Frankston-WCDS

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 6, 2011 2:02 PM

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The free throw line was a source of frustration for Wayne Country Day on Wednesday night.

It also proved to be the place the Chargers would put away a victory.

Josh Gregory sank two free throws with three seconds left and Wayne Country Day held on a for a 56-52 win over the Frankston Blues from Australia.

Gregory shot just 5 of 10 at the free throw line. The Chargers were only 8 for 17 at the line for the game.

"Having played last night and coming back and playing tonight, you would like to say that doesn't matter and guys are going to be guys," said Wayne Country Day head coach Terry Jones. "You would like to think they're going to bring a little bit of a better effort, but at the same time you just don't know how much they have left."

The Blues trailed 45-37 early in the fourth quarter, but used a 7-0 run to pull to within 45-44 on Mitch Riggs' jump shot.

Frankston failed to score on its next four possessions and Aaron Forde's layup off Josh Gregory's assist gave the Chargers a 50-46 lead with fewer than two minutes to play.

"Some of those stops were huge," said Jones. "We were able to put a little more pressure on the ball. Guys were playing in the gaps away from the ball and we just all decided as a group to pay attention to the ball. We were able to get some steals and try to finish this thing."

Nat Brumley's layup with five seconds to play trimmed the lead to 54-52.

"This one was all about grinding it out," said Jones. "Ideally you would like to put a team like that away. They were so strong and they shot so well. That's why I love scheduling them and playing them because they play us so tough, and they bring us such a challenge."

Wayne Country Day struggled to hit open shots early, but found its shooting touch as the game wore on. The Chargers knocked down four of their six 3-pointers during the second quarter. Luke Bryan's putback at the buzzer gave Wayne Country Day a 24-19 lead at halftime.

"We became a little more patient," said Jones. "We moved the ball around and got some higher-percentage shots. We aggressively attacked the basket and we were in the bonus before you know it."

Gregory led the Chargers with 18 points. Brandon McCarter contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds. Tyson Pearson added 12 points.

Nat Aberyaratne scored 14 points for the Blues.

Wayne Country Day (10-3 overall) visits Upper Room on Friday.