Daughtry, 'Dawgs bite Rosewood

By Steve Roush
Published in Sports on February 12, 2006 2:28 AM

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PRINCETON -- Ryan Daughtry knew it was going in.

The Princeton sophomore took a dribble on Princeton's first possession of the fourth quarter and let a 3-pointer fly right in front of the "Rosewood Rowdies."

It found its mark.

"Oh yeah, I knew (it was going in)," Daughtry said of the trifecta that gave the Bulldogs a 39-37 advantage -- a lead they would never relinquish -- as Princeton beat Rosewood 54-45 on Friday night. "They just gave me a little room and I took it."

Daughtry actually outscored the entire Rosewood team 9-8 during the final eight minutes as the young guard finished with a game-high 26 points.

"Ryan just has so much talent," Princeton coach Jeff Davis said. "He loves to shoot it, and if he's on, he's tough. He's going to be a really good player."

Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell agreed.

"He's not afraid to take the big shot," he said. "And he knocked them down."

While Princeton (8-16, 2-8 Carolina Conference) scored 18 points in the final frame, the Eagles (5-19, 3-7) couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch.

Stephen McIntyre, who finished with 12 points, drained a 3-pointer with 2:30 to play to cut Princeton's lead to 44-42.

Unfortunately for the visitors, that was the Eagles' last field goal of the night.

"We had a couple of possessions toward the end where some of our shots rattled in and out," Mitchell said. "We had our chances and couldn't convert, and Princeton made some big shots and hit a lot of their free throws when we were forced to foul."

Also for Princeton, Patrick Bunch had 10 points and limited Rosewood's leading scorer, Kyle Bunn, to just 14 points.

"Bunn is perhaps the best player in our league, and Bunch did a great job of guarding him," Davis said.

Bunch also hit four critical free throws during the final 35 seconds.

"This is a real big win for us," said Bunch as Princeton climbed out of last place in the conference with the win. "It gives us come confidence heading into the tournament."

It should, as Princeton opens the Carolina Conference tournament against Rosewood on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Spring Creek.

"We can't celebrate for long," Davis said. "Rosewood will be even more ready after what happened here tonight."

Mitchell, again, agreed.

"I think we'll be focused and ready," he said.

Rosewood 11 9 17 8 -- 45

Princeton 13 10 13 18 -- 54

ROSEWOOD (5-19, 3-7)

Stephen McIntyre 0 4 0-2 12; Brantley Ellis 2 0 0-0 4; Kyle Bunn 6 0 2-2 14; Clarence Toran 1 0 0-0 2; Zach Hardison 1 0 0-0 2; Dennis Jones 1 0 1-1 3; Holt Rains 3 0 2-4 8. TOTALS -- 14 4 5-9 45.

PRINCETON (8-16, 2-8)

Patrick Bunch 3 0 4-6 10; Ryan Daughtry 5 4 4-4 26; Adam Nethercutt 1 0 3-4 5; Will Gainey 2 0 2-4 6; Taylor Lane 2 0 0-0 4; Josh Barefoot 0 0 3-4 3. TOTALS -- 13 4 16-22 54.

3-point goals -- Rosewood, 4 (McIntyre 4); Princeton, 4 (Daughtry 4). Total fouls -- Rosewood, 17; Princeton, 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.