Local sports digest

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on December 8, 2005 2:00 PM

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DEEP RUN -- South Lenoir's Alex Graham hit a 40-footer at the final buzzer, spoiling an upset bid by Spring Creek, and giving the Blue Devils a 59-58 win at Munn Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Graham's half-court shot marked the second time in recent history the Gators have been victimized by a last-second, improbable shot in Deep Run. On Dec. 19, 2003, South Lenoir's Paul Novicki's off-balance shot from beyond half-court gave the Blue Devils a 53-50 win.

Kilpatrick, who thought then that Novicki's shot came after the horn, said he felt victimized again Wednesday.

"The red light was on before it left (Graham's) hand," Kilpatrick told the Kinston Free Press. "I don't know what the buzzer did. Every time I come here, the last thing I see is the umpires running out the door."

Spring Creek (4-2) rallied from a 42-35 deficit early in the fourth quarter to finally tie the game at 54-54 with 43 seconds left, before taking the lead at 58-56 on a put-back by Desmund Raeford with 1.7 seconds left -- setting the stage for Graham's half-court heave.

Dalreese Bell led Spring Creek with 15 points, while Cliff Wilson and Josh Wright chipped in 12 points each. Daniel Chewning added 11 points for the Gators, who travel to Southern Wayne on Friday for the first-of-two meetings between the two county foes.

Spring Creek 15 16 5 23 -- 58

South Lenoir 16 13 11 19 -- 59

SPRING CREEK (4-2)

Dalreese Bell 15, Cliff Wilson 12, Josh Wright 12, Daniel Chewning 11, Desmund Raeford 8.

SOUTH LENOIR (2-2)

Alex Graham 14, Quan Outlaw 14, Brandon Rouse 10, Joseph Skinner 8, Eddie Colie 6, Corel Rogers 5.

Daughtry's tip-in boosts PHS

NEWTON GROVE -- Princeton's Ryan Daughtry, who finished with 16 points, tipped in his own miss at the buzzer to send the Bulldogs home with a 57-56 win at Hobbton on Tuesday in non-conference action.

The win improves Princeton 3-3 heading into Friday's contest at Union in Sampson County.

Adam Williams added 16 points for the Bulldogs, while Taylor Lane chipped in eight points.

Princeton 14 21 11 11 -- 57

Hobbton 15 11 20 10 -- 56

PRINCETON (3-3)

Adam Williams 16, Ryan Daughtry 16, Taylor Lane 8, Will Gainey 6, Josh Barefoot 5, Patrick Bunch 4, Josh Holtz 2.

HOBBTON

Delonta Smith 19, Wayne Strickland 18, Lamar Lee 6, Tyrell Minor 5, C.J. Oates 4, Osabian Newton 2, Ross Thornton 2.

Varsity girls

SCHS falls to Blue Devils

DEEP RUN -- Spring Creek's Brittani Billups paced her team with nine points as the Gators fell to 1-5 with a 42-31 loss at South Lenoir on Tuesday.

Tomeka Pride added six points for Spring Creek, which travels to Southern Wayne on Friday.

Jess King scored 13 points to lead South Lenoir (1-3) to its first win of the season.

SPRING CREEK

Sarah Parks 2, Brianna Edwards 2, Barbara Witherington 4, Tomeka Pride 6, Margo Sauter 4, Brittani Billups 9, Tasha Whitfield 2, Maura Phipps 2.

SOUTH LENOIR

King 13, Herring 8, Pike 4, Hardison 5, Graham 2, Pryor 2, Garner 8.

Swimming

EW's Chenier claims two wins

Eastern Wayne's Mason Chenier finished first in the 50 freestyle (:22.81) and 100 freestyle (:50.91) as the Warriors participated in a meet at the New Bern YMCA on Wednesday.

The Eastern Wayne boys finished fourth overall, while the girls took seventh.

Melvin Shippman claimed a third-place finish for Eastern Wayne with a 2:17.38 in the 200 individual medley, while teammate Xander Robinson took third in the 500 freestyle with a 5:31.35.

Rachael Stoneburner paced the Warriors' girls with a 2:51.60 in the individual medley and a 6:34.11 in the 500 freestyle.

JV boys

Fighting Knights top Falcons

PIKEVILLE -- Charles B. Aycock's Jonathan Williams led his team with nine points as the Golden Falcons suffered a 43-39 loss to Northern Nash on Tuesday.

Jacob Pendleton added eight points for Aycock (1-6), which travels to Goldsboro on Friday.

Middle schools

Norwayne boys 61, Greenwood 48 -- Norwayne's Tyheim Pitt scored 16, while David Gurganus and Connor Narron had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Trey Thornton led Greenwood (0-3, 0-1) with 14 points as Danny Smith contributed 13. Norwayne (3-0, 1-0) travels to Mount Olive on Monday, while Greenwood hosts Grantham.

Eastern Wayne boys 57, Goldsboro 28 -- Hassan Best had 19 points for the Warriors, while Will White posted 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jacar Kelly added six points and 11 rebounds for Eastern Wayne (3-0). The Warriors travel to Spring Creek on Monday, while Goldsboro hosts Brogden.

Grantham girls 30, Dillard 18 -- Brittany Pate led Grantham with 13 points, while Kayla Powell added eight points. Akeyanna Whitler had seven points to pace Dillard. Grantham (2-1, 1-0) travels to Greenwood on Monday, while Dillard entertains Rosewood.

Spring Creek girls 30, Mount Olive 24 -- Melanique DeVeaux tallied 14 points for Spring Creek (2-1, 1-0). Mount Olive was led by Staresha Troublefield with 10 points. Spring Creek hosts Eastern Wayne on Monday, while Mount Olive entertains Norwayne.

Greenwood girls 40, Norwayne 16 -- Tia Jones paced the Lady T-Birds with 14 points and eight rebounds as teammate Ayanna Albertson contributed 10 points. Beth Carter led Norwayne with nine points. Greenwood (3-0) hosts Grantham on Monday, while Norwayne travels to Mount Olive.