last season’s senior-heavy roster with another team led by seniors. They can shoot effectively from the outside but also have a strong inside game.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers rely on guards for much of their offense. And they have freshmen starting at point guard (Jayde Braswell) and center (Wyatt DeGraaf).
“We came out and hit our first few shots, and we had some confidence,” Durham Academy coach Tim McKenna said. “And they (the Hawks) were missing theirs.”
The Cavaliers jumped to a 13-2 lead in the opening four minutes. Then they went cold from the floor, missing 10 of their next 11 shots.
“Once the shots stopped falling, I think we lost our rhythm,” McKenna said. “And give Latin credit. Their defense played a role.”
While Durham Academy went cold, Charlotte Latin heated up. The Hawks went on a 21-2 run over nearly nine minutes, making 8-of-12 from the floor. That made it 23-13, and Charlotte Latin was never threatened again.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Graham Calton, Charlotte Latin: A 6-5 senior forward, Calton finished with a game-high 19 points and grabbed four rebounds. He hit on 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Toby Harris, Durham Academy: Harris, a 6-6 senior guard, scored a game-high 20 points and had eight rebounds. Harris had 11 of the Cavs’ 20 first-half points.
Jaylen Jones, Charlotte Latin: Jones, a senior guard, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Hawks’ second-quarter surge and finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ Charlotte Latin made only 6-of-16 shots from the floor in the first quarter. The Hawks shot better than 50 percent (16-of-30) for the rest of the game.
▪ Starters Toby Harris and Cole Sinclair accounted for 34 of Durham Academy’s 40 points, including 18 of the Cavaliers’ 20 second-half points.
▪ This was Durham Academy’s finale in 2020. The Cavaliers will take a holiday break, then resume play Jan. 7 against nonconference foe Trinity Academy and Jan. 8 against Triangle Independence Schools Conference opponent Ravenscroft School.
▪ Charlotte Latin is back in action next week, facing Christ School on Monday and Rabun Gap School on Tuesday. Both of those contests will be in the Warrior Classic at Metrolina Christian.
