CBA boys even ECC hoops worksheet at 3-3

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 23, 2013 1:47 PM

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La GRANGE -- What a difference five days can make.

North Lenoir stood undefeated in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play and on top of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference boys' basketball standings.

Charles B. Aycock was struggling and at risk of falling too far behind to recover. After Tuesday evening, each team finds itself in the heat of battle for league supremacy.

The Golden Falcons used an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to rally past the Hawks 45-39 at Wooten Gymnasium. The win was the second in a row for C.B. Aycock and it evened the Golden Falcons' conference record at 3-3.

North Lenoir dropped to 4-2 with its second straight loss.

"The great thing about our conference this season is that anybody can beat anybody," C.B. Aycock head coach Steve Moats said. "We felt like we lost a couple games early that we could have won, and now we are coming together and getting back into contention."

It appeared as though the Golden Falcons were destined to come up just short for much of the game.

North Lenoir held a 10-9 lead after the first quarter and 20-18 advantage at the intermission. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, but the Hawks got timely outside shots and controlled the pace.

The third quarter was much of the same as the teams struggled to find any offensive flow. The Hawks led 31-30 heading into the final eight minutes.

"We did not shoot the ball well at all tonight," Moats said. "But our defense and rebounding kept us in it and gave us a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter."

Michael Williams put the Golden Falcons ahead 32-31 with a short jumper with seven minutes to play. Greg Williams followed with a basket and Cameron Johnson delivered a tip-in that put the visitors ahead for good.

Despite a noticeable size advantage, North Lenoir was dominated on the backboards throughout the game and most notably in the fourth quarter. C.B. Aycock (8-9) finished with a 43-33 rebounding edge.

Greg Williams led the Golden Falcons with 12 points. Michael Williams added 10 points and nine rebounds. A.J. Mundle contributed seven points and a team-high 14 rebounds.

"Our rebounding is really all about A.J.," Moats said. "Last year we missed that big strong guy that could box out taller players. Tonight he did an excellent job getting position and using his body to shield (North Lenoir's) bigger guys."

Braxton Davis led North Lenoir with 11 points. Jacquez Jones added with points for the Hawks (9-9).