Return to basics pays off in win for C.B. Aycock
By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 8, 2013 1:52 AM
Tod Morgan urged his team at halftime to get back to basics.
Charles B. Aycock received the message loud and clear.
The Golden Falcons tightened up on defense and rode Michael Williams' 25-point performance to a 61-50 win on Friday night at Rosewood.
The Eagles used a box-and-one defense in the opening quarter to limit Williams' touches. The senior forward was held to five points in the first quarter.
Rosewood center Dennis Mitchell scored nine of his team-high 22 points in the first quarter to help the Eagles grab a 16-9 lead. Zack Barnes knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 17 points.
"Mentally, Dennis stayed in the game," Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell said. "Effort wise, he really stuck in and played one of his better games that I've seen him play. I think it is a good confidence builder and it is good for the guys to know we've got a guy we can go to when we need a bucket."
Aycock (4-3) closed the first half on a 12-5 run as the Eagles' offense began to falter. Rosewood (0-3) lost point guard Marquail Almontaser to a hamstring injury and its offensive rhythm suffered.
"It made a big difference," Mitchell said. "It kind of changed the whole dynamics of the team and the offense."
The Golden Falcons ratcheted up their ball pressure in the second half and forced turnovers. Rosewood was held to six points in the third quarter and an 11-4 run extended Aycock's lead to 40-30.
A patient approach offensively also benefited the Golden Falcons who methodically worked to get quality looks at the basket. Aycock also capitalized when opportunities to get out in transition presented themselves.
"I felt like early on we were trying too hard," Morgan said. "At halftime our whole talk was about getting back to our gameplan and sticking with playing our man-to-man defense with the principles that we practiced. I thought we did a good job of pressuring the ball in the second half and not losing (Barnes) because he's a real good shooter."
Williams benefited from the Eagles' switch to man-to-man defense as he scored 15 of his 25 points after halftime. He also finished with eight rebounds. His dunk in the closing seconds put an exclamation point on the victory.
"We kind of practiced some things because we knew they would probably try to pack it in around (Williams) or a junk defense so that was good coaching on their part," Morgan said. "Early on, Mike was patient and he didn't force things too much. When they went man-to-man I thought we had them in a position to get Mike some touches and let him do some damage."
Aycock travels to Goldsboro on Tuesday while Rosewood visits North Johnston.