The Baller's Blog: December 2007

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Tough losses: Corliss hurt in West loss; Lady Falcons fall to Hawks

Dec 29, 2007

West Henderson's Tricia Combs looks for help while being guarded by North Buncombe's Rebekah Wilson and Madison Emory during Friday's game at West. MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

Though several former Falcon standouts were on hand to watch -- Sam Smithson, Lindsey Pate and Brooke Stanley, to name a few -- West Henderson dropped a pair of games to North Buncombe in Friday's final day of the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader at West.

By Jeremy Darnell
Times-News Staff Writer

Though several former Falcon standouts were on hand to watch -- Sam Smithson, Lindsey Pate and Brooke Stanley, to name a few -- West Henderson dropped a pair of games to North Buncombe in Friday's final day of the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader at West.The Lady Falcons (2-9) came up just short in a 48-46 loss to the Lady Black Hawks (10-3)."I was impressed with my girls for the way they fought back," said West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy, whose squad trailed 16-7 after the first period but pulled within two at the half. "Even when North Buncombe went up by five late in the game we didn't stop fighting."Freshman Ashley Rogers led the West attack with 15 points. Tricia Combs finished with five points and six assists.The Lady Falcons held a 33-32 advantage heading into the fourth quarter but the Lady Hawks outscored West 16-13 across the final eight minutes.North was able to get to the charity stripe much more often than the Lady Falcons, sinking 15 of their 22 attempts. West only attempted nine free throws, making six."I am seeing improvement from this team and I believe that we will see more of these tough games as we head into conference," Scott-Gaddy said.Senior Shana Brookshire scored a game-high 18 points for North.West's boys lost their game with North 81-61, and may have lost their heart and soul, senior guard Zach Corliss, for the foreseeable future.Corliss went down with a left ankle sprain in the second quarter and did not return. Corliss had problems with his other ankle earlier in the season.West coach Rob Bliss said he expects Corliss to be day to day for the remainder of the season.The Black Hawks got off to a fast start and held a 27-13 lead with five minutes left in the half before West answered with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to six.North answered with a 12-0 spurt to end the half. The run occurred after Corliss' injury and key contributor Dallas Ducote picked up his third foul and was forced to the bench."We put some of our young kids in a position there due to Zach's injury and other stuff and that was a tough situation to be in," Bliss said when asked about the run. "Our other seniors have got to be able to provide us with more leadership. We just kind of folded tonight."West's Buddy Hutchinson's three-point play cut the Hawks' lead to 15 with 6:21 remaining in the third, but the Falcons never got any closer.West committed an eye-popping 40 turnovers in the sloppy loss."We work on that every day. We constantly harp on the turnover issue and until we stop panicking it's gonna continue to be a struggle every day," Bliss said.The Falcons fall to 6-6 while North improves to 12-1.In the middle game, the Smoky Mountain Mustangs kept their unbeaten record intact with a 78-46 blowout of Carolina Day. The Mustangs outscored the Wildcats 44-21 in the second half and improve to 11-0.West was slated to return to action on Jan. 9 against Enka. A scheduling conflict may force the game to be rescheduled, Bliss said.SummariesBOYS
NORTH BUNCOMBE (81) -- Ledbetter 23, MacDonald 13, Pressley 10, Westbrook 10, Roberson 7, Magee 4, Fox 4, West 4, Young 4, Robinson 2, Ingle.WEST (61) -- Thomas 13, Ducote 11, Barbour 7, Corliss 6, James 6, Staggs 6, Troutman 4, Hyatt 4, Hutchinson 3, Isgett 2, Roberts, Thelen.Halftime: NB, 41-23.GIRLS
NB (48) -- Brookshire 18, Wilson 8, Gentry 7, Cook 6, Pitts 4, Emory 3, Moore, Fox, Revis.WEST (46) -- Rogers 15, Cantrell 7, Dinardo 6, Combs 5, Brown 5, Fennell 5, Turlington 3, Kremer, Foster, Springer.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Corliss sparks West surge in win over Carolina Day

Dec 28, 2007

West Henderson's Buddy Hutchinson grabs the pass over Carolina Day's Leo Cashin on Thursday during the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader at West. MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

Two days after Christmas, West Henderson's boys basketball team appeared a little sluggish at the start of Thursday night's game against Carolina Day in the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader.

