Best in show: CBA wins North/South Classic title
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 31, 2009 1:47 PM
KENLY -- Contrasting styles met on the court in the championship game of the annual North/South Christmas Classic at North Johnston High School on Wednesday night.
The new-school scheme defeated the tried-and-true approach.
C.B. Aycock used their fast break offense to defeat slow and steady South Johnston 59-50.
"It was interesting to watch because I thought the two teams were pretty evenly matched," Golden Falcons head coach David West said. "It's no secret that we want to clear the boards and run, and I though South Johnston balanced us out with their half-court game."
Both teams opened the game with some hot shooting from the field.
Tournament Most Valuable Player, Tyheim Pitt got the Golden Falcons going out of the gate with six first-quarter points. Trojan sensation Dolton Bledsoe answered with seven markers of his own in the period as his team cut the deficit down to two points at the end of the period.
Isaac Ryals ignited a mini-rally in the early stages of the second quarter as Aycock extended it's advantage to six points before the intermission.
South Johnston came out firing in the second half.
Behind a barrage of jumpers by Bledsoe and a pair of drives from guard Garrett Jackson, the Trojans outscored the Golden Falcons 16-5 in the third quarter and took a 42-39 lead into the final eight minutes.
"Bledsoe is one of the best pure shooters I have seen in a long time," said West. "We ran some different guys at him and tried to give him some different looks, but he is hard to contain because he is so active and he uses a lot of screens."
Pitt was the final Golden Falcon to hear his number called to defend Bledsoe as the teams began the fourth quarter. The strong senior leader held his ground and kept Bledsoe off the scoreboard for the final seven minutes of the game.
With his team holding a slim 50-48 advantage, Ryals knocked down four consecutive free-throws to put the game away with one minute left on the clock. Pitt added one foul shot and Brandon Winford punctuated the contest with a thunderous slam as time expired.
"I feel like we came into this tournament with a lot of confidence and we are leaving with a lot of confidence," said West. "Three games in three days is tough but I thought our guys did a good job each time out."
Pitt paced the Golden Falcons with 15 points and five rebounds. Winford added 10 points and eight boards while Ryals chipped-in 14 markers.
Ryals and first-round hero Terrance Drakeford were each named to the All-Tournament team.
C.B. Aycock (9-1 overall) will travel to Rosewood on Monday night.