Schedule/scores update

Wednesday, December 27, 2006:
11:00 a.m.: Game 1- Wake Forest-Rolesville 73, Smoky Mountain 45 (Girls)
12:40 p.m.: Game 2 - Riverside 67, Kinston 64 (8-Team Boys)
2:20 p.m.: Game 3 - St. Raymond 62, Middle Creek 52 (8-Team Boys)
4:00 p.m.: Game 4 - Wakefield 57, Apex 48 (Girls)
5:40 p.m.: Game 5 - Taft 68, Apex 41 (Eight-Team Boys)
7:20 p.m.: Game 6 - St. Benedict 74, Broughton 48 (8-Team Boys)
9:00 p.m.: Game 7 - American Chr. 81, Durham Mtn Zion 70 (Showcase #1)

Thursday, December 28, 2006:
11:00 a.m.: Game 8 - Apex 53, Smoky Mountain 42 (Girls)
12:40 p.m.: Game 9 - Broughton 73, Middle Creek 55 (8-Team Boys)
2:20 p.m.: Game 10 - Kinston 66, Apex 54 (8-Team Boys)
4:00 p.m.: Game 11 - Southern Durham 67, Goldsboro 59 (4-Team Boys)
5:40 p.m.: Game 12 - Starmount 62, Knightdale 56 (4-Team Boys)
7:20 p.m.: Game 13 - Taft 57, Riverside 39 (8-Team Boys)
9:00 p.m.: Game 14 - St. Benedict 70, St. Raymond's 67 (OT) (8-Team Boys)

Friday, December 29, 2006:
9:20 a.m.: Game 15 - Middle Creek vs. Apex (8-Team Boys)
11:00 a.m.: Game 16 - Broughton vs. Kinston (8-Team Boys)
12:40 p.m.: Game 17 - Goldsboro vs. Knightdale (4-Team Boys)
2:20 p.m.: Game 18 - Riverside vs. St. Raymond (3rd/4th Place 8-Team Boys)
4:00 p.m.: Game 19 - Wake Forest-Rolesville vs. Wakefield (Girls Championship)
5:40 p.m.: Game 20 - Southern Durham vs. Starmount (4-Team Boys Championship)
7:20 p.m.: Game 21 - Hope Christian vs. American Christian (Showcase Game #2)
9:00 p.m.: Game 22 - Taft vs. St. Benedict (8-Team Boys Championship)

St. Benedict 70, St. Raymond's 67 (OT)

It's a saintly battle in the final game of the night as Newark's St. Benedict Gray Bees against Ravens of St. Raymond's from the Bronx. This is one of those games with big bodies, hauling up and down the court. It's been fun to watch.

The Gray Bees opened hot but the Ravens outscored them in the 2nd quarter by five to take a one point lead to halftime. St. Raymond's Gerald Coles has hit two three-pointers, one from NBA range. St. Raymond' s Corey Stokes has hit three three-pointers and has four rebounds. Coles has 10 at the half for the Ravens, Stokes leads the Gray Bees with 13.

Stokes and Samardo Samuels have got the Gray Bees in control of the game and entire Benedict defense has picked it up a notch. Samuels has a scary block and just stood there over the player he blocked. He wasn't taunting really but he just looked so menacing. The Ravens scored just four points in the third. End of three, score is 45-34.

The Ravens will not let up and rally to cut the margin to three with 1:29 left. Daryl Bryant's layup makes it a one point game, 54-53. With 43 seconds left, a goal tend by Samuels on a Coles' drive gives the Ravens a tying bucket. And that's the way it ends for regulation, 55-55.

The Gray Bees strike first with a couple of buckets but a tKevin Parrom comes up big in overtime with two huge three-point shots, the last over the long outstretched arms of a defender. Raven's Lenny McNeil misses two free throws with 15 seconds left. With 13 seconds left, Samuels is fouled and makes one of two, 70-67 St. Benedicts. St. Raymond's was led by Coles with 27, Parrom with 15 and Bryant 14. St. Benedict got 24 from Samuels and 20 from Stokes.

St. Raymonds 12 18 4 21 12 - 67
St. Benedict 16 13 16 10 15 - 70

St. Raymonds - G. Coles 27, K. Parrom 15, D Bryant 14, O. Lawrence 6, L. McNeil 3, D. Benbow 2. Leading rebounder - D. Benbow 5. Assist leader - four with one.

St. Benedict - S. Samuels 24, C. Stokes 20, G. Echenique 8, D. McMillan 8, T. Jackson 5, Z. Rosen 5. Leading rebounder - C. Stokes 7, G. Echenique 6. Assist leader - three with one.

Notes from Michelle III

• With both State and UNC having home games, tonight was Coach K's turn to come over with his Duke contingent. That's 3-3 on the big local head coaches visiting the tournament. We've had more college coaches again tonight, Virginia Tech, Wingate and some other new names arrived today in their customary coaching garb.
  