By Dean Hensley
Times-News Staff Writer

Two days after Christmas, West Henderson's boys basketball team appeared a little sluggish at the start of Thursday night's game against Carolina Day in the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader.But the Falcons got back to their pre-Christmas break form in the second quarter, going on a brutal 24-2 run to eventually pull away from the Wildcats by a final score of 72-55.Prior to that was the game of the night, featuring two undefeated boys teams -- Smoky Mountain and North Buncombe. Martin Davis poured in 22 points, and Cort Smith added 16 as the Cougars pummeled the Blackhawks 79-59.Smoky Mountain improves to 10-0 and will take on Carolina Day (4-5) at 7 p.m. tonight at West, while North Buncombe drops to 11-1 and will face the host Falcons in the nightcap at 8:30."(Smoky Mountain) Coach (Jimmy) Cleveland is a great friend of mine, but I'll probably have to choke him now, I guess," West boys coach Rob Bliss said. "Because now we are going to be facing an angry North Buncombe team."The West-Carolina Day game featured two of the best shooting guards in the area -- the Falcons' Zach Corliss and the Wildcats' Evan Salzano. Each led their teams with 28 points apiece, but in the end, the Falcons had a stronger supporting cast.Dallas Ducote was a force in the paint for West, and was a rebound away from a double double with 15 points and nine rebounds.After Carolina Day jumped out to a 27-16 lead in the first 11 minutes, Corliss went to work. He had seven quick points, including a 3-pointer, and two easy jumpers following steals to cut the lead to 27-23 at the 3:58 mark.The Falcons' trapping defense forced another Wildcat turnover, and West capitalized with another easy bucket by Chris Barbour.Corliss then took a charge from Carolina Day's Jake Stanley to give West the ball back and a chance to tie the game, and the Falcons did just that thanks to Daniel Hyatt. After a Corliss miss, Hyatt boxed out to get the easy rebound and put back to make it 27-27 with 2:55 left in the first half. He ended the night with seven boards.The Falcons added 13 more points, including 3-pointers by Corliss and Buddy Hutchison (13 points), to take a commanding 40-29 lead. At the break they led 42-31."In the first quarter there, it looked like we were still on break. But once Zach knocked down his shots in the second quarter, we got going, and we just ended up wearing them down," Bliss said. "But you have to give Carolina Day all the credit in the world. They could've easily let this become a blowout, but they kept battling until the end."The Wildcats did cut the lead to five in the closing minutes of the third period after Stanley (14 points) had a driving layup to make it 48-43, but they couldn't get any closer.West went on a quick 10-0 spurt that included two quick jumpers by Chris Staggs as the Falcon bench erupted."It was great to see the bench players put in some quality minutes for us. We were all really happy to see Chris knock down those shots," Bliss said.The tournament continues today with West's girls facing North Buncombe in the opening game at 5:30 p.m. The Smoky Mountain-Carolina Day boys and the West-North Buncombe boys will follow.SummaryCAROLINA DAY (55) -- Salzano 28, Bartsch 3, Stanley 14, Kuehne 4, Casain 2, Davidson 4, Wood, Jaben, Burt, Morrow.WEST HENDERSON (72) -- Corliss 28, Hutchison 13, Ducote 15, Hyatt 6, James 4, Staggs 4, Barbour 2, Thelan, Roberts, Troutman, Thomas.Haltime: West, 42-31.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Two unbeatens part of field in West Christmas tourney

Dec 27, 2007
Back to court
Two unbeatens part of field in West Christmas tourney

West Henderson's Mike James tries to get past Hendersonville's Lance Allen their game on Nov. 30 at Hendersonville. The Falcons will be back in action tonight when they take on Carolina Day in the West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader. MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

It will be a reunion of sorts over the next two days on the basketball court when West Henderson plays host for its first-annual West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader.

