CBA boys, Hunt girls claim wins

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on February 5, 2006 2:20 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- Before Friday night's Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference girls basketball battle for second place between Charles B. Aycock and Wilson Hunt, Hunt's Kiara Jones was known as a practice player.

Tucked safely within her gym in Wilson, Jones showcased her jump-shooting ability for coach Willie Thomas. A 12-footer from the wing: money. A pull-up 3-pointer: swish. But during games, the 11th-grader was content to be a role player, deferring to starters like Krystal Smith and Chelsea Atkinson.

It was the same story in the first half of Friday's game -- Jones didn't even attempt her first shot until 90 seconds remained in the third quarter. But her 3-pointer from the top of the key gave the Lady Warriors their first lead of the game at 41-39 -- and they never trailed again -- en route to a 66-51 win over C.B. Aycock.

In the night's second game, C.B. Aycock's boys team defeated Hunt by the same margin, 64-49 to improve to 7-14 overall and 3-5 in ECC play with two games left. The Falcons, who are now in a fourth-place tie with Wilson Beddingfield, were led by Santavin Poole's 24 points and a pair of key second-half 3-pointers from Rob Phillips.

Fourty-five seconds after her first three, Jones found herself unguarded in nearly the same spot and connected again, giving Hunt a five point advantage heading into the game's final quarter.

Jones finished with 12 points, the highest point total of her varsity career.

Jones' long-range shots launched the Lady Warriors on a 17-4 run that lasted until Emily Stewart (11 points) followed up Jazzmine Lee's missed lay-up with just 2:15 to play. The Lady Falcons, who took a 31-26 lead into halftime, were outscored 40-20 in the second half.

"The last half, we played very poorly," C.B. Aycock coach Luke Vail said. "We got away from the things that we can do well. We did a really poor job of setting screens and taking the ball to the basket."

Vail noted that weak defense, uninspired rebounding and foul trouble made for a poor showing by Aycock in the game's final 16 minutes. Starters Erin Medford and Quita Broadie both fouled out.

"It really all started when we quit rebounding," he said. "That started a lot of transition points for them, and we're not a good enough team to get by with one shot every time down. That caught up to us."

Vail pointed to the final two minutes of the third quarter -- during which Jones hit her 3-pointers -- as the game's key stretch.

"Truthfully, I should have called a timeout and didn't, because I thought we'd be able to regroup and save the timeout," he said. "It's a game of runs, and they made their runs at the right time."

The key contributor to C.B. Aycock's first-half lead was guard Quaneisha Milner, who looked like the best player on the floor during a nine-point opening quarter. She scored five of the team's first seven points and finished the half with 11, but scored just two more points the rest of the way.

"She had a first half," Vail said. "But it's almost like her game left her in the last half. Hunt did an excellent job defensively on her, (but) at the same time, I think she was forcing some things."

Vail doesn't expect the loss, which dropped the Lady Falcons to 5-3 in conference and 13-8 overall, to impact C.B. Aycock's playoff fortunes.

"Second or third, as far as the playoffs go, one's as good as the other."

Even without the playoff implications (Hunt entered the game at 4-3, while C.B. Aycock came in at 2-5), the boys game had a similar feel and nearly the same score, but an opposite result.

Back-to-back three-point plays by Anthony Lewis, bracketed by transition baskets from Lavell Shipman, turned a 26-25 first half C.B. Aycock lead into a 35-29 deficit just minutes into the third quarter.

At that point, it looked as if the Warriors were too tall and too deep for the Falcons, who were motivated to play a more complete game after a painful one-point first quarter when the two teams met at Hunt earlier this season

When a couple of inside baskets by Poole and Brandon Price brought the game to 35-33, Phillips -- a senior shooting guard playing in his final regular-season home game -- came to the rescue.

His long 3-pointer from the left side, just in front of the vocal C.B. Aycock student section, put the Falcons up 36-35. After Hunt's Justin Dunn answered with a 3-pointer of his own, Poole and Lamada Williams combined for three inside baskets to give the Falcons a 42-38 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Phillips, who routinely hits baseball-style full-court shots in practice, extended his range on his first try of the fourth quarter. With Poole staking out rebounding space inside, Phillips launched a 25-footer from the top of the key. While the ball was still in the air, Poole began to celebrate the Falcons' seven point lead.

"That's one of those, 'no, no, no - great shots,'" C.B. Aycock coach David West said with a laugh. "He's a kid who's confident with his shot. He's been that way for four years."

Celebration over, the 6-foot-1 Poole took charge in the low post against taller Hunt players. He scored six of C.B. Aycock's next nine points as the Falcons increased their lead to 54-43 with less than five minutes to play.

"I might be short," Poole said. "But I'm strong." He credited coach David West's heavy ball drills for his ability to finish plays despite being bumped by opponents. Poole converted eight close-range shots and eight free-throws for his game-high 24 points.

The game's final minutes were marked by fouls and foul shots, during which C.B. Aycock made 8-of-14 to close out the game. A last-second tip-in by little-used senior Ryan Campbell brought the crowd to its feet, capping off a 64-49 win.

Girls Game

Hunt 13 13 18 22 -- 66

Aycock 16 15 8 12 -- 51

WILSON HUNT (6-2, 12-10)

Ashley Lucas 2 1 0-1 7, Jessica McNair 1 0 1-2 3, Chelsea Atkinson 2 1 6-10 13, Krystal Smith 2 0 3-11 7, Kiara Jones 1 2 4-6 12, Crystal Artis 0 0 2-2 2, Brandi Williams 9 0 2-4 20, Spencer Winburne 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 18 4 18-36 66.

C.B. AYCOCK (5-3, 13-8)

Jasmine Dobbins 3 0 3-4, Quaneisha Milner 4 1 3-8 14, Jazzmine Lee 2 1 4-4 11, Chantel Gaines 1 0 2-2 4, Emily Stewart 4 0 3-6 11, Erin Medford 1 0 0-1 2. TOTALS -- 15 2 15-25 51.

3-point goals -- Wilson Hunt 4 (Lucas, Atkinson, Jones 2), C.B. Aycock 2 (Milner, Lee). Total Fouls -- Wilson Hunt 20, C.B. Aycock 17. Fouled out -- Stewart, Broadie, Lucas.

Boys Game

Aycock 13 13 16 22 -- 64

Hunt 13 12 13 11 -- 49

C.B. AYCOCK (3-5, 7-14)

Montez Ham 4, Thomas Artis 1, Ryan Campbell 2, Rob Phillips 14, Evan Medford 2, Lamada Williams 7, Brandon Price 4, Tim Alston 10, Santavin Poole 24. TOTALS -- 15 2 19-29 64

WILSON HUNT (4-4, 10-12)

Bobby White 3, Justin Dunn 5, Lavell Shipman 15, Anthony Lewis 15, Kason Cheeks 1, Devrine Barnes 8. TOTALS -- 15 2 11-13.

Total Fouls -- Wilson Hunt 20, C.B. Aycock 12. Fouled out -- none. Technicals --none.