APA boys fall in final seconds, girls rout Wake Christian
Arendell Parrott’s Paxton Riley glides in for a layup in the Patriots’ game against Wake Christian. Photo by Heidi Adams / Special to ENC Moments
A second close victory this week for Arendell Parrott wasn’t meant to be.
Micah Worsley’s putback with 1.9 seconds left gave Wake Christian a 58-56 win over the Patriots Friday. APA (8-8) defeated John Paul II in triple overtime on the road Wednesday and seemed ready for another extra session before the Bulldogs (5-12) changed the narrative.
The Patriots played without star guard Tomir Moore for a third straight game — the junior leads the team in points (22.0), assists (3.7) and steals (1.8) — but the team has continued to show its fight, including the 90-85 win against the Saints two days prior and a late second-half deficit Friday.
“I know with our group, regardless of adversity or the opponent we’re going to fight every night,” APA coach Clay Harrell said. “We’re going to play hard and while the effort was good enough to win tonight, unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
The game was tight throughout, with neither team getting a double-digit advantage. Wake Christian took an 18-14 advantage after a Michael Bright 3-pointer, but APA hit a trio of perimeter shots — two from Paxton Riley, one from Cole Evans — in a 14-2 run, ending with Fletcher Jones’ 3-point play.
The Patriots would take a 29-22 lead into the break, but the Bulldogs’ hot shooting coincided with an APA cold streak. Wake Christian hit nine of its first 11 shots, including three Donovan Thomas 3-pointers, and built up a 44-37 lead late in the third. APA started 1 of 11, but clawed back in the fourth, eventually taking a 53-52 advantage after Evans’ basket with 3:23 to play.
The lead would change hands three more times, with the final one being set up after Preston Sims’ drive with seven seconds remaining tied it at 56. After a timeout, Sims would steal the inbounds pass and dish the ball to Jake Wulf from beyond the arc.
Wulf missed, but Worsley scored on the putback and time expired before APA could get a shot off.
“This meant everything to me,” Worsley said. “I wanted to be there to help out my team and I had faith — I pray to God every day and I tried to be in the right place. Of course, the credit goes to Preston because he made the steal to set everything up.”
WAKE CHRISTIAN 58, ARENDELL PARROTT 56
WC 13 9 22 14 — 56
APA 12 17 12 17 — 58
WAKE CHRISTIAN — Donovan Thomas 16, Berkley Coon 13, Worsley 9, Bright 6, Wulf 5, Sims 4, Overton 3, Delaney 2
ARENDELL PARROTT — Cole Evans 14, Paxton Riley 13, Miller 8, Dawson 7, Lowry 6, Jones 6, Llewellyn 2
Three-pointers: WC — Thomas 4, Overton, Coon, Bright, Worsley. APA — Riley 2, Evans 2.
Arendell Parrott’s Paxton Riley glides in for a layup in the Patriots’ game against Wake Christian. Photo by Heidi Adams / Special to ENC Moments
A second close victory this week for Arendell Parrott wasn’t meant to be.
Micah Worsley’s putback with 1.9 seconds left gave Wake Christian a 58-56 win over the Patriots Friday. APA (8-8) defeated John Paul II in triple overtime on the road Wednesday and seemed ready for another extra session before the Bulldogs (5-12) changed the narrative.
The Patriots played without star guard Tomir Moore for a third straight game — the junior leads the team in points (22.0), assists (3.7) and steals (1.8) — but the team has continued to show its fight, including the 90-85 win against the Saints two days prior and a late second-half deficit Friday.
“I know with our group, regardless of adversity or the opponent we’re going to fight every night,” APA coach Clay Harrell said. “We’re going to play hard and while the effort was good enough to win tonight, unfortunately it didn’t happen.”
The game was tight throughout, with neither team getting a double-digit advantage. Wake Christian took an 18-14 advantage after a Michael Bright 3-pointer, but APA hit a trio of perimeter shots — two from Paxton Riley, one from Cole Evans — in a 14-2 run, ending with Fletcher Jones’ 3-point play.
The Patriots would take a 29-22 lead into the break, but the Bulldogs’ hot shooting coincided with an APA cold streak. Wake Christian hit nine of its first 11 shots, including three Donovan Thomas 3-pointers, and built up a 44-37 lead late in the third. APA started 1 of 11, but clawed back in the fourth, eventually taking a 53-52 advantage after Evans’ basket with 3:23 to play.
The lead would change hands three more times, with the final one being set up after Preston Sims’ drive with seven seconds remaining tied it at 56. After a timeout, Sims would steal the inbounds pass and dish the ball to Jake Wulf from beyond the arc.
Wulf missed, but Worsley scored on the putback and time expired before APA could get a shot off.
“This meant everything to me,” Worsley said. “I wanted to be there to help out my team and I had faith — I pray to God every day and I tried to be in the right place. Of course, the credit goes to Preston because he made the steal to set everything up.”
WAKE CHRISTIAN 58, ARENDELL PARROTT 56
WC 13 9 22 14 — 56
APA 12 17 12 17 — 58
WAKE CHRISTIAN — Donovan Thomas 16, Berkley Coon 13, Worsley 9, Bright 6, Wulf 5, Sims 4, Overton 3, Delaney 2
ARENDELL PARROTT — Cole Evans 14, Paxton Riley 13, Miller 8, Dawson 7, Lowry 6, Jones 6, Llewellyn 2
Three-pointers: WC — Thomas 4, Overton, Coon, Bright, Worsley. APA — Riley 2, Evans 2.