By Dean Hensley
Times-News Staff Writer

It will be a reunion of sorts over the next two days on the basketball court when West Henderson plays host for its first-annual West Henderson Christmas Tournament Doubleheader.Falcon boys coach Rob Bliss will be getting to see two of his former workmates -- Smoky Mountain coach Jimmy Cleveland and North Buncombe coach David Roney."My first year at Brevard, Jimmy and I worked together, and David Roney and I were both assistants at Freedom under (coach) Rogers, who is now at Mars Hill. It should be a lot of fun," Bliss said.And entertaining.Both of those programs -- the Smoky Mountain boys and North Buncombe boys -- are currently unbeaten. They will face each other at 7 p.m. tonight in the second game of the tournament. The Smoky Mountain and North Buncombe girls tip off first at 5:30."Smoky and North are undefeated, and we will be playing North Buncombe in the final game of the tournament on Friday. So, we will be facing either a team that's undefeated or a team that has only one loss," Bliss said.The Falcons' first game of the tournament will be the nightcap tonight -- an 8:30 p.m. showdown with the Carolina Day boys."We're going to have two tough games, and that's what we want to get ready for our conference season coming up to start the year. Carolina Day is very athletic, especially the Salzano kid (Evan). He's a really good player," Bliss, whose team is 5-5, said.Friday's lineup will be the host West girls taking on North Buncombe at 5:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain facing Carolina Day in boys' action at 7, followed by the Falcons' game with the Blackhawks at approximately 8:30.The tournament originally had eight teams competing, but the Carolina Day's girls team dropped out."Most of their players were out of town, so they didn't have enough to play," Bliss said.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Box Score - West vs RS Central

West Henderson 52 R-S Central 43

R-S CENTRAL (43) -- B. Young 7, Holmestead 9, Foster 9, Harris 1, Johnson 2, Lynch 2, Martin 6, M. Young 3, Littlejohn 2, Murray.

WEST HENDERSON (52) -- Roberts 2, Thelan 4, James 5, Zach Corliss 22, Barbour 2, Thompson 1, Hutchinson 1, Ducote 7, Hyatt 9.

Halftime: West, 29-25.

Highlights: For West, Dallas Ducote had 11 rebounds in this non-conference game.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

West boys and girls gain victories over Hendersonville

Dec 12, 2007
West boys and girls gain victories over Hendersonville

Hendersonville's Lucy Massagee (24) goes for the basket against West Henderson's Ashley Rogers during Tuesday's game at West Henderson. PATRICK SULLIVAN/TIMES-NEWS

As the 31 turnovers it committed on Tuesday evening can attest, West Henderson's boys basketball is still a work-in-progress. But they sure can adapt.

