Ayden-Grifton outguns Princeton's boys

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 13, 2013 1:47 PM

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PRINCETON -- A hot-shooting night was not quite enough to earn Princeton a victory over Carolina 1-A Conference rival Ayden-Grifton on Tuesday night.

The Chargers rallied for a 60-55 victory.

"We had a good night offensively and I was pleased with the shots we got," Princeton head coach Jeff Davis said. "We did everything we could to slow down their shooters, but they just hit a couple more than we did as a team."

Ayden-Grifton (12-9 overall, 7-2 CC) made 10 shots from behind the 3-point arc on the night. Princeton sank nine 3-pointers as both teams took advantage of their scoring chances.

With the Bulldogs playing a box-and-one defense on Charger sniper Rondell Bell, the floor opened up for forward Geremi Dixon. The pesky swingman scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Chargers.

"In the first half we kept the rebounding pretty close," Davis said. "In the second half, you could tell that (Ayden-Grifton) was making a more conscious effort to hit the glass and they got some big putbacks."

Bell sank five 3-pointers and finished with 16 points on the night.

Nicholas Cobb led the way for Princeton with 18 points and seven rebounds. Michael Wooten added 16 points and buried five 3-pointers of his own. Colby Norris scored nine points for the Bulldogs.

"Wooten and Cobb both had outstanding shooting nights," Davis said. "I thought the offense worked pretty much the whole game."

Princeton (9-14, 3-6) travels to archrival Rosewood on Friday night, while Ayden-Grifton entertains Goldsboro.