James Kenan boys use depth to defeat Spring Creek

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 16, 2014 1:48 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- James Kenan's depth was a little more than Spring Creek could handle Wednesday evening.

The Tigers got points from 11 different players and held off the Gators 53-44 in a showdown of the Carolina 1-A Conference's top two defensive teams.

"We like to run and really dictate the pace of the game," James Kenan head coach Brad Lloyd said. "We have 14 guys that we can put out there and they can all contribute, so there is no reason for us to be tired. We have to play fast."

Both squads struggled through difficult shooting stretches in the first quarter. James Kenan grabbed a 10-8 lead on a jumper by Nick Taylor to end the period.

Foul trouble plagued both benches in the second quarter as James Kenan extended the lead to 28-22 before the intermission.

"I think our guys believe in what we are doing and it showed early in the game tonight," Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones said. "James Kenan has a very athletic team, and we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to win the game."

After a sluggish third quarter, the Tigers began to pull away.

A running hook shot by T.J. Fullwood fell through the hoop and John Brooks' fade-away baseline jumper pushed the Tigers ahead by 10 points early in the fourth quarter.

Jordan Hicks answered with a pair of putbacks for Spring Creek, but the Gators never closed the gap.

Brandon Gonzalez led the way for Spring Creek with 13 points and seven rebounds. Hicks added eight points and Tre Hammonds finished with six in his first game back following an injury.

"Tre had a little trouble finding his shot, but that is to be expected," Jones said. "He played extremely well on the defensive end and just him being back out there really gave us a lift."

Fullwood paced the James Kenan attack with 15 points. Taylor added 10 and Kashawn Ammons finished with nine points.

James Kenan (9-1 overall, 6-0 CC) will host Neuse Charter on Friday, while Spring Creek (7-6, 3-3) plays host to archrival North Duplin.