By Jeremy Trantham
Times-News Staff Writer

As the 31 turnovers it committed on Tuesday evening can attest, West Henderson's boys basketball is still a work-in-progress. But they sure can adapt.The Falcons' new, more deliberate, style -- implemented in part as a response to a 12-point loss at Hendersonville on Dec. 1 -- continued paying dividends in a 63-60 home win over the rival Bearcats."As a coach you have a style you want to play, sometimes as a high school coach you don't have the personnel," West coach Rob Bliss said. "We changed some things to better suit our personnel. We started this last Wednesday so hopefully it's something that continues to get better."The early returns have been encouraging. After a 1-3 start, West has won two straight games against rivals T.C. Roberson and Hendersonville.West still had problems with Hendersonville's variety of full-court trapping defenses, but when the Falcons weren't turning the ball over, they made Hendersonville pay. Center Dallas Ducote (team-high 17 points) was the beneficiary of some easy layups against the press."(Hendersonville) is very good at the scramble and with their athleticism it causes problems," Bliss said. "We turned the ball over 31 times and we've got to get better at that."West overcame the turnovers thanks in part to its free throw shooting. Zach Corliss, coming off a game that saw him tie a school record with six 3-pointers, hit 13-of-16 at the line in a 17-point performance. As a team the Falcons hit 21-of-28 (75 percent) from the line.Hendersonville coach Robert Strong was not happy with the officiating."One official called everything pretty much one way," he said. "He was trying to bait me all night long. When you're playing not only against the home crowd but against the other people that are out on the floor it's hard to win."The Bearcats attempted five fewer free throws than their opponent. Had they shot a similar percentage as the Falcons, they might have won a game in which the largest lead for either team was seven. Hendersonville hit 14-of-23 (61 percent) from the line."Free throws are important," Strong said. "They can cost you wins. If we had hit our free throws we're looking at probably (overtime) or winning the game."Trailing 53-50 in the fourth quarter, Corliss hit six straight free throws to give West a lead it never relinquished.Hendersonville's Stephen Clay scored a game-high 24. Dominique Whiteside added 10 while Robert Beal and Lance Allen (three 3s) finished with nine apiece.Coliss had eight rebounds and six assists while Ducote grabbed six rebounds. West Forward Buddy Hutchinson added 13 points.In the girls game, West freshman Ashley Rogers scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to help the Lady Falcons withstand a furious rally in a 48-43 win.The Lady Bearcats trailed by eight at halftime but finally tied the score on a Sophia Lilly basket with 2:03 to play. Rogers answered with an offensive putback and then a steal and layup for a three-point play to hold off the charge."Ashley really turned it up in the second half," West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy said. "She came through for us. She's played in tough situations before in AAU ball."Brooks Walz led the comeback with 10 of her 12 points in the second half. Tiffany Westmoreland scored a team-high 16 points and had nine rebounds, six offensive. Lucy Massagee added nine points and eight rebounds for the Lady Bearcats.Summer Kremer scored nine points for West while Brittany Fennell had six points and 13 rebounds. Fennell also collected two of her five blocks down the stretch.Hendersonville will host Mountain Heritage on Friday in a Western Highlands Conference game. West plays at Asheville today.SummariesBOYS
HENDERSONVILLE (60) -- Clay 24, Desmond Whiteside, Sitton, Beal 9, Allen 9, Roper, Young 3, Dominique Whiteside 10, Perry.WEST (63) -- Roberts 1, Thelen 3, James 4, Troutman 2, Corliss 17, Isgett, Barbour, Staggs 2, Thomas 2, Hutchinson 13, Ducote 17, Hyatt 2.Halftime: Hendersonville, 23-22.GIRLS
HENDERSONVILLE (43) -- Stoney, Lilly, Johnson, Ward, Walz 12, Westmoreland 16, Sheiry, Massagee 9, Hubert. Note: scoring summary incomplete.WEST HENDERSON (48) -- Kremer 9, Cantrell 3, Turlington 6, Combs 1, Eckley, Brown, Fennell 6, Rogers 18, Dinardo, Springer 2.Halftime: West, 23-15.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Falcons win in OT
Corliss lifts West over Rams; T.C. girls dominate

West's Zach Corliss tries to shoot over Roberson's Tim Carpenter in the first half. MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Jeremy Trantham
Times-News Staff Writer

