By Jeremy Trantham

Times-News Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Michael Justus/Times-News

West Henderson’s Adam Troutman swings around North Henderson’s Kevin Searcy to take a shot on Friday during the game at West.

Both of Friday’s varsity games at West Henderson looked over at halftime. One actually was. West’s girls erased a 16-point halftime deficit to win the opener 51-46 over North Henderson. The Falcon boys built a 30-point halftime lead in their 78-41 Western Athletic Conference victory.

Daniel Hyatt scored half of his game-high 18 points in the first quarter and West held North to one second-quarter field goal. It added up to a 49-19 lead at the break.

“I told the kids earlier this week that it had been awhile since I thought we really played well,” said West coach Rob Bliss. “Our defense got us going early. It got us out in transition and made it an up-tempo game. Usually when we can get a good transition game going we shoot the ball well.

“It all kind of snowballed on top of each other.”

A technical foul on West during pre-game warmups helped the visiting Knights take a 4-0 lead. But a Hyatt 3-pointer gave West a 5-4 advantage and the Falcons never trailed again.

The Falcons used a variety of full- and half-court traps to force Knight point guard Jordan Brunelle to give up the ball.

“That’s a good philosophy and we have to be able to do something with the ball when it’s out of his hands,” said North coach Skip Taylor. “We didn’t make some good decisions and part of that was my fault. I don’t think I had them as prepared as I should have.”

All the preparation in the world might not have helped against a hot-shooting Falcon team. Hyatt hit 7-of-8 from the field while Kevin Thomas (13 points) was 6-of-7.

Keenan Young and Adam Troutman each scored 13 points for West, which moved to 9-8 overall and 4-1 in the WAC.

Troutman had nine rebounds while Hyatt added seven steals and six rebounds.

Colby Drake led North (5-11, 1-3) with 16 points while Brunelle finished with eight.

The Lady Falcons were ice-cold against North’s changing zone defenses in the first half. West busted the zones with its outside shooting in the second.

West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy said she thought it was the teams’ best shooting half of the season.

“Things were falling for North in the first half and in the second half everything was falling for us,” she said.

Trailing 30-14 at the start of the third, the Lady Falcons went on a 20-5 run to close the period to pull within 39-38 by the start of the fourth.

West tied the score on a Summer Kremer jumper with 5:42 remaining and took the lead for good when Kremer scored inside 30 seconds later.

“I didn’t feel like we came out with the same hustle in the second half,” said Lady Knight coach Kevin Rhodes. “We knew West was going to make a run.”

Sophomore Ashley Rogers led the charge with 11 of her game-high 13 points in the second half. Kremer scored eight of her 10 in the second half and had six rebounds.

Erica Cantrell added 11 points for West (5-12, 3-2) while freshman guard Sieara Bishop added nine points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Sydney Lyda and Ashley Brown led the Lady Knights (8-8, 1-3) with 11 points apiece. Jodi Edwards added 10 points.

North returns to conference action on Tuesday at home against Brevard. West will travel to Pisgah on Friday.

Summaries

BOYS

NORTH (41) — Brunelle 8, Lamb, Norton, Lancaster, Colby Drake 16, Roberts 1, Pruitt 2, Searcy 2, Lytle, May, Duckett 4, Morgan 4, Brackett, Brown 4.

WEST (78) — Embler 3, Thelen, Keenan Young 13, Roberts 5, Williams 3, Shaw 4, Reeves 4, Adam Troutman 13, Kevin Thomas 13, Daniel Hyatt 18, VanWingerden 2.

Halftime: West, 49-19.

GIRLS

NORTH (46) — Sydney Lyda 11, Jodi Edwards 10, Ashley Brown 11, Hartley 8, Israel 6, Dalton.

WEST (51) — Summer Kremer 10, Erica Cantrell 11, Burton 8, Turlington, Bishop 9, Stewart, Ciaramitaro, Ashley Rogers 13, Dinardo.

