With the first day of the second annual West Christmas Doubleheader over and done, both Falcon squads fell to the visiting Warriors of Erwin. The Falcons blasted out the gates and led 23-12 in the first quarter, but a halfcourt trap utilized by Erwin slowed down the tempo and helped them pull off a hard-fought 54-52 win.
“I thought their trap gave us some problems, but to be honest with you I feel like this is one of those nights where we kind of did it to ourselves,” West coach Rob Bliss said. “We played with a lot of energy early, and then we just went flat.”
That energy was on full display in the first quarter as West went on a 19-4 tear. A great halfcourt bounce pass from Daniel Hyatt to a streaking Kevin Thomas (team-high 16 points) signaled the up-tempo game West hoped to maintain. But the Warriors’ halfcourt trap slowly stymied the Falcons and forced them into 21 turnovers for the game.
“We didn’t really play again until the last two minutes of the game,” said Bliss. “We fought and gave ourselves a chance, but you can’t live with just that.”
Down 51-45, West (4-5) came alive in the fourth behind consecutive 3s from Kenan Young (seven points) and Kagan Williams (10 points). With 1:14 left, Warrior guard Jonathan Goforth (14 points) did the same thing he’d done all game: penetrate the lane and hit an acrobatic layup. Kevin Thomas followed suit with a drive and drew a foul, hitting only one free throw.
With 20.7 seconds left Erwin (9-2) bled the clock to within five seconds before Goforth drew a foul. He made the first, missed the second, and Erwin’s Adam King scooped up the offensive rebound, denying West a last chance. King finished the night with a game-high 25.
In exact opposite fashion, the Lady Falcons — with only seven players dressed out — fell behind to Erwin 22-4 in the first quarter. But a stingy zone defense that forced Erwin into 18 turnovers for the game gradually brought West back 34-20 at the half.
“We tried to play a hurry-up offense in the first quarter and that didn’t work,” West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy said. “So we tried to slow it down and make every possession count.”
That they did. Starting with Ashley Rogers’ offensive rebound and put-back, the Falcons keyed a 13-2 run that pulled the game to within 14 going in at the half. That momentum carried into the beginning of the third quarter with consecutive 3s by Kaitlyn Burton (nine points) and Erica Cantrell (game-high 13 points). Both finished the night with five steals a piece and Burton also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Though West’s perseverance kept the game close, the Lady Warriors (8-3) had answers for every Falcon run. Still, West coach Scott-Gaddy was pleased with what she saw from a depleted squad.
“I commend my team a great deal,” she said. “They came out and played as a team. And I told them at the end of the game that that was the best we’d played as a team all year, I don’t care what the score shows. They played as a team.”
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