• No overtime battles so far in the tournament. Once the back support got yanked out of balance and delayed a game. Sheesh, I spoke too soon. I jinxed it and the St. Benedict-St. Raymond's game just went into OT.
  

• Highest single scoring game by a player this tournament so far - Apex's Yorel Hawkins with 29 the first night. He tossed in 25 tonight, so his two day total is 54. The tournament records have a category for tournament scoring and the minimum for addition to the list is 60, Hawkins needs four more tomorrow to be added.

• The later the game, the more dunks. It always works out that way.

• Lowest scoring quarter so far - six points in the 2nd quarter by Riverside against Taft tonight, I wrote that too soon as St. Raymonds scored four points in the third quarter against St. Benedict tonight. Highest scoring quarter was 28 by Durham Mount Zion Wednesday night in a losing effort against American Christian.

• No one measured but St. Raymonds' Gerald Colds hit the longest three I've seen so far this tournament in this evening nightcap going on right now.

• Twice I said things in here that were changed by the final game. I'm not going to type anymore here - it is bad mojo!
  

Taft 57, Riverside 39

Taft's speed and reach is giving Riverside some trouble to start out. Larry Drew Jr again has been fun to watch. Riverside's Weslye Saunders has been a bright spot for the Pirates. At the half, Riverside has seven points from Saunders while Taft is led by Garrett Green with six.

Taftf leads by 11 at the end of three. Drew has made more dazzling passes in one game than we've seen all day and the Toreadors slowly edge further away, 50-28 with three to go. He isn't looking for his own shot but working to put everyone else on the scoreboard, be it Bryce Smith for threes in the corner or Green down the lane.

Taft pulls their starters and that's all she wrote. Green finished with 12, Toreador long distance shooter Bryce Smith with 13 points. Riverside got 13 from Justin Burton and Saunders with nine.

Riverside 8 6 11 14 - 39
Taft (CA) 15 9 12 21 - 57

Riverside - J. Burton 13, W. Saunders 9, S. Evans 8, H. Collins 3, C. Sanford 2, G. Hill 2, T. Ringer 2. Leading rebounders - W. Saunders 9. Assists leader - C. Byrd 2.

Taft - B. Smith 13, G. Green 11, B. Kamwa 10, J. Hawkins 9, L. Drew 8, T. Carter 4, E. Phelps 2. Leading rebounders - G. Green 7. Assists leader - L. Drew 4.

Starmount 62, Knightdale 56

As the first quarter is winding down, Starmount led 14-9 but let Knightdale get a bucket, missed two free throws and then fouled the Knights with three seconds left in the quarter. The Knights have the lead down to three as the quarter ends.

With the score is tied at 16, a three by Nate Wilkins gives Knightdale the lead as the Knights are on a 8-2 run. A bucket and 1-2 free throws by the Rams' star Victor Davila ties the game at 21. Knightdale's Stanley Okoye hits a bucket followed by a Malcolm Jones steal and layup as the Knights lead 23-19. Starmount rallies back with baskets from Shane Bryant and Ferdinand Morales, 23-23 with 1:27 to go. Rams take a 29-25 lead to half, led by Davila with 12. The Knights got seven from Okoye.

Knightdale has rebounded well in the third otherwise they could be down more than 37-32. The Knights go on a run to cut the lead to a bucket as the team exchanges treys. Matt Brown for Starmount hits a three as the third period ends, 44-39 Rams.

Halfway through the 4th, the Rams seem to find their rhythm again and open up a seven point lead on a Davila putback dunk. One minute later, the lead is down to four on two Knight quick buckets. Knightdale made them sweat but the Rams pulled it out.

Starmount 11 14 14 17 - 56
Knightdale 14 15 15 18 - 62

Starmount - F. Morales 23, V. Davila 16, K. Vasquez 8, S. Bryant 5, M. Houston 4, M. Wilmouth 3, M. Brown 3. Leading rebounders - V. Davila 10. Assists leader - C. Spicer 3.

Knightdale - S. Okoye 13, R. Howell 11, A. Moffitt 11, M. Jones 7, D. Chineke 6, N. Wilkins 5, McIntyre 3. Leading rebounder - R. Howell 7. Assists leader - McIntyre 2.

Southern Durham 67, Goldsboro 59

Southern Durham came out strong and leads by 14 at the end of the first quarter but Goldsboro comes back to narrow the gap to four as the half trickles down. Tim Kornegay has 13 to lead the Cougars in the first half while Julian Gamble has 15 points and six rebounds for the Spartans.

Start of the fourth the score is 50-44. Southern Durham holds off Goldsboro to win by eight as Julian Gamble finishes with 21 points and 14 rebounds. High scorer of the game is Goldsboro's Tim Kornegay with 24 points and five rebounds.

So. Durham 34 23 - 67
Goldsboro 30 29 - 59

So. Durham - J. Gamble 21, J. Washington 12, C. Toler 9, C. Hunt 9, J. Clayton 6, M. Wells 5, R. Williams 5. Leading rebounder - J. Gamble 14. Assist leaders - two with two.

