Prep hoops -- Gator boys, Princeton girls claim wins

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 30, 2004 1:56 PM

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PRINCETON -- Spring Creek's boys and Princeton's girls used different, game-winning tactics in their respective Class 1-A Carolina Conference openers Monday evening.

The Gator boys created an up-tempo game with their man-to-man defense and four players scored in double figures in a 75-48 victory against the previously-unbeaten Bulldogs. Meanwhile, the Princeton girls harassed Spring Creek into 33 turnovers with their halfcourt zone trap and claimed a 47-31 decision.

Second-year Spring Creek coach Sonny Kilpatrick picked the Bulldogs, who return all five starters, to finish among the league's top three teams in a preseason poll. Included in that mix are all-Carolina Conference performer Karter Yutzy, guard Brandon Pate and guard Bren Hall.

Kilpatrick, admittedly, felt a little nervous heading into the league opener.

"They are better than they were last year," Kilpatrick said. "I think it's early, but our man (defense) bothered them a little bit. It's not where it needs to be, but that's all we played last year. I don't like to play zone because it makes my guys go to sleep too much."

Princeton (2-1) dictated the tempo early but trailed 17-9 after one quarter.

The Gators (2-1) stayed within the framework of their offense and continued pushing the ball upcourt in the second quarter. Chris Wright connected on several baskets in transition and Mychael King dominated inside -- rebounding and scoring offensive putbacks. King had 12 of his game-high 14 rebounds in the opening half.

"We didn't want to come out and play man because we don't have a lot of depth," Princeton coach Jeff Davis said. "We just couldn't score."

The Bulldogs entered halftime down 38-21, but closed the gap to 42-30 midway through the second half.

Spring Creek answered with two 5-0 runs and the Bulldogs, much to Davis' disappointment, never answered the challenge again. Dalreese Bell drained three 3-pointers during the game-deciding runs, while Josh Bishop (21 points) provided two assists and four points.

"There were times they were shooting three-pointers and we were six or seven feet away from the guy (defensively)," Davis said. "There is no reason for that. I think that we decided to be like the Princeton of old that they're supposed to beat us like that. I was really disappointed with that.

"There is no way they're 27 points better than us."

Chris Wright complemented Bishop with 19 points, while Bell finished with 14. King turned in a double-double, 11 points and 14 rebounds, for the Gators who have yet to play a home game this season.

Yutzy led Princeton with 22 points and Brandon Pate contributed 12.

Although the Gator girls remained winless, first-year coach Mandy Ramfjord found several positives from the conference-opening loss.

Spring Creek posted season highs for points (31) and free throw percentage (67.0), and dominated the boards 35-22. Center Brittany Billups shot a season-best 75 percent (8 of 12) at the free throw line, finishing with a team-high 12 points to go along with six rebounds and three blocked shots.

"Brittany stepped up a lot tonight," Ramfjord said. "The last five I left out there for a good, long time showed intensity and that's what it's going to take for us right now because we didn't have our point guard Troia Morgan out there. My (back-up) guards can do it, but they're so young and Troia showed that leadership we need on the floor."

The Gators certainly missed Morgan and Alex Garner's ball-handling skills against the Bulldogs' halfcourt zone trap. Princeton created several scoring opportunities by forcing turnovers in the corners and over playing the passing lanes in the first four minutes of the game.

The Bulldogs (2-1) raced to a nine-point lead, an advantage they never relinquished and steadily increased throughout the contest.

"Our game plan was to put pressure on them and try to get easy baskets," said Princeton coach Ricky Boyette, whose team led 28-12 at halftime. "For the most part, we were fairly successful. We missed a lot of easy shots that should have went in, and I was a little frustrated by that.

"But I was real pleased with our defense." Princeton collected 24 steals including nine by Stephanie Daughtry.

Nicole Hargis emerged the Bulldogs' top scorer with 21 points on seven field goals and 7 of 9 shooting at the free throw line. Daughtry chipped in 10 points, while Tiesha Williams provided nine.

Girls game

Spring Creek 3 9 9 10 -- 31

Princeton 12 16 9 10 -- 47

SPRING CREEK (0-3, 0-1)

Barbara Witherington 1 0 0-0 2, Anna Potter 0 0 0-0 0, Sarah Parks 0 0 0-0 0, Tameka Pride 2 0 1-2 5, Margo Sauter 0 0 0-1 0, Vanity Brooks 1 0 4-6 6, Brittany Billups 2 0 8-12 12, Tasha Whitfield 0 0 1-2 1, Candace Phillips 1 0 0-0 2, Patryce Pounds 1 0 1-2 3. TOTALS -- 8 0 15-25 31.

PRINCETON (2-1, 1-0)

Stephanie Daughtry 1 2 2-2 10, Nicole Hargis 7 0 7-9 21, Amanda Martin 0 0 0-0 0, Brittany Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Katelyn Kelsoe 0 0 0-0 0, C.C. Sanders 3 0 1-2 7, Tiesha Williams 4 0 1-4 9, Cynthia Peedin 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 15 2 11-19 47.

Three-point goals -- Princeton 2 (Daughtry 2). Turnovers -- Spring Creek 33, Princeton 27. Total fouls -- Spring Creek 14, Princeton 20. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.

Boys game

Spring Creek 17 21 17 20 -- 75

Princeton 9 12 17 10 -- 48

SPRING CREEK (2-1, 1-0)

Cliff Wilson 0 1 0-0 3, Josh Bell 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Bishop 7 2 1-2 21, Dalreese Bell 0 4 2-4 14, Mychael King 5 0 1-1 11, Chris Wright 5 2 3-3 19, Cody Rose 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Wright 1 0 1-2 3, Devin Graves 2 0 0-2 4, Ron Parks 0 0 0-0 0, Daniel Correll 0 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 20 9 8-14 75.

PRINCETON (2-1, 0-1)

Bren Hall 1 0 0-0 2, Brandon Pate 4 0 2-5 12, Karter Yutzy 3 3 7-9 22, Diandre Dublin 3 0 0-1 6, Adam Williams 1 0 0-0 2, Josh Thompson 0 0 2-2 2, Phillip Croom 0 0 0-0 0, Patrick Bunch 1 0 0-0 2, Tyler Worley 0 0 0-2 0, Taylor Lane 0 0 2-2 2. TOTALS -- 13 3 13-21 48.

Three-point goals -- Spring Creek 9 (D. Bell 4, Bishop 2, C. Wright 2, Wilson), Princeton 3 (Yutzy 3). Turnovers -- Spring Creek 9, Princeton 14. Total fouls -- Spring Creek 19, Princeton 14. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.