ASHEVILLE -- Christmas comes early at West Henderson High. Early, and somewhat unexpected.Zach Corliss' 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in overtime eased, for a moment at least, the pain of a 1-3 start to the season. It also capped a night that saw the senior guard hit six 3s, including the game-tying shot near the end of regulation, in West's 46-43 victory Friday at rival T.C. Roberson."It's obviously not the start we wanted," Corliss said. "This is biggest rivalry I know. It was a rough week with two losses, one at the buzzer on Wednesday. We knew we had to come in and play tough. This is a stepping stone, we aren't going to stop here."After that rough start, West seemingly had little hope of knocking off a team head coach Rob Bliss considers "the best in the region.""The thing we preached that we felt we were lacking is toughness -- mental and physical," Bliss said. "The thing I'm most proud of is we that we didn't quit. To come in here and win a game against a team of this quality and a program of this quality speaks volumes about our kids."With 6:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, West displayed its newly discovered mental toughness to go along with some white hot outside shooting. Patrick Crouch had just converted a steal into a layup moments after hitting a 3 to give Roberson (3-1) a nine-point lead, the largest of the game.West's Daniel Hyatt answered with a 3, one of three he drilled in the second half, to spark West's comeback."We've known all along that Daniel can shoot it," Bliss said. "The person we've had a hard time convincing of that is Daniel.""He stepped up big tonight," Corliss said. "The first 3 he hit was the best shot I've seen him take all year. Then we were setting up plays for him. He can stroke it when he's confident."Following Crouch's layup, West held Roberson to just two points the rest of the quarter, but the Falcons still trailed by three with under a minute to play. They forced a Roberson turnover with 34 seconds remaining to set up the first of Corliss' big shots.Corliss said the baseline-out-bounds play was set up to go to Hyatt, but the ball came to him on the right wing with time winding down. The shot fell through with 17 seconds left and Dallas Ducote, who had 14 rebounds, six offensive, preserved the tie with a block as time expired."Dal's a warrior," Bliss said. "He's always a warrior."When Crouch found Devian Humes open at the top of the key for 3 with 40 seconds remaining in overtime, it looked as though the Rams would stave off the upset.But Corliss wasn't finished. After he swished his final 3 to give West a 44-43 lead, the Rams missed a jumper and fouled the guard on the rebound. Corliss hit both free throws to finish with a game-high 24 points."They hit some big shots there at the end -- several of them contested," Roberson coach Kevin Keen said. "You always know with these teams, no matter what the record is, that it's going to be a tough game."Humes hit three 3s and finished with 11 points to lead the Rams who were without the services of injured starters Zaq Allison and Daniel Key. Crouch scored 10.Hyatt had nine points for West while Ducote added seven.Behind 10 first quarter points from Areyshea Dunbar and some stifling defense, the Lady Rams (4-0) removed all the drama from their game early. Roberson led 20-2 at the end of the first period in a 59-12 rout."I thought we got Dunbar a lot of touches early and that was good," Roberson coach Tim Epley said. "We were trying to concentrate on getting her the ball more.Dunbar was one of three Lady Rams, along with Tee'Ara Copney and Maria Young, who finished with 12 points. Against Roberson's aggressive defense, West could manage just two points in each of the first, third and fourth quarters.Freshman Ashley Rogers scored five points to lead the Lady Falcons (1-4).West will return to action on Tuesday against Hendersonville. Roberson will play on Thursday at Freedom.SummariesBOYS
WEST HENDERSON (46) -- Roberts, James, Corliss 24, Isgett, Barbour 2, Staggs 2, Hutchinson 2, Ducote 7, Hyatt 9.ROBERSON (43) -- Crouch 10, Wynn 2, Humes 11, Patton 6, Moody 3, Fields 2, Carpenter 7, Winkenwerder 2.Halftime: Roberson, 20-15.GIRLS
WEST HENDERSON (12) -- Kremer 3, Cantrell, Turlington 2, Combs, Eckley, Brown, Fennell, Rogers 5, Dinardo, Springer 2.ROBERSON (59) -- Poplos 4, Chapman 5, Ramsey 4, Manley, Copney 12, Ivey, Duff, Burgess 2, Dunbar 12, Young 12, Wright 8.Halftime: Roberson, 36-8.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

West loses to East Rutherford

Dec 6, 2007
Miller's jumper lifts Cavs over Falcons

East Rutherford sweeps West Henderson in basketball action.

