Jones provides spark for Golden Falcons

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 28, 2015 11:11 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- An 0 for 10 start from the floor.

Four turnovers.

A 13-point deficit.

Myleah Jones had seen enough.

"I just felt like somebody needed to step up and be a leader, maybe not vocally but by example," the Charles B. Aycock senior forward said. "I guess I needed to be the one to step up and spark the team. We did start off sluggish and we should always start out pumped, get our adrenaline running.

"It's hard playing catch up, it really is."

Jones delivered a double-double -- 16 points, 15 rebounds -- and the Golden Falcons bounced Fayetteville Westover, 66-59, from the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A playoffs Friday evening. Next is a rematch with top-seeded and unbeaten Eastern Wayne.

Tip-off is 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Westover utilized its speed to build its early double-digit advantage. Aycock carelessly threw the ball away on occasion and couldn't finish around the basket. The Wolverines converted their fast-break opportunities, which prompted an early 30-second timeout by CBA head coach Roy Harrell.

Soon, the 16th-seeded Golden Falcons (18-7 overall) scratched their way back into the game. They trimmed the deficit to 15-10 by the end of the first quarter and grabbed their first lead, 27-26, on Taylor Daniels' uncontested drive toward the basket.

The Wolverines answered on their end, but Jones' old-fashioned three-point play put CBA ahead for good, 30-28, with 40.5 seconds left before halftime.

"Going from zone to man-to-man defense was key for us because we play good man defense a majority of the time and that was the difference maker for us," said CBA head coach Roy Harrell, whose scheme caused the 17th-seeded Wolverines (16-8) to encounter serious foul trouble.

Westover starters Deja Owens and Kylah Saylon committed three fouls apiece, while teammates Nekyia Baptiste and Shenell Shaw-Davis were each saddled with two fouls. Owens, Shaw-Davis, Saylon and reserve Day'Sha Carwise eventually fouled out in the final period.

The foul trouble forced Wolverines coach Michael Ferguson to abandon his pressure defense and resort to a zone strategy. Aycock easily slashed its way toward the basket for uncontested shots, including three layups apiece from Ashley Darden (14 points) and Taylor Daniels (19 points).

Jones managed one basket during the decisive third quarter, but wiped the glass for seven rebounds.

"I will admit they were a good team and could run really quick so we had to keep buckling down, and scoring ... getting to the basket," Jones said.

Aycock iced its first playoff win since 2013 with an 8 for 16 effort from the free throw line during the final quarter. The Golden Falcons converted 22 of 32 attempts at the charity stripe overall, compared to 10 of 22 for the Wolverines.

Harrell's team claimed a 45-43 edge in total rebounds.

"The last several games, Myleah and Taylor have brought it every time," said Harrell, whose team built as much as 11-point lead in the second half. "Ashley, I've been talking a lot of smack to her and her nickname has been '745' because she scored 7, 4 and 5 points in her last three games.

"When you score like that we don't have much of a chance to win. (Tonight) she was taking it to the basket and being aggressive."