C.B. Aycock holds off South Johnston

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 4, 2008 1:46 PM

• Print
• Email

PIKEVILLE -- Charles B. Aycock, in recent seasons, has struggled to play through a sporadic, choppy tempo on the varsity boys' basketball scene.

The Golden Falcons bucked the trend Wednesday evening.

Senior Jonathan Williams nearly recorded a double-double, 15 points and nine rebounds, as Aycock turned back future conference opponent South Johnston 57-48.

"This is a game two years ago and last year that we would have lost because it got sloppy," said C.B. Aycock head coach David West. "Tonight it got sloppy, but we were able to keep our composure enough to pull it out. We got a lead and we hung on.

"(It was) a mark of maturity. That's what we'll call it."

C.B. Aycock (4-2 overall) surpassed last season's win total (3) and swept the regular-season series against South Johnston, which lost its fifth consecutive game. The Trojans departed 1-5.

The teams toiled through a foul fest that turned ugly in the second half -- particularly the third quarter, which took 38 minutes to play. The teams combined for 18 fouls and the Golden Falcons reached the double bonus with less than two minutes to go.

The Trojans were in the 1-and-1.

Aycock shot 25 of 36 at the free throw line for the night, while South Johnston converted 19 of 27 attempts. The teams combined for 55 fouls, which included an intentional foul and technical foul.

"I'm glad they weren't grading us on style (points)," said West. "I'm not making excuses, but a fact is a fact last night's game (vs. North Lenoir) took a lot out of us. Our legs were tired when you go back-to-back games and that happened last week."

Foul trouble also plagued the Golden Falcons.

Senior Khendra Reid drew two first-quarter fouls and played sparingly in the second period. Williams, his frontcourt mate, picked up the slack and knocked down 13 second-quarter points to go along with six rebounds.

"Jon is going to do that kind of stuff and lately we've been having to pick each other up in the post," said West. "Because we haven't had a game yet that we've had Jon and Khendra in foul trouble, but Jon stayed out of foul trouble tonight.

"I hope he sees now how much more successful the team is when he's out of foul trouble."

The Golden Falcons owned a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but that disappeared on Garrett Jackson's 3-pointer as time ticked away. The Trojans trailed 46-38 after three periods and pulled within 52-46 in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter.

As tempers flared and the action heated up, South Johnston drew a technical foul. Aycock drained two free throws and held on for the nine-point win.

Reid complemented Williams with a 12-point effort. Isaac Ryals just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Matt Woodard supplied nine points off the bench, including a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line.