By Jeremy Darnell
Times-News Staff Writer

Hosting an athletic East Rutherford squad in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday night, West Henderson basketball coach Rob Bliss knew that a slower pace would improve the Falcons' chances of winning.So Bliss did the unthinkable: For the first time in his coaching career he utilized a zone defense.And with West holding a 43-36 lead with just over six minutes remaining, the scheme looked like it would deliver a win.But the Cavaliers climbed back and with the score tied at 47, East's Mico Miller buried an 18-foot jumper from the left wing as time expired for the 49-47 victory."When you play a slower style like that the scores are gonna be closer," said West coach Rob Bliss, whose team falls to 1-3. "We just didn't make some plays down the stretch where we had a chance to distance the lead."The first half featured seven lead changes, and the Falcons held a slight 28-26 lead as the teams entered the lockerrooms.Zach Corliss torched the East defense on an array of long-distance jumpers and feathery floaters. He scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the first half.Though West largely prevented the Cavaliers from finding an offensive rhythm, sweet-shooting East guard Corey Jimerson nailed four 3-pointers in the first half to stretch the zone. Jimerson finished with 15 points."This is the 19th team I've coached counting jayvee and that's the first time I've ever played zone," Bliss said. "It was OK, I guess. We're grasping at a few straws right now trying to figure out what the identity of this team is more than anything else."The Falcons continued to look comfortable in the 2-3 zone after the break and edged their lead to 39-36 after three.Dallas Ducote stretched the lead to 43-36 in the opening moments of the fourth with a 13-foot jumper and a put back off an offensive board.Cavalier guards Teon Beckett and Tyler Hamilton scored consecutive buckets to pull East within three with 4:50 remaining, but a Corliss runner from the left baseline put West back in charge. It was Corliss' only points in the second half."That's the first thing that teams are gonna look to do against us, to take Zach away. I've thought since the first of the year that this is gonna be a team where it's gonna be a different person step up every night. Right now we're just not getting it done," Bliss said.After a Beckett free throw, Miller swished a 3 from the top of the key to pull the Cavs within one with 3:11 showing.Zack Price's 3 from the same spot gave the Cavs their first second-half lead with 1:54 to go.Ducote answered with a jumper from the left elbow 20 seconds later to tie it at 47. He finished with 15 points and nine boards.East was content to take the last shot. A West deflection gave the Cavs the ball with 37 seconds left, and a Buddy Hutchinson block squirted out of bounds with 12 seconds left.West again almost came up with a steal but the ball rolled out and to East with 5.9 showing.That's when Miller struck.East inbounded to the hot hand Beckett, who finished with 15 points, and two Falcon defenders rushed to guard him.Beckett lofted a pass over the double team to an unmanned Miller on the left wing. Miller set his feet and his shot hit nothing but nylon as the buzzer screamed."Give them credit, they knocked down shots when they needed to," Bliss said.Miller finished with nine points.The girls game was far less exciting as the Lady Cavaliers' dynamic guard duo of Micheala and Ashley Watkins scored 25 points in East's 51-31 win.The Watkins girls harassed the West ballhandlers all game and turned turnovers into easy points."We didn't take care of the basketball like we needed to," said West (1-3) coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy. "They wanted to run up and down the court, and we had a tough time staying with them at first."East extended a 24-16 halftime lead to 41-23 after three behind the rugged inside scoring of LaTwyella Maxwell. She finished with six points in the period and 10 overall.Erica Cantrell was the only Lady Falcon in double figures with 11 points. Brittany Fennell had five points and 10 boards.West will travel to T.C. Roberson on Friday.SummaryBOYS
EAST RUTHERFORD (49) -- Beckett 15, Jimerson 15, Miller 9, Murphy 5, Hamilton 2, Price 0.WEST (47) -- Corliss 16, Ducote 15, Hutchinson 4, Hyatt 4, Thomas 3, Staggs 2, Barbour 2, James 1, Roberts.Halftime: West, 28-26.GIRLS
EAST RUTHERFORD (51) -- M. Watkins 14, A. Watkins 11, Maxwell 10, G. Watkins 6, Edgerton 4, Gray 3, Beckett 2, S. Watkins 1, El Amoor, Strickland, Hunt.WEST (31) -- Cantrell 11, Fennell 5, Combs 4, Rogers 4, Brown 3, Dinardo 2, Eckley 2, Kremer, Springer.Halftime: East, 24-16.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

West loses to Hendersonville

Dec 1, 2007
New-look Cats
Loaded Hendersonville runs past the Falcons

West Henderson's Mike James is blocked by Hendersonville's Adam Roper, left, and Lance Allen during Friday night's game at Hendersonville. MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Jeremy Darnell
Times-News Staff Writer

