BOYS' BASKETBALL: South Central defeats C.B. Aycock

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on January 4, 2017 9:59 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- C.B. Aycock does not have a player taller than 6-foot-4 in its lineup.

South Central, however, boasts two 6-foot-7 sophomores, and a 6-foot-5 senior. The team essentially had "you can't teach height" printed on the back of their warmup shirts.

The extraordinary length and relentless full-court press by South Central proved to be a nightmare for the Golden Falcons, who fell 48-28 Tuesday night.

"Man that was big time," said CBA head coach Dave Elmore. "(The length) didn't hurt us so much on the press, but around the boards, they killed us. With guys at 6-foot-7 and long arms, that's tough when my tallest kid is 6-foot-4. A lot of length and a lot of athleticism -- even their guards are long and athletic."

For almost the entire game, South Central applied full-court pressure. The frenzied pace led to seven first-quarter turnovers by the Golden Falcons.

In the second quarter, CBA appeared to find holes in the press and settled into its half-court offense. Semaj Yelverton recorded five points in the quarter, helping the Golden Falcons take a slim 16-13 lead into halftime.

"Executing our game plan," Elmore said. "Our big guys were doing a good job of frustrating them and getting them out of a rhythm -- not just letting them catch and get comfortable."

But in the third quarter, South Central's big men found that comfort zone and the results were less than ideal for CBA. Luke Davis -- one of the 6-foot-7 trees -- recorded seven points in the third quarter and tormented the shorter Golden Falcon defenders in the process.

Easy baskets in the paint allowed South Central to set up the press. The Golden Falcons turned the ball over 14 times in the second half and only mustered 12 points and three field goals.

Meanwhile, South Central took advantage of deflected passes and missed layups and pounded CBA with a 30-10 run to end the game.

"They had trouble executing and adjusting to things on the fly," Elmore said. "I felt like I had a good counter to (South Central's press). If we had executed it, I feel like we could've gotten a lot more opportunities."

Eli Batts led CBA with 12 points.

South Central's 6-foot-5 senior -- Xavier Boyd -- finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. As a team, South Central outrebounded CBA 31-13. The 28-point effort was CBA's lowest offensive output of the season.

It was a forgettable performance, and that's exactly how Elmore wants his players to treat it as they prepare for a road match against North Lenoir today.

"Forget about this one," Elmore said. "Forget about every other one before this and focus on what we have to do (tonight) to get a win."