By Dean Hensley
Times-News Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
The North High Carolina High School Athletic Association released the pairings for this week's prep basketball state playoffs, and six area boys teams, along with five area girls teams got in.
The boys' first-round games will be Monday, and the girls' first-round games will follow on Tuesday, including one game whose host should definitely be flip-flopped.
Rosman (20-6), one of the best girls teams in the mountains, earned the Big Smoky Mountain Conference's third seed. Thanks to a split Southern Piedmont Conference, Highland Tech, with a lowly 5-20 record, earned the conference's No. 2 1-A seed. Therefore, Tech gets to host the Lady Tigers.
"We're used to it. Last year we had to travel to a two-win team," Rosman coach Joe Carrington said. "That's just the way the seeding goes. The only thing I question is that if you are in afour-team or smaller conference, things should be readjusted a little bit to have teams in larger conferences get home playoff games."
The Lady Tigers have been playing on the road for the past month.
"We've played eight of our last nine games on the road, so you could say we are true ‘Road Warriors,'" Carrington said.
Rosman knows its first-round opponent and its possible second-round opponent very well.
"We played Highland Tech at the Cherryville Christmas Tournament, and we also faced Avery (County) there, who we might face in the second round. If we get through those first two road games, we will have to go through Robbinsville, so it's a tough draw," Carrington said.
Rosman also played on the road most of last year's playoffs and ended up making it to the 1-A state quarterfinals.
In Monday's 1-A boys matchups, Hendersonville (14-9), the top seed from the Western Highlands Conference, will host wild card East Wilkes (6-18), and the WHC's No. 2 seed, Polk County (7-18) entertains the Big Smoky Mountain's fourth seed, Hayesville (14-12). The Rosman boys (9-15) got in as a wild card and travel to the Little Smoky Mountain's No. 2 seed, Hiwassee Dam (13-16).
All of the area 2-A boys teams will be on the road. West (11-12), the third seed from the Western Athletic Conference, travels to East Rutherford (17-7), the Southwestern Conference's No. 2 seed. Brevard (10-13), the fourth seed from the WAC, travels to Hibriten (18-8), the Catawba Valley's second seed, and East (9-15), which got in as a wild card, travels to the WAC top seed, Smoky Mountain (22-2).
The other two 1-A girls teams competing Tuesday are Polk County and Hendersonville. The Lady Wolverines (13-10), the second seed from the WHC, will host BSM No. 4 seed Swain County (11-14), and the Lady Bearcats (6-17) got in as a wild card and will travel to Highlands (13-13), the No. 2 seed from the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.
Two county teams will be the only ones from the area competing in the 2-A girls' bracket. North's Lady Knights (13-12) earned the WAC's No. 3 seed and will travel to Souhwestern Conference No. 2 seed East Rutherford (21-4), and West (6-17), the WAC's fourth seed, will be on the road at Bandys (19-6), the Catawba Valley's second seed.
Times for the first-round games haven't been announced yet.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Prep basketball playoff pairings released
Sunday, February 22, 2009
West vs Pisgah at WAC Tourney
Pics from the Falcon WAC Tourney Semi-final game held at North Henderson High School on Wednesday, February 18. We lost to Pisgah, 80-68. Next game is state playoff game against East Rutherford on Monday night, February 23.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tournament Schedule
Western Athletic Conference
All games at North Henderson
BOYS
Monday, February 16
No. 4 Brevard vs. No. 5 East Henderson, 5:30 p.m.
No. 3 West Henderson vs. No. 6 North Henderson, 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 18
Semifinals
No. 1 Smoky Mountain vs. Brevard/East Henderson, 5:30 p.m.
No. 2 Pisgah vs. West Henderson/North Henderson, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Championship
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
GIRLS
Friday, February 13, 2009
West wins at North to Close Out Season
By Stephen Roper
With 44 seconds left and the game tied 41-41 against county rival West Henderson, it’s fitting the ball ended up in senior Knight point guard Sydney Lyda’s hands. Driving to the basket and drawing a foul, Lyda swished the deciding free-throws to give her team a hard-fought 43-41 Western Athletic Conference win. She finished with a game-high 16 points, two assists, and two steals and gave the packed house a memorable Senior Night performance.
“I was freaking out,” said Lyda of her thoughts before her game-winning free-throws. “But this feels amazing.”
Taking a lesson from the women’s match-up, West Henderson jumped to an early lead and snuffed the hopes of Knight fans wanting a clean sweep on their final home game of the regular season. The Falcons proved they’re hitting their stride just in time for the postseason, winning handily 68-41 behind a dominant performance on the boards. As a team they pulled down 20 more rebounds than North, led behind the senior duo of Adam Troutman and Daniel Hyatt who each finished with double-doubles. Troutman had 12 points and 11 boards, while Hyatt finished the night with a game-high 18 and 12.
“Rebounding is one of the barometers of effort and I was pleased with our performance down low,” said West coach Rob Bliss.