What a difference a year can make.A year ago Hendersonville's boys basketball team was mired in a 23-game losing streak that stretched back to the 2005-06 season. But the Bearcats finished strong last season, including a second-place finish in the Western Highlands Conference tournament, and have rode that momentum into a fast start this year.Showcasing a newfound swagger and utilizing their trapping, aggressive defense, Hendersonville (2-0) collected 31 steals and built a 20-point halftime lead on their way to a 68-56 win over county rival West Henderson (1-1) at Hendersonville."These guys are starting to gain some confidence in themselves and their abilities," said Bearcats coach Robert Strong. "You know confidence can take you a long ways and for us this is a big win because West has been for the last several years the dominant team in the county."Led by their dynamic backcourt of seniors Stephen Clay (21 points) and Robert Beal (13), Hendersonville frustrated West and created a bevy of turnovers in a fast-paced first half.Clay finished with nine rebounds and seven steals while Beal finished with four steals."Tonight's performance is my fault," said West coach Rob Bliss. "I didn't have us prepared to handle their pressure."Though the Falcons held an 8-7 lead midway through the first period, the Bearcats ended the quarter on a 17-7 surge."I think our defense definitely wore them down a bit," Strong said.The Bearcats held the Falcons to only seven second-quarter points and took a 42-22 lead into the break."The Hendersonville kids pretty much drug us around the whole first half. I'm not sure the final score was an indication of the type of whipping we took tonight," Bliss said.West slowly inched back in the second half and trailed 58-50 with 4:55 remaining in the final period.But West only made one bucket over the next four minutes and never fully threatened the Bearcats.Hendersonville junior forward Torian Sitton had 13 points, while sophomore Keyvon Young finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.Buddy Hutchinson led West with 16 points. Zach Corliss added 11 while Dallas Ducote finished with eight points and eight boards.In girls action, West (1-1) took a 21-3 lead 16 seconds into the second quarter and never looked back in a 59-36 win over the Lady Bearcats (1-1)."I told my girls 'We gotta start looking for our shots,' and I think they did a better job of spreading it around and making some shots tonight," said West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy.Hendersonville had no answer early for West's Brittany Fennell. Fennell used her long frame to score nine first quarter points and dominate the offensive glass. She finished with 13 points and 13 boards."Brittany is a big asset for us in more ways than one. If she can produce we are gonna do well," Scott-Gaddy said.West's Summer Kremer added a double-double of her own with 10 points and 10 rebounds."We didn't do a good job of hitting the boards in the first quarter and that was the difference in the game," said Lady Bearcats coach Mike Norman.Hendersonville got within 11 in the second period, but West stretched the lead back out for a 29-15 halftime advantage. The Lady Bearcats again used a 7-0 run in the third to get within nine before the Lady Falcons reeled off a 14-4 run of their own to hold a 45-26 lead after three.The Lady Bearcats had one last surge and rode a 9-0 run to pull within 10 at 45-35 with 5:37 remaining.But West's Erica Cantrell scored six straight points to end the threat. She finished with eight points and eight boards."I thought when we cut it to ten there in the fourth I felt like we had a chance. I was real proud of the way we scrapped all night long. Everytime we would come back and cut it to ten or twelve, they'd square up and knock down six points in a row," Norman said.Brooks Walz led Hendersonville with 14 points. Tiffany Westmoreland collected a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.Hendersonville will host Blue Ridge on Monday. West will travel to Enka on Tuesday.SummariesBOYS
WEST (56) -- Hutchinson 16, Corliss 11, Hyatt 9, James 8, Ducote 8, Staggs 3, Roberts, Isgett.HHS (68) -- Clay 21, Beal 13, Sitton 13, Young 9, Dominique Whiteside 8, Allen 2, Perry 2, Desmond Whiteside, Roper.Halftime: HHS, 42-22.GIRLS
WEST (56) -- Fennell 13, Kremer 10, Ashley Rogers 10, Cantrell 8, Combs 4, Brown 4, Turlington 4, Foster 2, Dinardo 2, Springer 2, Eckley.HHS (39) -- Walz 14, Westmoreland 13, Stoney 5, Lilly 4, Ward 2, Massagee, Hubert, Johnson, Sheiry.Halftime: West, 29-15.