Goldsboro - T. Kornegay 24, D. Joyner 10, J. Branch 6, E. McLean 5, B. Best 4, A. Green 4, K. McDuffie 2, T. Boone 2, T. Hobbs 2. Leading rebounder - T. Kornegay 5. Assist leaders - three with one.

Kinston 66, Apex 54

Halfway through the first quarter, the Vikings have a nine point lead powered by six from Quinton Coples. Yorel Hawkins is doing everything he can to keep the Cougars in the game but the lead is nine still.

Tim Plummer hits a three and then three the hard way, to cut into the lead. Coples makes a falling bucket and the enusing free throw to push the lead back to 29-20. Hawkins is working hard out there. At the half, Hawkins has 12 points, Plummer 10 for Apex. Kinston is lead by Coples with nine and Curtis Hines with eight. Eight players have scored for Kinston who leads 34-28.

Halfway through the 3rd, Apex has cut the lead to two, 38-36 behind four in a row from Hawkins, who already has 19 points. Apex's Andrew Fiedler drains a three and the lead is a mere single point. Fiedler rebounds a miss and Hawkins hits a jumper to take the lead 41-39. Miguel Starkey hits a key three to put Kinston back in front. At the end of three, Kinston holds 47-43 lead.

In the fourth, Kinstonstarted to pull away, opening a seven point lead, 50-43. Again Hawkins steps up, draining a long three, 50-46. Kinston responses and the lead is back to eight with 1:26 to go. Kinston wins as Coples finishes with 16. Despite a losing effort, Hawkins was tremendous and totaled 25 points.

Kinston 19 15 13 19 - 66
Apex 14 14 15 11 - 54

Kinston - Q. Coples 15, M. Starkey 14, C. Hines 12, D. Ingram 8, T. Miller 6, D. Quinerly 4, A. Whitefield 3, W. Coward 2. Leading rebounders - Q. Coples 5. Assist leaders - T. Miller 2.

Apex - Y. Hawkins 25, T. Plummer 17, S. Bedoe 7, A. Fielder 3, F. Moog 2. Leading rebounders -Y. Hawkins 6, T. Plummer 5. Assist leaders - two with one.

Broughton 73, Middle Creek 55

Broughton plays a solid first half getting good scoring from Brock Young and Dexter Randolph. Marcus Kitts is playing a strong game in the middle.

Middle Creek cut the lead to 10 with a minute to go in the third but all of Broughton seems to be stepping up as different players contribute. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Brock Young made the third-quarter score 60-46. Broughton and Middle Creek trade scores but the Mustangs can't cut in the lead enough and the Caps pull out this one, 73-55.

Middle Creek 14 10 22 9 - 55
Broughton 20 22 18 13 - 73

Middle Creek - M. Kitts 21, W. Jones 8, S. Cook 5, E. Carter 5, . Adams 4, K. Kelley 4, M. Frongello 3, B. Proulx 2. Leading rebounder - M. Kitts 5. Assist leader - two with one. Notes - W. Jones with two blocks (one of which to the right in the photo).

Broughton - B. Young 21, S. Mason 12, T. Howard 11, W. Aldridge 11, D. Randolph 9, L. Davis 4, L. Scott 2, C. Wright 2. L. Foxwell 1. Leading rebounder - B. Young 7. Assist leader - . Notes - B. Young 5. Notes: B.Young and T. Howard also had three steals.

Apex 53, Smoky Mountain 42

Smoky Mountain is without Cetera DeGraffinreid due to the elbow injury yesterday that we've posted about several times. However unlike yesterday, they've settled down and are playing well without her.

We've had the tournament first double fouls called as well. This is a rough and tumble game with a lot of floor burns. Lots of blocks, traps, 3/4 court pressure, offensive fouls. FHEW.

Amy Dodd and Kimberlee Durham have started well for Apex. End of first quarter, Apex is up four, 12-8. The second quarter Smoky Mountain battles hard and before you know it they have cut the lead to one point. With 15 seconds to go, the game is tied at 23. Smoky Mountain gets a last shot but misses. We'll start the second half with a clean slate. Amy Dodd and Durham have combined for 19 of the 23 Apex points this half. Smoky Mountain got nine from Ashley Robinson.

The second half opens with both teams with their track shoes still on. The scores was tied 27-27 when Apex got a bucket, then two straight layups by Dodd and Durham to push to a six point lead. Apex holds off a feisty SM team to win.

Smoky Mtn 8 15 8 11 - 42
Apex 12 11 16 14 - 53

Smoky Mtn - A. Robinson 21, A. Haggard 8, K. Woodard 7, B. Anders 4, N. Junaluska 2. Leading rebounder - A. Robinson 4. Assist leader - L. Brown 2.

Apex - K. Durham 21, A. Dodd 16, A. Miller 5, M. Greene 4, S. Elchook 4, D. Higgins 3. Leading rebounder-A. Dodd 7. Assist Leader - K. Durham 2. Notes - A. Dodd with five steals.