Upper Room takes control, halts WCDS rally

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 21, 2011 1:47 PM

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Whatever it takes.

That's the mentality Wayne Country Day embodied down by 26 points to begin the fourth quarter. The Chargers knocked down five 3-pointers in a furious comeback, but fell short in a 67-54, non-conference loss to Upper Room on Thursday night.

Wayne Country Day opened the final quarter with four consecutive 3-pointers to cut a 57-31 deficit to 57-43. Hil Tanner made three of his four 3's in the final period and the Chargers outscored Upper Room 23-10 during the last eight minutes of action.

"You've got to wonder where that effort was early," said Wayne Country Day head coach Terry Jones. "We displayed a lot of heart and toughness in the fourth quarter and I commend them for that. We went into the fourth quarter saying, 'no matter what, we're here on this court and we don't quit until the buzzer sounds.'

"The guys went over and above that."

Upper Room led 33-15 at the half and began the third quarter on a 9-0 run. University of Louisville recruit Rodney Purvis had eight of his game-high 21 points in the third quarter.

Upper Room turned Chargers' turnovers into transition points and Wayne Country Day struggled to slow down 6-foot-8 center Tyrek Coger. Coger finished with 16 points.

"They have a lot of athletes and they spread the court well," said Jones. "Everybody can get involved in the game. We just gave away too many fast-break points. We play well when we're doing the fundamental things and we didn't do that tonight."

Upper Room led 22-14 with nearly three minutes remaining in the second quarter when Chargers' guard Josh Gregory picked up his third foul. With Gregory on the bench, Upper Room outscored Wayne Country Day 11-1 over the final three minutes of the first half.

Gregory led the Chargers with 20 points. Tanner supplied 12 points and Brandon McCarter added 11.

WCDS (10-5 overall) plays host to Faith of Rocky Mount on Tuesday.