BOYS' BASKETBALL: Spring Creek falls to Southeast Halifax in third round

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on February 25, 2017 11:07 PM

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jhayes@newsargus.com

HALIFAX -- Life on the playoff road is often ripe with difficulty.

Spring Creek experienced as much on Saturday evening, dropping a 71-54 decision to Southeast Halifax in third-round play of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A boys' basketball playoffs.

Aggressive from the outset, Southeast ran a deliberate offense and generated clean looks en route to building a 39-25 halftime lead. SC, for its part, started in tentative fashion and found difficulty trying to match the pace established by their host.

"Just a struggle to start," SC head coach Taylor Jones said. "We tried to feel through the game early instead of attacking... we just couldn't get anything going."

The Gators did, however, continue to fight.

On two separate occasions in the third period, SC sliced the Trojan advantage to nine points -- only to see the hosts reestablish their working margin with more deep shooting and timely buckets at the rim.

Unfortunately for the Gators, it was a pattern that would repeat itself en masse through the final buzzer.

"It stinks to go out knowing you didn't play your best," Jones said. "But they played well."

Southeast Halifax (22-5 overall) was led by Roquan Crowell, who scored 20 points. The senior duo of Rashuan Norfleet and Triqual Clark also figured prominently for the Trojans, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively.

SC was paced the steady hand of senior guard Najee Young, who scored a team-high 15 points in his final prep game. Jamerion Dawson filed a 14-point evening, while junior forward Tahj Edwards contributed nine points and nine rebounds.

"We've got some disappointed kids," a gracious Jones said post-game. "But they should be proud of what they've done this year."

Spring Creek finished the season with an overall record of 22-7.