By Jeremy Trantham

Times-News Staff Writer

Published: Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.

Patrick Sullivan/Times-News

West Henderson’s Erica Cantrell passes the ball past an East Henderson player during the game on Friday at West.

West Henderson’s Kevin Thomas looked lost at times playing varsity last year. But then, how many freshmen don’t?

On Friday at West, it was the rapidly developing sophomore who sparked the Falcons’ second-half rally in a 56-50 conference victory over rival East Henderson. The win moves West to 3-0 in the Western Athletic Conference heading into today’s game at league favorite Smoky Mountain.

Three Lady Falcons scored in double figures as West’s girls team won the opening varsity game 63-21.

“Kevin has grown so much as a player,” said West coach Rob Bliss. “He is a double-edged sword that we really need. He gives us a body that we can use in the post to rest our two seniors and at the same time he’s a good 3-point shooter. He’s matured to the point that we have to have him on the floor.”

Thomas scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and hit two 3-pointers early in the third quarter to get West going offensively. The Falcons opened the second half with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 27 after some poor shooting put them in a halftime hole.

West managed just two field goals, against nine turnovers, in the second quarter.

“I think the second quarter was due to East’s match-up zone,” Bliss said. “We couldn’t make any shots and got frustrated. In the second half we got out in transition, hit some shots and got our confidence back.”

East meanwhile faltered in the third quarter. The Eagles’ senior backcourt of Michael Robinson and Chase Hill combined to score 16 of the team’s 27 first-half points. But the duo went cold in the second half.

The Eagles made just two field goals, against seven turnovers, in the third quarter.

“After a disappointing loss last Friday at home, I thought these kids gave a lot of effort,” said East coach John Johnston. “We just went a little stale in the second half offensively. In the first half, everything we got was fluid.”

Keenan Young, who added 15 points for West, put the Falcons on top for good with a 3 to open the fourth quarter.

“We felt like we had opportunities (against the zone), we just weren’t seeing them,” Bliss said. “We weren’t attacking them.”

Robinson scored a game-high 17 points for East while Hill added 12 and forward Conner Duermit added 11.

Erica Cantrell had 12 points to lead the Lady Falcons, who jumped out to a big lead and never looked back. Sieara Bishop and Kaitlyn Burton added 10 points apiece, and all nine players on the roster scored at least two points.

Four Lady Eagles — Terran McCrary, Timmie Hoffman and Nicole Lowe — each scored four points.

East will return to action on Friday against Brevard. Bliss, meanwhile, is looking forward to today’s game in Sylva against the state’s third-ranked, and only unbeaten, 2-A team.

It will be West’s fourth game in eight days because of exams.

“I told the kids it’ll probably be one of the funnest days of their lives,” Bliss said. “We have been fortunate to be 3-0 and Smoky Mountain’s at 3-0. It’s at their place. They’re the team that’s supposed to win the league so we can just go up there, push hard and see what happens.”

Summaries

BOYS

EAST (50) — Chase Hill 12, Davis 5, Conner Duermit 11, Michael Robinson 17, MacPherson 2, Lofters 3, Ford, Williams.

WEST (56) — Embler, Thelen 8, Keenan Young 15, Roberts, Williams 1, Shaw, Reeves, Troutman 5, Kevin Thomas 21, Hyatt 4, VanWingerden.

GIRLS

EAST (21) — Sexton, McCrary 4, Brooks 2, Workman, Hoffman 4, Lowe 4, Perry 3, Jones 2, Day 2.

WEST (63) — Erica Cantrell 12, Turlington 2, Sieara Bishop 10, Rogers 2, Dinardo 8, Kremer 7, Kaitlyn Burton 10, Stewart 6, Ciaramitaro 6.

East @ West - We Won 56-50!

West Rallies Past Brevard

BREVARD — Following Friday’s dramatic buzzer-beating win over Pisgah, West Henderson’s boys basketball team put on another heart-stopping performance Monday at Western Athletic Conference-rival Brevard.

