Bulldog Christmas Invitational Boys recap

By From staff reports
Published in Sports on December 20, 2011 1:49 PM

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PRINCETON -- Princeton got big plays from its smallest player en route to a 71-58 win over Spring Creek in the first round of the Bulldog Christmas Invitational on Monday night.

Point guard C.J. Jeffreys scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Bulldogs to the victory.

Princeton will play Rocky Mount Prep in the championship game of the tournament tonight. Spring Creek will face Eastern Wayne in the consolation game.

"I thought that C.J. and Dalvin (Stancil) both did a really nice job of handling the ball in the fourth quarter and taking what was available," Princeton head coach Jeff Davis said. "It's a luxury that we have two guys who can handle the ball in key moments."

Princeton led 23-21 at the intermission and began pulling away in the third quarter as foul trouble limited Spring Creek's size advantage in the paint. By the end of the third quarter the home team held a 45-32 lead.

Jeffreys made sure the Bulldogs never blinked as he buried back-to-back jumpers to put the game on ice to start the fourth quarter. Spring Creek pulled with seven points in the final 90 seconds, but Princeton finished the game with five free throws in the final minute.

Stancil finished with 13 points and Austin Hinton added 12 points for the Bulldogs (5-5 overall).

Adam Haggerty led the Gators (3-5 overall) with 21 points and 10 rebounds. James Lofton added 12 points in the defeat.

Jaguars claw Warriors

PRINCETON -- Rocky Mount Prep closed the first half with 10 unanswered points and rolled past Eastern Wayne 101-73 on Monday evening on the first day of the Bulldog Christmas Invitational at Princeton High School.

Rocky Mount Prep used a suffocating man-to-man full-court press to create turnovers that led to transition points throughout the first half. The Warriors (5-5) committed 22 first-half turnovers and trailed 51-33 at the half.

"Rebounding wise it was difficult for us against their size," Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman said. "We would have liked to slow down the game a little bit and play more of our pace but our guys kept pushing it and wanted to run a little bit."

The Jaguars (8-2) placed four players in double figures. Deshawn Freeman scored a game-high 29 points. Donte Samuels added 23 points.

Lee Atkinson paced the Warriors with 25 points. Josiah Davis had 15 points.