Dogs, Chargers set up rematch

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 17, 2012 1:48 PM

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Princeton delivered a come-from-behind win over archrival Rosewood and top-seeded Ayden-Grifton dropped Spring Creek in semifinal-round play of the Carolina 1-A Conference boys' basketball tournament Thursday evening.

The Bulldogs won 65-61, while the Chargers rolled 62-43.

Princeton and Rosewood staged another battle in the always exciting series between the two schools. The Eagles jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Jyonte Raynor.

The Dawgs battled back and closed within four points at the end of the first quarter. They asserted themselves and took the lead in the second period when Austin Hinton beat the buzzer with a deep 3-pointer to end the half.

"That was a big shot for us to go into the locker room," Princeton head coach Jeff Davis said. "It felt like we were playing well and having a lead at 30-29 gave us something to show for it."

Rosewood responded with an upbeat third quarter that led to a 38-32 advantage. The Eagles outrebounded the Dawgs consistently and score eight second-chance points en route to a 45-40 lead at the end of the third.

Princeton guards Dalvin Stancil and CJ Jeffreys saved their best for last and opened up the Dawgs' offense in the final eight minutes. The duo combined for 20 points in the final period as Princeton raced back in front for good with a 12-3 run that spanned three minutes.

"Not to take anything away from the championship game, but tonight was the big win for us," Davis said. "By winning tonight we assured that we would be the number two seed and get a home playoff game in the state playoffs. Obviously we want to win the championship, but at least now we know that we can't get dropped down any spots."

Jeffreys finished with a game-high 23 points and Stancil added 21 for the Dawgs.

Raynor led the Eagles with 18 points. Dee Mabry added 15 points. Zach Thornton grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

Ayden-Grifton got off to a slow start before putting away Spring Creek in the third quarter. The teams were tied at 7-7 after one quarter, but the Chargers got hot in the second quarter from behind the arc.

Rondell Bell sank three 3-pointers in the second period and Deshaun Peyton added one 3-pointer as Ayden-Grifton pulled out to a 28-21 lead at halftime.

"Ayden-Grifton is a tough matchup for us because they are a good shooting team and they put pressure on our defense," Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones said. "We got behind by double digits in the third quarter and it was just too deep of a hole to climb out of."

Bell and Peyton each finished with 15 points in the win.

Adam Haggerty led Spring Creek with 19 points. Rashawn Edwards added 16 points and nine rebounds.