Goldsboro tops Princeton

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 6, 2010 11:38 PM

• Print
• Email

PRINCETON -- Patrick Reynell was just a tad worried.

He hadn't forgotten the offensive clinic Princeton put on during their first meeting at Norvell T. Lee Gymnasium less than three weeks ago. And the Dawgs' recent slide in Carolina 1-A Conference play increased his concern.

But Goldsboro High avoided the stumbling block.

Demetrio Irby pumped in a game-high 22 points and the Cougars clinched a share of the Carolina regular-season crown with a 57-37 conquest of the Dawgs on Friday evening.

"The analogy I made before the game was we're going into a cage with a rabid dog," said Reynell. "It's hard to keep your guys up when you're being successful, but I think we're still climbing and haven't hit our peak yet, and they know that.

"I was worried about this game because Princeton wasn't out of the conference (title) chase yet, and two, they had every reason to beat us ... drag us back down and boost them back up, and get some momentum back their way."

Princeton, which hasn't won a regular-season championship since 1983, suffered its third straight league defeat within a three-day span. The Dawgs (10-10 overall, 4-4 Carolina) play Ayden-Grifton and archrival Rosewood next week.

Goldsboro (14-7, 8-0) is the guest of Spring Creek on Tuesday and concludes regular-season play at home Friday against Ayden-Grifton.

"They (Goldsboro) beat us on the boards tonight," said Dawgs head coach Jeff Davis. "We had been playing phenomenal offense lately, but tonight we struggled and turned the ball over. They're better than us right now and have gotten a lot better."

Irby swished back-to-back 3-pointers off assists from Robert Kornegay and Devonte White as the Cougars raced to an 8-0 lead in the opening quarter. Wes Wood and David Gurganus (12 points) each buried a 3-pointer for the Dawgs, who trailed 15-8 after eight minutes of action.

Princeton trailed by six points throughout the second quarter until Goldsboro went on a 10-0 run. Rasean Brewington drained two 3-pointers and Mike Langston converted two steals into layups, which boosted the Cougars' advantage to 34-18 at halftime.

Goldsboro increased its advantage to 19 points twice in the third quarter before Princeton pulled within 42-32 on Andre Nixon's two free throws at the one-minute mark. Nixon ended the night with 11 points.

The final 60 seconds got heated as each team drew a technical foul. The Dawgs couldn't capitalize at the free throw line and the officials whistled Matt Williamson for travelling on the technical possession. Davis received a technical on the call and the Cougars' Matt Woodard dropped in two free throws with 6.3 seconds on the clock.

"(The turnover) was a huge play that I thought was going to be a foul and free throw, you know," said Davis. "That hurt us getting the tech. That's a swing right there ... six or seven points and is huge."

The Dawgs managed just one field goal in the final nine minutes as the Cougars concluded the game with a 15-5 run. Irby tallied nine fourth-quarter points, while Langston shot 4 of 4 at the free throw line during that stretch.

Brewington and Langston finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

"This was a great atmosphere where everyone is one top of you," said Reynell. "I was very impressed with our poise and how we handled it, and especially late in the game with how we handled the clock."