BOYS' BASKETBALL: CBA falls to Midway

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on December 20, 2016 9:59 AM

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PRINCETON -- The trial phase? Worth it.

That was the post-game sentiment of Charles B. Aycock varsity basketball coach Dave Elmore, who went outside the powder-blue box in advance of his team's matchup with Midway High during Monday's opening-round of the Quickshirt.com Christmas Tournament at Deacon Jones Gymnasium.

And while the result -- a 64-57 setback -- wasn't desired, it wasn't without merit, either. Aycock debuted its largest lineup of the season, an interchangeable six-man weave that featured length, speed and aggression at every position -- and in turn, found a versatility that served them well for most of the night. Just not all of it.

The Golden Falcons opened the affair with the slick dribble of newly-minted point Justin Lofton-Russell, who at six-foot two both saw over and outplayed Midway senior counterpart Greg Orr in the first half. Time and again, No. 14 created for his mates and kept the Raiders honest with capable jump shooting.

His performance, full of nuance throughout, was praised by Elmore. "I was very pleased," the coach said of his floor general's play, "(we) let him run the team and I felt like we had pretty good offensive flow."

At half, the shadow-boxing affair was tied at 23. Lofton-Russell and Co. opened the third period with efficient haste, putting together a flurry of baskets that culminated with a four-point play by Eli Batts with 1:22 remaining in the stanza.

The outburst also helped quell an 11-point quarter by Orr and provide the Falcons a 44-40 advantage with eight minutes remaining.

And that's when the experiment -- for the only time all night -- looked experimental.

Aycock found its offense near the rim, but struggled to convert baskets. Wild caroms and loose balls were too often corralled by Midway, which quickly turned its found gold into a 24-point fourth quarter insurrection.

Midway 64, Aycock 57.

The Raiders' razor-sharp final period saw five players register baskets and the team go 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Orr finished with a game-high 19 points and was complemented by Austin Raynor and Colby Pope, who tendered 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Aycock (3-7) saw its tuned lineup deliver a quartet of double-figure efforts, led by Lofton-Russell's 16 points. Forward Semaj Yelverton and Eli Batts both netted 11, while big man Marquez Farmer tallied 10 points.

The Golden Falcons will face Princeton this evening in the boys' varsity consolation affair, and make no mistake -- Elmore is anxious to see his revamped lineup in action again.

"I was proud of their effort," the coach said, "we really battled a lot on the boards, but we just seemed to miss little short shots around the rim... but we have one more tomorrow -- and I'd like to go into the break with a win."

Tip-off is 4:30 p.m. xxx