SBMOP WINTER CLASSIC: Spring Creek tops Rosewood

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 30, 2016 10:23 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- It's never a good idea to tell a group of high school athletes that they can't do something, especially if it comes from the coach.

But Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones had to bypass this rule -- just this once -- to fuel the fight against Rosewood on Thursday night.

After listening to all the stuff they weren't capable of, the Gators built a 20-point lead in the third quarter. The outburst paved the way for a confidence-boosting 63-52 victory over the Eagles in the seventh-place game of the Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic.

"I went in the locker room and simply just challenged them," Jones said. "I didn't think they could come out in the first three minutes and build their lead. And it wasn't that I didn't actually believe they could do it, it was just that I was trying to challenge them. And they knew what I was doing."

Out of all the halves Spring Creek has played this season, Jones said he could only think of two where his team came out ready to play.

Thursday's third quarter will soon be added to that short list.

Spring Creek held Rosewood to 10 points in the third frame, and boosted its lead to 46-27. The Gators' Najee Young recorded seven points in the momentous quarter, while the Eagles made just three field goals.

"Some of the same issues we've been having the first half of the season," said Eagles' head coach Daniel Mitchell. "We're making too many mistakes. We're digging ourselves a hole, turning it over and not being where we're supposed to be. A mistake here and there, and it all adds up."

Rosewood did reveal a glimpse of its potential in the fourth quarter when it used a 16-4 run to cut Spring Creek's lead to 54-48 with 2:30 left in the game.

But the Gators remembered Jones' halftime challenge. And they responded by ending the game on a 9-4 spurt.

"We needed to go through that," Jones said. "To be honest with you, we've had a lot of close games and a lot of games that got away from us in the fourth quarter when we just weren't very strong with the ball. I like the fact that we had to go through that today and came out on the better end of it."

Young paced the Gators with 21 points. Cameron Jones -- who earned second-team all-tournament honors -- grabbed 10 rebounds.

Chance Howard led the Eagles with 19 points and hauled in five rebounds. Conner Vernon added 11 points. Tucker Chapin earned the second-team all-tournament spot for Rosewood.

Although the Gators finished in seventh, Jones firmly believes the tournament was a positive experience for the team.

Now Spring Creek will get a mini-break to recover, and use what its learned to prepare for the Carolina 1-A Conference season that continues Jan 3.

"We were 1-2 in the tournament, but we have a good record going out of this," Jones said. "We played against better competition that's going to make us better. I'm really happy with how we finished."