Bulldogs stage second-half rally

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 9, 2008 3:57 PM

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PRINCETON -- The ability to turn it on when it counts.

It's one of several reasons Princeton's boys are off to an 11-3 start this season. The Bulldogs rattled off nine unanswered points to start the fourth quarter and went on to defeat Hobbton 53-44 on Wednesday night.

Princeton's girls used an energetic start and plenty of quality minutes off the bench in a 55-41 victory that avenged an earlier loss to the Wildcats.

Ryan Daughtry's 3-pointer late in the third quarter tied the boys' contest at 34-34. After a Hobbton layup put the Wildcats back on top, Chris Hinton's conventional 3-point play put the Bulldogs ahead 37-36 entering the fourth.

The Bulldogs scored nine straight points to begin the final quarter and led 46-36 less than three minutes in.

While the Princeton offense was building momentum, head coach Jeff Davis employed a 2-3 zone defense to slow down the Wildcats' penetration and force turnovers. The strategy worked as Hobbton managed just eight fourth-quarter points and only attempted two free throws during that stretch.

"They were killing us on penetration," Davis said. "We were trying to give them one shot and get the rebound. We tried to stop them in the fourth quarter."

The Wildcats cut the lead to 46-40 on Jay Joyner's layup but never got any closer.

Princeton needed less than two minutes to erase a 26-23 deficit to start a second half in which it shot 10 of 18 from the field.

Careless ball handling and the inability to beat the Wildcats to rebounds plagued the Bulldogs throughout the first half. Princeton turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes of the game and scored just two points. Meanwhile, Hobbton held a 15-7 rebounding advantage at the half.

"We just will not play 32 minutes of basketball," Davis said. "We're winning and we're doing enough to win, but it's going to catch up with us. We've played great in the fourth quarter all year except for one game. We played well in the fourth quarter (tonight) because we quit turning the ball over in the second half."

Daughtry finished with a game-high 21 points including four 3-pointers, while Josh Barefoot added 17 and Will Gainey contributed seven. Jamar and Joseph Williams each scored 12 for Hobbton.

Princeton's girls overcame some early foul trouble from point guard Brittany Baker and got 21 points from its bench in a performance that more than made up for a previous lackluster outing against Hobbton.

"The last game we played against Hobbton was probably the worst game I've seen us play ever," head coach David Anderson said. "We finally came out with some heart, and this is two games in a row that we've come out with a lot of heart and a lot of passion."

Baker picked up her second foul less than five minutes into the ballgame, but backup Tiffine Battle responded with seven points off the bench, including six in the second half. Fellow reserve Devon Murphy added nine points.

"When we get into conference play I know a lot of teams don't play a lot of players and we've got 15 on the roster," said Anderson. "We've got 10 or 11 I can put in any time and not lose anything."

Hobbton trailed 23-20 at the half before Princeton (5-9) used a 12-4 run to close the third quarter and distance itself from the Wildcats. Forward Ashley Braswell had eight of her game-high 19 points during that stretch. Hobbton never recovered and failed to threaten in the fourth.

Tara Bass led the Wildcats with 18 points.

Princeton hosts Spring Creek on Friday.

Boys game

Hobbton 9 17 10 8 -- 44

Princeton 14 9 14 16 -- 53

HOBBTON

Joseph Williams 6 0 0-2 12, Jamar Williams 6 0 0-0 12, Michael Williams 3 2-3 8, Kendrick Faison 2 0 1-1 5, Jay Joyner 2 1 0-0 7. TOTALS -- 19 1 3-6 44.

PRINCETON (11-3)

Michael Radford 0 0 1-2 1, Ryan Daughtry 4 4 1-4 21, Will Gainey 2 0 3-4 7, Josh Barefoot 3 1 8-10 17, Chris Hinton 1 0 1-1 3, Benton Myers 2 0 0-0 4. TOTALS -- 12 5 14-21 53.

Girls game

Hobbton 8 12 10 11 -- 41

Princeton 14 9 19 13 -- 55

HOBBTON

Rogerica Brown 1 2-5 4, Ana Shoommaker 1 2 2-3 10, Megan Roberts 0 0 1-2 1, Shakiera Faison 3 0 0-0 6, Emily Washington 0 0 1-2 1, Tara Bass 4 1 7-17 18, Tiffany Bullock 0 0 1-2 1. TOTALS -- 9 3 14-31 41.

PRINCETON (5-9)

Olivia Booker 1 0 0-0 2, Amber Wood 1 0 2-2 4, Brittany Baker 0 0 1-2 1, Tiffine Battle 2 0 3-6 7, Summer Capps 0 1 0-0 3, Devon Murphy 3 1 0-0 9, Ashley Huffman 1 0 2-5 4, Ashley Braswell 8 0 3-11 19, Rebecca Harlan 3 0 0-0 6. TOTALS -- 19 2 11-26 56.