West’s Kenan Young led the charge in the first quarter and poured in eight of his 17 to push West (11-11, 6-4) out to an early 16-6 lead. The early spurt carried on into the second thanks to Falcon forwards Hyatt and Kevin Thomas, who scored all 15 of West’s points in the quarter. Hyatt stretched the D with two 3-pointers, going 4-of-5 from behind the arc for the night, while Thomas put in seven of his nine points with offensive rebounds and putbacks.
Following their upset of top-ranked Smokey Mountain with a win over North (5-18, 1-9) on senior night, Coach Bliss is encouraged by the direction his team is headed. “We’re really playing hard at this point in the season, which is great to see,” he said. “This is when we tell the kids ‘every game you’re playing for your life,’ and we hope we can just keep our focus.”
For the Lady Knights, Thursday’s game against West was about more than Senior Night: a win secured the third-place spot in the leage and granted them a more favorable berth in upcoming the WAC tournament. And that, combined with Senior Night, pushed them out to an early 16-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. But West would respond.
The comeback began with Lady Falcon Erica Cantrell’s consecutive jumpers, which Sieara Bishop followed with a floater in the lane. Kaitlyn Burton’s 3 on the next possession pulled West to within one, but North responded with a baseline jumper by Ashley Brown and lay-up by Jessica Hartley. By halftime the Lady Falcons had battled back to a 25-25 tie, and they carried that momentum into the third with a 6-0 run behind a Summer Kremer jumper and offensive putback by Burton.
“The momentum seemed to be on their side,” said North coach Kevin Rhodes. “And me and Coach Whitmire kept telling them to keep their heads up and do what we’ve worked on. We said be smart, and in the last huddle I said we’re not going to let you lose this ball-game, we’re going to win it.”
After a jumper by West’s Alex Stewart tied things up 30-30, Lady Knight Jodi Edwards knocked down an open 3. Ashley Rogers put West up four with a layup, but North’s Ashley Brown his consecutive jumpers to tie things up. She finished the night with 10 points and seven rebounds. Jessica Hartley added 12 points and four rebounds.
North hosts the Western Athletic conference tournament, which begins Monday at 4 p.m.
SUMMARIES
BOYS
WEST HENDERSON (68) — Embler, Thelen, Keenan Young 17, Roberts, Williams 2, Shaw 6, Reeves 2, Adam Troutman 12, Thomas 9, Daniel Hyatt 18, Van Wingerden.
NORTH HENDERSON (41) — Brunelle 6, Lamb, Norton 2, Lancaster, Drake 4, Roberts 6, Pruitt 2, Searcy, Lytle, May 5, Duckett, Morgan 5, Brackett, Brown 9.
Halftime: 31-17 West.
GIRLS
WEST HENDERSON (41) — Summer Kremer 13, Erica Cantrell 10, Burton 7, Turlington, Bishop 5, Stewart 4, Ciaramitaro, Rogers 2.
NORTH HENDERSON (43) — Van Landingham, Sydney Lyda 16, Swann, Ramsey, Dalton, Edwards 3, Ashley Brown 10, Jessica Hartley 12, Patton, Israel 2, Wright.
Halftime: 25-25.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
West stuns top-ranked Smoky Mountain
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
By Jeremy Trantham
Times-News Staff Writer
West Henderson’s 72-55 victory over Smoky Mountain wasn’t just an outcome nobody outside the locker room saw coming. Not many inside the Falcon locker room saw Tuesday’s home victory over the state’s top-ranked 2-A team coming either.
“Smoky Mountain was on top of the (Western Athletic) conference,” said senior Daniel Hyatt after West’s Senior Night. “We felt over-matched.”
“We,” said senior Adam Troutman, “were doubtful. We didn’t know.”
They know now. Both of the senior starters at forward admitted that after the first quarter, which ended with a 13-4 West lead, everybody started believing.
The win moves West to 10-11 and 5-4 in the league and was all the more stunning because it came on the heels of a three-game losing streak.
“Maybe we just got tired of not playing well,” said West coach Rob Bliss.
From start to finish on Tuesday, West played very well.
Buoyed by the emotions of Senior Night, the Falcons held previously unbeaten Smoky Mountain (20-1, 8-1) to just two first-quarter field goals and took an 11-point lead into the second on Matt Roberts’ double-clutch 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The momentum carried over as West threatened to stretch the lead to 20 before the Mustangs closed the half with a 5-0 run to pull within 26-13 at the break.
Behind leading scorer Colton Hunt, who scored all of his game-high 20 points in the second half, the Mustangs pulled to within 30-22 with 4:30 left in the third quarter. West answered with a 13-2 run.
The Falcons were content to trade baskets in a high-scoring fourth quarter, racing past the Mustangs’ full-court press time and again for easy scores.
“We were able to take advantage and turn (the press) into some points,” Bliss said. “I think that was the difference.”
Junior guard Keenan Young led West with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He was one of four Falcon underclassmen in double figures.
Roberts had 11 points and five assists, Kagan Williams had 12 while sophomore Kevin Thomas added 11 points.
“We had some kids that hadn’t been playing well who really stepped up,” Bliss said. “I guess the stars just aligned for us.”
