C.B. Aycock varsities avenge losses to Clayton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 18, 2005 2:19 AM

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- Firing on all cylinders in the backcourt, Charles B. Aycock's varsity boys exacted a little revenge and regained their locker room privileges -- all in the same night.

Junior guard Lamada Williams pumped in 21 points and picked Clayton's defense for seven steals in the Golden Falcons' 68-48 victory on Friday evening. Williams and his teammates avenged a 21-point loss to the Comets nearly a month ago.

The backcourt tandem of Quaneisha Milner and Jasmine Dobbins combined for 24 points, sparking C.B. Aycock's girls to a 45-32 conquest of Clayton. The leg-weary Golden Falcons claimed their second win in their last three outings, and improved to 6-5 overall.

"Man, that was big," said Aycock boys coach David West.

It was also a game about pride.

A shocking and unwelcomed surprise awaited the Golden Falcon boys after Tuesday's disastrous and disappointing effort at North Lenoir. West denied use of the locker room and took away his team's practice gear.

Players dressed in the boys' restroom in the gym lobby, and worked out in T-shirts and shorts on Wednesday afternoon. They picked up a little trust with a road victory Thursday at Northern Nash, and West couldn't deny them anything after the 20-point rout of the Comets.

"They've got it all back now," said West. "You tell me getting my guard tandem back doesn't make a big difference. And something else that makes a big difference is these kids went out and played (great) defense tonight.

"Lamada played big on steals ... one of the big points of the game. Rob (Phillips) played good on (Jamal) Slocum."

Phillips held Slocum to one basket in the opening half and just nine points overall.

A positive outcome didn't seem possible in the first 14-plus minutes. Clayton controlled the tempo and easily pushed the ball inside to center McIntosh Alcius, who dropped in 14 first-half points and attempted 11 free throws.

Alcius pushed the Comets ahead 19-12 with about two minutes left before halftime.

"John Wooden said you can't worry about what everybody else is doing, you have to worry about what your kids are doing," said West of Alcius, who eventually posted a double-double -- 30 points, 14 rebounds. "We knew they were going to get their points. We just concentrated on what we can do best."

C.B. Aycock (3-8) stayed active on defense and showed a hunger that West hadn't seen in the past couple of weeks. Turnovers led to fast-break opportunities that created offense, but the Golden Falcons couldn't seem to convert with regularity -- until Montez Ham's tip-in.

His offensive putback and old-fashioned three-point play ended a 12-0 Golden Falcon run that produced a 24-20 lead at intermission.

"Montez gave us that little burst of energy that we needed," said West. "Once we got that lead up there, the guys realized we can do this thing. We beat a very powerful team."

Williams collected six consecutive points -- all off steals -- in the third period to boost the Golden Falcons' advantage to 30-23. Phillips' 3-pointer off Thomas Artis' assist and Santavin Poole's layup underneath gave Aycock its biggest lead -- 41-31 -- with one minute to go.

Clayton (5-5) climbed within 43-37, but could get no closer. Aycock kept the Comets in check with stellar free throw shooting -- 13 of 18 -- in the final quarter.

Poole, plagued by foul trouble in the first half, complemented Williams with an 18-point effort. Phillips and Ham each chipped in 11 as the Golden Falcons won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"We took our game to them ... the first time this season we were finally able to do that," said West. "We made them play our game and we stuck them on defense."

Despite playing eight games in a 13-day stretch, the Golden Falcon girls surprisingly -- and selectively -- used pressure defense to keep Clayton from dictating the tempo.

Dobbins' old-fashioned three-point play off Milner's steal and assist; and Milner's 3-pointer off Quita Broadie's steal and assist pushed Aycock ahead 18-12 in the second quarter.

Erin Medford added a free throw and Clayton pulled within 20-15 at halftime on Kristen Alford's 3-pointer.

