Rosewood gets key win over Spring Creek
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 6, 2011 12:00 AM
Rosewood played four near-perfect minutes.
Spring Creek never recovered.
The Eagles used an 11-0 run midway through the third quarter to pull away from the Gators en route to a 55-40 victory on Friday night.
The win gives the Eagles an inside track to a potential home game in the Carolina 1-A Conference tournament.
Rosewood opened the game with a solid first quarter that led to an early 15-5 advantage. The two teams played an even second quarter that appeared to shift the Gators way when Deshar Thomas sank a fall-away jumper from the left corner that narrowly beat the halftime horn.
The Eagles regrouped in the locker room.
"I felt like we were playing well we just needed to step it up and take control of the game," Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell said. "We are in a position where we have to play every game like it's a playoff game and I thought we played with that intensity in the third quarter."
With his team holding a 33-22 lead midway through the period point guard Jykhia Applewhite found a seem and raced in for a layup. A 3-pointer by Dee Mabry and a pair of baskets from beyond the arc by Antonio Henriquez put the game out of reach.
"It's been kind of a strange season and that continued tonight," Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones said. "We haven't had any consistency in our lineup and our play has reflected that. Tonight we played well in the second and fourth quarters, but not in the first or third."
Thomas led the Spring Creek offense with 15 points. Adam Haggerty added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Mabry paced the balanced Eagles' offense with 10 points. Henriquez added nine points while Zach Thornton and Jacquez Raynor each chipped-in eight markers.
Rosewood (dd-dd) will travel to North Duplin on Tuesday night for another important game in the standings.
"Going to North Duplin is always tough but I think our guys understand what is at stake," Mitchell said. "Every game from here on out is a big game."
Spring Creek will be the guest of Goldsboro on Tuesday night.