Krentz's shot eliminates Goldsboro

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 15, 2012 1:48 PM

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Daniel Krentz emerged as the unlikely hero as Spring Creek handed Goldsboro a 48-46 loss in the opening round of the Carolina 1-A Conference boys' basketball tournament on Tuesday night.

The Gators advance to play Ayden-Grifton on Thursday night. The Cougars are eliminated and now must wait to see if they are awarded a berth in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A state playoffs. Goldsboro could lose its automatic bid as the No. 4 seed from the conference if Spring Creek wins the tournament.

The only way that Spring Creek can guarantee itself a spot in the state playoffs is to win the conference crown, and the Gators took a big step toward that goal with one lofty basket.

"There is always the chance that we could get in as a wild card with 10 wins," Gators head coach Taylor Jones said. "But it sure would be great to win the tournament and not leave it up to the guys in Raleigh."

The Gators and Cougars battled back-and-forth through a fast-paced first half. Goldsboro led 21-20 at the intermission and seemingly took control with a 6-0 run to start the third quarter. Unwilling to be put to rest, Spring Creek (10-11 overall) battled back and tied the game 46-46 with one minute to play in regulation.

Goldsboro inbounded the ball and tried to hold for the last shot, but an open opportunity prompted a jumper with 14 seconds left. The shot missed and the Gators grabbed the rebound.

Jones called timeout and set up one last play.

"I didn't really draw anything up special," Jones said. "I told them to just run our press offense and it would work."

A near turnover on the inbounds pass led to a scramble that led to Adam Haggerty passing the ball to Krentz at the left elbow. As the final seconds ticked away, Krentz launched a jump shot that swished through the net as the horn sounded.

"You have to credit Spring Creek for not losing their composure and finding the open man," Goldsboro head coach Patrick Reynell said. "The kid hit a big shot and the only people we have to blame are ourselves."

Damarian Henderson led the Cougars (13-11 overall) with 13 points and seven rebounds. Moses Ramsey added 12 points.

Rashawn Edwards paced Spring Creek with 16 points and Haggerty added 15. Krentz finished with six points.

In the nightcap, defending tournament champion Rosewood bested North Duplin 58-52. The Eagles (11-9) drew a semifinal-round date against second-seeded Princeton on Thursday.

The Eagles, who led throughout the second half, made the game interesting with some poor foul shooting over the final four minutes. Rosewood made just 8-of-16 attempts in the fourth quarter as North Duplin pulled within four points with two minutes to play.

Dee Mabry sank a pair of free throws with 31 seconds to play and iced the contest.

"We put ourselves in good positions at the end of the game," Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell said. "We have got to do a better job of converting in those spots on the foul line."

Joel Davis paced Rosewood with 17 points. Jyonte Raynor added 11 markers while Mabry and Zach Thornton each tallied 10 points.

Tyler Royal netted a team-high 11 points for North Duplin. Daron Goodman and Breyon Johnson each finished with 10 points.

North Duplin finished its season 4-16 overall.