West Craven notches first win at Gators' expense

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 31, 2008 1:46 PM

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DUDLEY -- Spring Creek's jerseys may have said Southern Wayne on the front but the Gators' performance on Tuesday night failed to resemble the Saints in every way imaginable.

Spring Creek was the designated visiting team for its game with West Craven on the second day of the Southern Wayne Saints Christmas Classic. The Gators showed up wearing the wrong uniforms and were forced to borrow jerseys from Southern Wayne.

Spring Creek's problems only got worse once it finally took the court.

Courtland Jones' jumper sliced West Craven's lead to 8-7 midway through the first quarter. But the Eagles closed the opening quarter with five unanswered points and began the second quarter with eight straight points to bury the Gators in a 21-7 hole.

West Craven (1-9 overall) outscored Spring Creek 10-2 during the second quarter and forced 22 turnovers before halftime. The Gators made just three field goals in the first two quarters and trailed 23-9 at the half.

The Eagles opened the third quarter on a 19-6 run while outhustling Spring Creek to nearly every loose ball and winning the battle on the boards at an alarming rate. West Craven finished with a 35-18 advantage on the glass and the Gators (2-8) gave the ball away 37 times.

Ramsey Keys scored a game-high 14 points for the Eagles. Melvin Deveaux led Spring Creek with 11 points.

The Gators begin Class 1-A Carolina Conference play on Jan. 9 when they play host to Princeton.