After trailing by 14 points in the closing minutes of the first half, the Falcons, who got 12 points from Kagan Williams in the second half, rallied for a thrilling 89-82 win.

“Anytime you put these two teams together, you are going to get everyone’s best efforts,” West coach Rob Bliss said. “That’s what we got from both teams tonight. We were fortunate to hit some key shots down the stretch and pull out the win.”

Twenty 3-pointers were knocked down, each team with 10. Leading West was Kevin Thomas, who had 17 points and five 3s, and pacing the Devils was Zach Smith with 24 points and five 3s.

In the final 10 minutes, there were six lead changes with no team leading by more than three points. The Devils took the lead at 72-71 on a three by Smith at the 3:20 mark, but the Falcons answered with a 3 by Thomas with 3:13 left. West never trailed again.

“That was a fun game,” Brevard coach Tim Trantham said. “The last few minutes there was like a tennis match, and they pulled it out and had the lead when time expired. Take away Smoky Mountain, and I believe that’s how games are going to be in this conference night in and night out.”

The Falcons (7-7, 2-0 WAC) had six players in double figures — Thomas with 17, Adam Troutman with 18, Kagan Williams with 14, Matt Roberts with 11 and Colby Thelan and Keenan Young with 10 each.

The Devils (4-9, 0-2) had five reach double digits — Smith with 24, Trell Baker and Brock Frisbee with 17 apiece, A.J. Zandecki with 10 and Jake Osteen with 11.

In the girls opener, it was a homecoming for Ashley Rogers, whose dad, Darrell, now an assistant on the boys team, used to be the girls coach at Brevard. Ashley made the homecoming memorable with 13 points in leading the Lady Falcons to a 48-41 win.

“It was good for Ashley, and she was our leader tonight. It was good to get this win, because after Alex (Stewart) went down with an ankle sprain in the first half, we were down to just seven players,” Lady Falcon coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy said.

Shonese Jones was the only double-digit scorer for Brevard, finishing the night with 23 points.

West girls improve to 3-11 and 1-1 and will return to action Friday with a home game against East Henderson. Brevard also has a home game Friday against Pisgah.

Summaries

BOYS

WEST HENDERSON (89) — Thelan 10, Roberts 11, Thomas 17, Hyatt 7, Troutman 18, Young 10, Williams 14, Reeves 2, Embler, Shaw, VanWingerden.

BREVARD (82) — McNeill 5, Baker 17, Frisbee 17, Zandecki 10, Smith 24, Erwin 6, Babin 4, Osteen 11, Roberts, Lobdell, Griffin.

Halftime: Brevard, 44-40.

Jayvee game: West won.

GIRLS

WEST HENDERSON (48) — Kremer 9, Cantrell 6, Burton 7, Bishop 5, Stewart 2, Ciaromitaro, Rogers 13, Dinardo 6.

BREVARD (41) — Jones 23, Akridge 2, Redmond 2, Dierolf 8, Landreth 4, Owen 2, Hollingsworth, Lance, Estep, Pressley.

Halftime: West, 24-23.

Jayvee game: West won.

Half-court buzzer beater wins game (and I missed it!)

Undoubtedly my paper missed it, too. This sucks as a Prep roundup for what was a great game. Not even a complete box score (Matt had 7 points) and NO mention of the fact that it was our first conference game (against Pisgah) much less any details of the great shot from half court by Keagan Williams to give us the lead by three and the win! My story is better and I wasn't even there! Geesh, TN!

Published: Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 12:00 a.m.

BASKETBALL

BOYS

West Henderson 65

Pisgah 62

PISGAH (62) — Top scorers: McClure 19, Matthis 11.

WEST HENDERSON (65) — Top scorers: Kevin Thomas 19, Kagan Williams 18, Colby Steven 9

Halftime: Pisgah, 31-34.

Highlights: Williams made a 3-pointer at the end of the game to win.

