BOYS' BASKETBALL: Gators earn share of Carolina 1A crown

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 10, 2017 10:00 AM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- League champs.

That phrase lingered long after the final buzzer Thursday night, as Spring Creek boys' varsity basketball enthusiasts properly celebrated the school's second Carolina 1-A league title in three years, following a 71-49 thumping of rival North Duplin at "The Swamp."

The triumph moved the Gators to 17-6 on the season, and a sterling 12-2 in league play.

SC made its intention clear from the outset, rotating in crushing waves to turn North Duplin over nine times in the opening eight minutes. By half, the Gators had deployed most of the bench to force 15 Rebel miscues and create a 41-20 advantage.

And the performance -- a fast-breaking, relentless shockwave -- was exactly what SC needed after dropping a close tilt earlier this week to James Kenan.

"We challenged them, and they challenged themselves," said Gators' head coach Taylor Jones. "They (the players) took ownership of it... I though it was our best defensive game of the year."

The second half was merely an extension of the opener, and was capped by sophomore Dayquan Bynum's triple in front of a raucous Gator student section with 2:40 remaining in the period -- a bucket that sent the building into hysterics and effectively ended matters for North Duplin.

In total, 12 players scored for Spring Creek, led by senior Najee Young's game-high 16 points. Classmate Matthew Dupuy finished with 11 points -- including a 9-for-10 effort at the charity stripe -- while big man Cam Jones registered a four point, 10-rebound performance.

Tahj Edwards netted eight points and four glass wipes.

North Duplin (5-15, 4-10) was led by junior forward Luke Britt, who battled early foul trouble to finish with 11 points and six rebounds. He was joined by Shmid Romeus, who tallied 10 points.

Senior center Malik Cobb finished with seven points and six rebounds.

"Spring Creek did an outstanding job defensively," said North Duplin head coach Ricky Edwards. "We were never able to get going... we needed to do a better job of stopping the ball and getting into something offensively."

Alas, the Gators didn't allow such to happen.

The regular season now complete, SC awaits the minutes of this morning's league-wide meeting that will map next week's conference tournament -- a multi-day, multi-site event set to begin Monday.

For now, Jones & Co. will enjoy try to enjoy one spoil from its most recent accomplishment -- a three-day weekend.

"They need it," the coach said. "And we know Tuesday, we play... whether we're the one seed or two seed."