Gators see lead shrink, hangs on against Rebels

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 18, 2014 11:08 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones tells anyone that will listen that his team doesn't win pretty basketball games.

Friday night was no different. The Gators saw an 18-point second-half lead shrink to five points, but they hung on for a 66-54 win over North Duplin in a Carolina 1-A Conference game.

Brandon Gonzalez led Spring Creek with 27 points, including a 20 for 22 effort from the free throw line. Jordan Hicks contributed a double-double -- 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Cedrick Kornegay paced the Rebels with 14 points. Savon Scott added 13 points. Cody Ivey and Daron Goodman each had 10 points.

The Gators (8-6 overall, 4-3 CC) used solid defense and an 18-4 run to build a 36-18 lead early in the third quarter.

North Duplin turned up its own defensive intensity and forced 10 Spring Creek turnovers as the quarter progressed. The Rebels crowded the passing lanes and created some steals, which led to transition baskets.

Daron Goodman's free throws pulled North Duplin to within 41-31 late in the third quarter.

"I thought we played with a lot more intensity," Rebels' head coach Ricky Edwards said. "We were able to force some turnovers and I thought our kids played really hard in the second half. I was really pleased with our effort."

North Duplin continued to ride the wave of momentum and Savon Scott's three-point-play trimmed the deficit to 55-50 with fewer than three minutes to play.

"Ricky knows what he's doing, and he did what he had to do to get back in the ball game," Gators' head coach Taylor Jones said. "They got into us in the third quarter and there for a while we stopped running our offense."

The Rebels faltered on critical possessions late and Spring Creek scored 11 of the game's final 15 points. Gonzalez sank eight of 10 free throws in the last 21/2 minutes.

"I thought our kids did a good job late of attacking and getting to the rim," Jones said. "We didn't always finish at the rim but we did a good job of getting there. This is who we are, we don't play pretty basketball but we find ways to win ugly games."

The Gators play host to Lakewood on Jan. 24, while North Duplin entertains Neuse Charter the same night.