Village Christian tops Trinity with three from Travion McCray
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER Staff writer
Village Christian guard Travion McCray, unhappy with his first-half performance Friday against rival Trinity Christian, entered the second half looking for a little redemption.
“I felt like I owed my team in the second half,” the senior said. “I played a horrible first half, so I had to come out and give them something in the second half.”
McCray poured in five 3-point goals in the fourth quarter, including the buzzer beater that lifted Village Christian to a 66-63 road win and sole possession of first place in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference.
Shaking off the lingering effects of a rolled ankle suffered last week, McCray sparked a comeback that helped the Knights (19-9, 7-1) recover from a nine-point halftime deficit.
Despite still adjusting to the loss of Providence signee Greg Gantt, who had season-ending surgery on his thumb earlier this week, the Crusaders looked in sync early, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
The Crusaders (16-7, 6-2) made headway by driving into the lane, and D.J. Horne stretched Trinity’s lead to 21-7 with the first 3-pointer of the game with about two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Village began to chip away as early as the second period, depending mostly on Justin Thomas’ efforts inside to stay in range.
Thomas finished the night with a game-high 25 points, including eight of Village’s 13 second-quarter points.
On the other end, Village held Trinity to a pair of baskets from the floor and six free throws.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy, but we struggled to score in the second quarter,” Trinity coach Heath Vandevender said. “We allowed them to get back in the game, but you’ve got to get give credit to them (Village). They played hard. We played hard, but we didn’t always play smart. We made a couple of turnovers late and missed some free throws down thestretch.”
While Trinity’s production slipped late, Village went to work around the perimeter, working the ball around to set up McCray.
Village coach Kurtis Darden had asked his team to lay off the deep shots early in the game, wanting the Knights instead to challenge inside in Gantt’s absence.
With time running short, Darden put McCray’s shooting ability in play, confident the senior would deliver.
“He’s my go-to guy,returning conference player of the year,“ the coach said. “I told him that if we were still down late,he’d have to start letting that thing fly.”
McCray made 3s to pull Village to within two points and then a point before finally tipping the scales to a 63-61 lead with a 3 with 16 seconds left.
After a pair of free throws from Trinity to tie it at 63-all and timeouts from both teams, Village inbounded the ball and passed it to McCray at midcourt.
Dribbling to in front of his bench, McCray was forced to take an off-balance shot as time expired.
“I thought I air-balled it,” McCray said. “But then I could see that it was going in.”
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@ fayobserver.com or 910-609-0651
By Jaclyn Shambaugh
FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER Staff writer
Village Christian guard Travion McCray, unhappy with his first-half performance Friday against rival Trinity Christian, entered the second half looking for a little redemption.
“I felt like I owed my team in the second half,” the senior said. “I played a horrible first half, so I had to come out and give them something in the second half.”
McCray poured in five 3-point goals in the fourth quarter, including the buzzer beater that lifted Village Christian to a 66-63 road win and sole possession of first place in the NCISAA Sandhills Conference.
Shaking off the lingering effects of a rolled ankle suffered last week, McCray sparked a comeback that helped the Knights (19-9, 7-1) recover from a nine-point halftime deficit.
Despite still adjusting to the loss of Providence signee Greg Gantt, who had season-ending surgery on his thumb earlier this week, the Crusaders looked in sync early, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
The Crusaders (16-7, 6-2) made headway by driving into the lane, and D.J. Horne stretched Trinity’s lead to 21-7 with the first 3-pointer of the game with about two minutes to play in the first quarter.
Village began to chip away as early as the second period, depending mostly on Justin Thomas’ efforts inside to stay in range.
Thomas finished the night with a game-high 25 points, including eight of Village’s 13 second-quarter points.
On the other end, Village held Trinity to a pair of baskets from the floor and six free throws.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy, but we struggled to score in the second quarter,” Trinity coach Heath Vandevender said. “We allowed them to get back in the game, but you’ve got to get give credit to them (Village). They played hard. We played hard, but we didn’t always play smart. We made a couple of turnovers late and missed some free throws down thestretch.”
While Trinity’s production slipped late, Village went to work around the perimeter, working the ball around to set up McCray.
Village coach Kurtis Darden had asked his team to lay off the deep shots early in the game, wanting the Knights instead to challenge inside in Gantt’s absence.
With time running short, Darden put McCray’s shooting ability in play, confident the senior would deliver.
“He’s my go-to guy,returning conference player of the year,“ the coach said. “I told him that if we were still down late,he’d have to start letting that thing fly.”
McCray made 3s to pull Village to within two points and then a point before finally tipping the scales to a 63-61 lead with a 3 with 16 seconds left.
After a pair of free throws from Trinity to tie it at 63-all and timeouts from both teams, Village inbounded the ball and passed it to McCray at midcourt.
Dribbling to in front of his bench, McCray was forced to take an off-balance shot as time expired.
“I thought I air-balled it,” McCray said. “But then I could see that it was going in.”
Staff writer Jaclyn Shambaugh can be reached at jshambaugh@ fayobserver.com or 910-609-0651
