Prep basketball -- Gator boys climb to 4-1 overall

Published in Sports on December 8, 2004 1:57 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Unseasonal temperatures brought warmth and sunshine to the Wayne County area Tuesday. But the temperature inside the Spring Creek gymnasium ascended a little higher, starting with the junior varsity boys' game.

Archrivals Spring Creek and North Duplin battled through double overtime before deciding a winner. The tempo picked up from there in the Class 1-A Carolina Conference opener for both schools.

The Gator girls (0-5) pushed the unbeaten Rebels (3-0) to the limit before falling 56-53. In the varsity boys' game, Spring Creek (4-1) recorded 12 three-point shots on the way to an 85-53 win.

Mandy Ramfjord's Spring Creek squad never quit.

Down 12-2 early in the game, the Gators kept chipping away at the deficit. Led by Barbara Witherington and Margo Sauter, they cut the lead to 20-18 late in the second quarter.

North Duplin pulled away again, 34-23, at the five-minute mark of the third period. Back again came Spring Creek, this time paced by Erica Evans, Anna Potter, Troia Morgan and Sauter. Sauter's basket at the 7:39 mark of the final period tied the score at 37.

Sierra Ward, high scorer on the night for North Duplin with 22 points, gave her club a seemingly commanding 51-42 lead midway through the quarter. Evans, who had 23 points before fouling out, gave Spring Creek its only lead, 53-52, by making a free throw with 46 seconds left.

Ward's 3-pointer at 38 seconds sealed the win.

"I knew Coach Ramfjord would be turning this program around," said North Duplin's coach Danny Blackburn. "We're fortunate that our nine freshmen backed up our veterans after they got in foul trouble."

"We really stepped up tonight," said Ramfjord. "Sauter did an excellent job defending Ward. Our intensity kept us in there."

Devin Graves scored Spring Creek's first basket at 7:21 of the boys' game, and the Gators never looked back.

"It's hard to talk about a game when everyone does what they're supposed to," said Kirkpatrick. "I'm blessed with shooters. We have four legitimate three-point shooters and a couple more on the bench. As Cliff Wilson finds his range, look for him to be a better shooter than his brother Grey."

Playing without the injured Matt Braswell, the Rebels could never find their rhythm.

"We didn't execute very well, but Spring Creek had a lot to do with that," said Rebel coach Ricky Edwards, whose team fell to 1-2.

Four Gators finished the night in double figures. Josh Bishop led the way with 18. He was followed by Dalreese Bell with 13, while Wilson and Mychael King each had 12.

Doug Lloyd had 12 for North Duplin.

Boys game

N. Duplin 11 8 11 23 -- 53

S. Creek 21 20 30 14 -- 85

NORTH DUPLIN (1-2, 0-1)

Doug Lloyd 3 2 0-0 12; Brian McDuffie 4 0 0-0 8; Jonathan Lewis 1 1 2-2 7; Montreal Garner 3 0 0-0 6; Travis Dubois 1 1 0-0 5; Sterling Grice 1 0 3-4 5; Wade Sasser 1 0 2-2 4; Ryan Killette 1 0 0-0 2; Brad Lloyd 1 0 0-0 2; Charlton Armwood 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 17 4 7-8 53.

SPRING CREEK (4-1, 1-0)

Josh Bishop 2 4 2-2 18; Dalreese Bell 2 3 0-1 13; Cliff Wilson 2 2 2-2 12; Mychael King 6 0 0-1 12; Chris Wright 3 1 0-0 9; Josh Wright 3 1 0-2 8; Cody Rose 2 1 0-0 7; Devin Graves 1 0 1-2 3; Josh Bell 1 0 0-0 2; Daniel Correll 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 22 12 6-12 85.

Three-point baskets -- North Duplin 4 (D. Lloyd 2, Lewis, Dubois), Spring Creek 12 (Bishop 4, Bell 3, Wilson 2, C. Wright, Rose, J. Wright). Turnovers -- North Duplin 26, Spring Creek 16. Fouled out -- North Duplin 1 (D. Lloyd), Spring Creek none. Technical fouls -- North Duplin (team), Spring Creek none.

Girls game

N. Duplin 15 13 9 19 -- 56

S. Creek 9 12 14 18 -- 53

NORTH DUPLIN (3-0, 1-0)

Sierra Ward 7 0 8-15 22; Behtany Malcolm 4 0 4-5 12; Emily Diebert 4 0 0-2 8; Lauren Blackmore 0 2 2-3 8; Kayla Myers 2 0 1-2 5; Elizabeth Lane 0 0 1-2 1. TOTALS -- 17 2 16-29 56.

SPRING CREEK ( 0-5, 0-1)

Erica Evans 6 0 11-15 23; Barbara Witherington 2 1 1-2 8; Troia Morgan 1 1 2-3 7; Margo Sauter 2 0 1-4 5; Anna Potter 1 1 0-0 5; Vanity Brooks 2 0 0-0 4; Tasha Whitfield 0 0 1-2 1; Tomeka Pride 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 14 3 16-31 53.

Three-point baskets -- North Duplin 2 (Blackmore), Spring Creek 3 (Morgan, Witherington, Potter). Total fouls -- North Duplin 21, Spring Creek 25. Turnovers - North Duplin 36, Spring Creek 34. Fouled out -- North Duplin none, Spring Creek 3 (Witherington, Pounds, Evans). Technical fouls -- none.