Hawk hoopsters edge Eagles 75-74

After the first season sweep of Central in at least two decades, the Blackhawks improved to 10-12 overall and 7-4 in Foothills 2A play, while the Eagles fell to 9-12 and 3-8.

West also secured a season sweep of its other two intercounty foes, going 6-0 against Central, North Wilkes and East Wilkes. It’s the first time that’s happened in recent memory.

“It was an electric atmosphere and an electric game until the buzzer sounded,” noted Josh Phipps, the West coach. “We had to earn everything the whole game. Wilkes Central is a very good basketball team and Coach (Brandon) Shore had his guys well prepared coming in.”

On Friday, West again leaned on the one-two punch of Andin Ashford and Harrison Holbrook, who finished with 24 and 20 points, respectively. Holbrook connected on 4 treys and Ashford sank three.

“I’m really proud of our guys for settling in and calming their nerves,” Phipps continued. “Anytime you have a gym with that kind of atmosphere it’s easy to let emotions take over. I’m really happy with how our guys settled in throughout the course of the game.”

West had 10 3-pointers as a team—twice as many as Central, who was led by Anthony Graham’s 17 points. Tyson Owens backed him with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Central’s Gus Keener had three treys en route to 15 points. Kamen Smith had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

“We got into some early foul trouble and our bench stepped up really big for us,” said Phipps. “Shane Gragg and Blake Broyhill played huge minutes for us Friday as they have anytime their number has been called and that’s a credit to their work ethic and the time they have put in.

“Jayden Walker also had some really big minutes and some big buckets down the stretch that helped keep us in it when Central went on their scoring runs.”

Phipps added, “It was a great game to be a part of and one that could have very easily went either way. We are still striving to get better one day at a time but our staff is really proud of our guys’ fight and resiliency.”

Vikes crush Cards

North Stokes cruised to an 80-51 win over East Wilkes in Danbury on Friday.

The Vikings rose to 20-3 overall and 10-1 in Northwest 1A action (a half game behind 10-0 South Stokes), while the Cardinals slipped to 8-14 and 3-7.

Westin Brown and Ledger Blackburn each scored nine points for East, with Blackburn adding six rebounds and three assists. Braxton Long and Owen Combs each chipped in with seven points.

Surry clips North

Surry Central posted a 66-56 win over North Wilkes in Dobson on Friday.

Tripp McMillen led a balanced Golden Eagle attack with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ayden Wilmoth and Jacob Mitchell each added 12 points and Josh Pardue followed with 11.

Solomon Panneton paced North with seven baskets and 14 points. Brandon Holloway chipped in with 13, followed by Eli Shell (7) and Noah Royall (6).

The Golden Eagles moved up to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in Foothills 2A play, while the Vikings dipped to 7-14 and 1-9.

Central takes North

Wilkes Central rallied to take a 59-54 win over North Wilkes in Hays on Jan. 31.

“I was proud of my guys and it was a total team effort,” said Brandon Shore, the Eagle coach. “I thought they really showed a lot of heart battling back.”

Trailing since the tipoff, the Eagles took the lead for good on Gus Keener’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:31 to play. Central’s Brady Scott then connected from the elbow for a 52-45 lead with 2:35 left.

Central then made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win, which secured a season sweep of the Vikings. The Eagles won in overtime in Moravian Falls on Jan. 6.

Scott made 5-of-6 and Aiden Parks connected on 2-of-2 from the charity stripe in the final 1:11 of play.

“Sometimes this season we have been our worst enemy by playing solid in the first half but flat in the second half, especially in the third,” said Shore. “(Against North) the script was turned on us and we were down at the half, and I just told the guys to believe in themselves and play hard.”

Tyson Owens and Kamen Smith controlled play in the paint for the Eagles, finishing with 17 and 10 points, respectively, and 13 rebounds apiece. Scott also had 10 points and Anthony Graham chipped in with nine.

Sparked by the play of senior Trevaun Hague, North led 14-5 after a quarter of play and 32-20 at intermission on its senior night. Hague had a pair of treys in the second quarter and netted 11 of his 17 points before the break.

“In the first half we were just out of sync offensively,” admitted Shore. “Logan’s group always plays great defense and unless you move and attack that back-line man, they just sit in it and it’s really hard to be efficient.

“We made a few adjustments at the half and the guys started feeding the post and attacking the open lanes and it opened up a lot of things.”

Fellow Viking senior Brandon Holloway had nine points and junior Mason Faw added eight.

The Eagles ascended to 9-11 overall and 3-7 in Foothills 2A tilts after engineering the season sweep of the Vikings. North backslid to 7-13 and 1-8.

Trojans clip Cards

Alleghany edged East Wilkes, 72-71, in Sparta on Jan. 31, gaining a season split with the Cardinals.

The Trojans evened their overall mark at 10-10 and improved to 3-6 in Northwest 1A play.

The Cardinals dipped to 8-13 and 3-6.

Brock McKnight poured in 34 points for the Trojans, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers, and dished out five assists. Zander Russell chipped in 16 points.

Daniel Handy netted 19 points for the Cardinals. Ledger Blackburn added 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Braxton Long followed with 17 points.

Hounds blitz Hawks

North Surry rolled to a 102-60 win over West Wilkes in Millers Creek on Jan. 31.

James McCreary pumped in 30 points for the victors, backed by Jahreece Lynch’s 29.

The league-leading Greyhounds moved up to 20-1 overall and 10-0 in Foothills 2A action, while the Blackhawks fell to 9-12 and 6-4.

West was paced by Andin Ashford (19 points), Harrison Holbrook (14), Cal Crumpton (8) and Jaheim McDougald (7).