Jayvee game: Pisgah d. West Henderson

Next game: West, Monday at Brevard.

West @ Enka - We lost but Matter scored 10!

TC @ West - January 2, 2009

We lost the game, but it was really close the whole time. Matthew had a shot to tie in the last second with a 3 point shot that was tipped by a TC player. He had 15 for the game with three 3 pointers!

Roberson tops West boys, girls
By Jeremy Trantham
Times-News Staff Writer

To foul, or not to foul? That was the question West Henderson posed to T.C. Roberson on Friday.

Faced with the same scenario as last year — a three-point lead with time winding down — Roberson coach Kevin Keen wasn’t about to let history repeat itself. The Rams were going to foul before the Falcons could get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer.

That strategy, and a healthy 21-4 edge in offensive rebounding, helped the Rams (9-3) hold on for a 66-63 nonconference win. Six-foot-seven forward Tim Carpenter, who finished with a game-high 16 points, helped Roberson hammer West on the glass.

“We just really struggle on the glass and some of it’s our size,” said West coach Rob Bliss. “Some of it you can understand but not to point that it’s 21-4. I can think of at least two instances I can think of it turning into a three-point play.”

Aided by Roberson’s 10-for-22 night at the foul line, West still had a chance to force overtime. Trailing 64-61, the Falcons (5-6) took possession with 13.9 seconds remaining. The Rams fouled Kagan Williams (13 points) as he dribbled across half court. Williams hit both free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining.

“We talked about it a lot,” said Keen of the situation. “Will we (foul)? Won’t we? Last season, (Zach) Corliss hit a 3 to tie the game and send it into overtime and we then we lost. The foul was too quick, but luckily we made two free throws to get (the lead) back to three. We were going to foul again but they passed it before we could.”

The strategy didn’t surprise Bliss.

“Not with their size,” he said. “They’ve got to be pretty confident they can get it off the defensive board.”

Carpenter answered Williams with a pair from the line and West’s final three-point shot to send the game into extra time sailed wide as the buzzer sounded.

Matt Roberts scored a team-high 15 points for West while Kevin Thomas added 13, including a 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds left to cut the Ram lead to two. The Falcons hit 10-of-25 (40 percent) from behind the arc.

“For two games in a row we’ve played with the kind of intensity it takes to win,” Bliss said. “We’ve just got to get better at our execution.”

Four Rams — Carpenter, John Moody (14), John Winkenwerder (13) and Austin Patton (10) — scored in double figures.

Keen was left impressed with West’s improvement since the two teams’ first meeting, a 56-37 Roberson win on Dec. 5.

“The first time we played at their pace, strictly a walk-it-up-the-floor game,” Bliss said.

The experienced and talented Lady Rams had not problem in the girls game, racing to a 53-15 halftime lead and then tightening up the defense in the second half for a 74-18 victory.

Senior Maria Young scored a game-high 18 points for Roberson.

Kaitlyn Burton scored five for West, which will travel to Enka on Tuesday before opening Western Athletic Conference play on Friday.

SUMMARIES

BOYS

ROBERSON (66) — John Moody 14, Darity 2, Austin Patton 10, Wrenn, Gailey 2, John Winkenwerder 13, Fields 3, Joe Winkenwerder 6, Pressley, Tim Carpenter 16.

WEST (63) — Thelen, Young 9, Matt Roberts 15, Kagan Williams 13, Troutman 6, Kevin Thomas 13, Hyatt 7, VanWingerden.

Halftime: Roberson, 31-25.

GIRLS

ROBERSON (74) — Feimster, Edmonds 9, Chasity Devlin 13, Tee’Ara Copney 13, Duff 3, Yazmean Burgess 10, Maria Young 18, Terry 4, Love 6.

WEST (18) — Kremer, Cantrell 4, Burton 5, Turlington 3, Bishop 1, Stewart, Ciaramitaro, Rogers 3, Dinardo 2.

Halftime: Roberson, 53-15.