The Comets (7-3) attempted a full-court press to start the third quarter and with Milner at the point, Aycock easily solved it. Emily Stewart and Erin Medford each knocked down uncontested jumpers underneath to further push the Golden Falcons ahead 26-17.

"We played with a lot of intensity and ran the press-breaker well, getting a lot of nice looks inside," said Aycock coach Luke Vail.

Clayton pulled within 28-26, but Milner picked the Comets for a steal and buried a 17-footer as time expired in the third quarter. Milner started the fourth quarter with a steal and layup out of Aycock's press.

Stewart dominated the boards in the final period and Medford drained a 3-pointer off Milner's skip pass over the Comets' 2-3 zone. Stewart added an uncontested layup off Medford's assist -- off the press -- to make it 38-26.

"We altered the press off and on to give them different looks and hopefully get a quick turnover ... then get right back out of it because we knew we didn't have the legs to stay in it," said Vail. "(The schedule) has been a good experience for our players against quality opponents. Tonight was a big confidence booster for us."

Clayton closed the gap to 38-32, but couldn't the seize the regular-season sweep against Aycock. The Golden Falcons hit six free throws in the final three minutes for the win.

Milner finished with 14 points, five rebounds, seven steals and three assists. Dobbins added a double-double -- 10 points, 10 rebounds -- with nine boards on the offensive end. Stewart pulled down 10 boards and Medford recorded eight rebounds.

Boys game

Clayton 12 8 15 13 -- 48

C.B. Aycock 6 18 17 27 -- 68

CLAYTON (5-5)

Harrison Smith 0 0 1-2 2, Brian Sessions 0 0 0-0 0, Clint Mixon 0 0 0-0 0, Michael Sims 0 2 0-0 6, Josh Holder 0 0 0-0 0, Jamar Slocum 4 0 1-4 9, Jarrell Moses 1 0 0-0 2, Matt Dupree 0 0 0-0 0, McIntosh Alcius 12 0 6-15 30. TOTALS -- 17 2 8-21 48.

C.B. AYCOCK (3-8)

Nick Weaver 0 0 0-0 0, Montez Ham 3 0 5-5 11, Thomas Artis 0 0 0-0 0, Ryan Campbell 0 0 0-0 0, Rob Phillips 3 1 2-2 11, Evan Medford 0 0 0-1 0, Lamada Williams 7 0 7-8 21, Brandon Price 2 0 2-3 6, Tim Alston 0 0 1-4 1, Santavin Poole 7 0 4-4 18. TOTALS -- 22 1 21-27 68.

Three-point goals -- Clayton 2 (Sims 2), Aycock 1 (Phillips). Turnovers -- Clayton 16, Aycock 13. Total fouls -- Clayton 22, Aycock 16. Fouled out -- Slocum. Technicals -- none.

Girls game

Clayton 6 9 11 6 -- 32

C.B. Aycock 3 17 10 15 -- 45

CLAYTON (7-3)

Katie Rothecker 0 0 0-2 0, Millie Lackey 2 0 0-2 4, Kristen Alford 0 3 0-0 9, Chelsea Sanders 1 0 0-0 2, Kate Anderson 2 0 2-3 6, Porscha Armwood 4 0 0-2 8, Lindsey Moore 1 0 1-2 3. TOTALS -- 10 3 3-11 32.

C.B. AYCOCK (6-5)

Jasmine Dobbins 2 0 6-10 10, Quaneisha Milner 4 2 0-1 14, Quita Broadie 0 0 0-0 0, Jazzmine Lee 0 1 4-6 7, Emily Stewart 2 0 2-4 6, Erin Medford 2 1 1-3 8, Rusti Talton 0 0 0-0 0, Lauren Pratt 0 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 10 4 13-24 45.

Three-point goals -- Clayton 3 (Alford 3), Aycock 4 (Milner 2, Lee, Medford). Turnovers -- Clayton 24, Aycock 24. Total fouls -- Clayton 20, Aycock 10. Fouled out -- Lackey. Technicals -- none.