Aycock boys snap 9-game, season-opening skid

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on December 11, 2014 1:48 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- As Southern Nash guard Garret Jones watched his half-court heave bang off the backboard, front iron and drop onto the floor, a collective gasp arose from the Charles B. Aycock fans and students who stuck around to watch the ending Wednesday evening.

The Golden Falcons' players exchanged hugs.

Their parents left the gym smiling.

Aycock ended a nine-game losing streak with a 51-46 victory over previously-unbeaten Southern Nash, giving Golden Falcons alum David Elmore his first-ever win as a varsity head coach.

The Firebirds (5-1 overall) led 12-10 after one quarter and 31-24 at halftime. A relentless full-court press forced the Golden Falcons into early turnovers. Southern's Emmanuel Merriweather and Marquis Wright shared the scoring load with seven points apiece as they exploited their size mismatch by getting to the rim with ease.

Aycock hung around.

The Golden Falcons used a 15-4 run to take a slim lead going into the final eight minutes. Cameron Kornegay led Aycock with 15 points and sank two crucial free throws with 21.5 seconds left to all but secure the win.

Reserve Damien Darden, who logged substantial minutes due to early foul trouble for Jarde Spruill, had 10 points and was 6 for 8 from the free throw line. Elmore praised his sophomore.

"Huge game from him tonight," Elmore said. "He really stepped up tonight. That's the potential he's had all along. We get on him a lot because we know the potential that kid has, and sometimes we lose sight of the fact that he's only a sophomore."

"We expect him to play like a senior."

Foul trouble doomed the Firebirds, who abandoned their full-court press early in the game. Five players had at least three fouls and head coach Robbie Kennedy wasn't pleased with his team's defensive effort.

"Every time we touched somebody, it was a foul," Kennedy said. "I thought our 1-3-1 was good, but we just couldn't get in a rhythm. Basically, they just wanted it more than we did."

Aycock visits Goldsboro on Friday.