Troutman (11 points, nine rebounds and three steals) and Hyatt (8 points, 12 rebounds and three steals) battled a bigger Smoky Mountain front line to a standstill.
Jackson Simmons, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, had 14 points for the Mustangs. Six-foot-five senior Cort Smith added nine.
“To come together on Senior Night with help from the underclassmen was big for us,” Troutman said. “I’d like to thank the juniors for helping us go out with a win in probably the last home game for Dan, Aaron (Embler) and myself.”
West’s girls were also threatening to pull an upset on Senior Night after one quarter. But the Lady Mustangs pulled away for a 55-35 conference win.
The Lady Falcons, who trailed 15-14 at the end of the first quarter, were held without a field goal in the second.
In the second and fourth periods combined, Smoky Mountain allowed just one field goal and 10 total points.
“Overall I’m proud of my girls,” said West coach Stephanie Scott-Gaddy. “You have to give Smoky credit, they’re a really good team but for one half of the game, we played with them.”
Smoky Mountain’s Ashley Robinson answered every West charge and finished with a game-high 23 points.
Ashley Rogers led the Lady Falcons (6-15, 4-5 WAC) with 15 points.
Senior Erica Cantrell added nine points for West while classmates Chelsea Turlington and Danielle Dinardo added two points apiece.
West will close the regular season on Thursday at rival North Henderson.
Summaries
BOYS
SMOKY MOUNTAIN (55) — Dunford 5, Colton Hunt 20, Hodgin, George 3, Carter 5, DeGraffenreid, Cauley 1, Davis, Smith 9, Jackson Simmons 14.
WEST HENDERSON (72) — Embler, Thelen 5, Keenan Young 14, Matt Roberts 11, Kagan Williams 12, Shaw, Reeves, Adam Troutman 11, Kevin Thomas 11, Hyatt 8, Van Wingerden.
Halftime: West, 26-13.
GIRLS
SMOKY MOUNTAIN (55) — Junaluska 8, Jackson 1, Tyalor, Ashley Robinson 23, Parton, Cagle 4, Spiro 4, Johnson 7, Nardello 6, Moore, Henson 2.
WEST HENDERSON (35) — Kremer 2, Cantrell 9, Burton 1, Turlington 2, Bishop 2, Stewart, Ciaramitaro 2, Ashley Rogers 15, Dinardo 2.
Halftime: Smoky Mountain, 32-19.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Brevard fights hard for WAC wins over West
by Jeremy Trantham, Times-News
Brevard’s boys basketball team knows it can score from the outside. Thursday at West Henderson was no exception as point guard Trell Baker poured in a game-high 27 points.
But the difference in the Blue Devils’ 71-67 Western Athletic Conference win was the play inside. Brock Frisbee scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter while Jake Osteen made a key block and two free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
Brevard, which improves to 8-11 on the year and 3-4 in the WAC is making a late-season playoff push. The Devils sit at fourth place in the league, just one game behind the Falcons (9-10, 4-3) and two behind Pisgah (5-2 WAC), which they will play on Friday.
“It puts us in a position where we can crawl up to second or third in our league, which is big in terms of the playoffs,” said Brevard coach Tim Trantham. “It was a big win for the kids.”
The Devils battled back from a 11-point second-half deficit behind Baker, Osteen and Frisbee. Osteen scored six unanswered points before Baker canned a deep 3-pointer to pull Brevard within five entering the fourth quarter.
Then Frisbee took over, scoring 10 straight points early in the fourth before fouling out with 4:45 to play. The 6-5 junior even hit a 3-pointer while being fouled for a four-point to play. His shot gave the Blue Devils a 60-59 lead, their first since the second quarter, which they never relinquished.
“I didn’t mind it too much because it was in the flow while we were making a little run,” Trantham said of the shot. “It was a big basket.”
Brevard had 11 rebounds in the fourth to seven for West.
“They dominated us,” said West coach Rob Bliss. “For whatever reason we’ve gone two games in a row where we just can’t finish in the lane.”
With West trailing 69-67 in the closing second Colby Thelen, who scored a team-high 15 points for West, drove into the lane. Osteen was waiting with a clean block. He then hit two free throws to seal the victory.
Kagan Williams added 11 points for the Falcons while Adam Troutman had nine points and 10 rebounds in a game originally schedule for Wednesday.
“It was one of those games where we were fortunate to have the last run,” Trantham said. “I think either played extremely well. I think a lot of that had to do with, you get geared up to play (on Wednesday), can’t play and have to back here to play the next day.”
West’s second straight conference loss leaves the Falcons needing help, likely from Brevard, to get back to second in the WAC.
“They just out-executed us,” he Bliss said. “I’m really grasping right now to be honest. I’m fearful that we’ve met our expectations. That’s taking nothing away from Brevard. Tim does a great job and he’s really got his kids playing well down the stretch.”
Brevard’s girls held a 43-35 lead at the end of the third quarter. That was on Wednesday evening before snow halted play.
On Thursday, the Lady Devils had to wait an extra four minutes of game-time to secure a 60-57 overtime win.
West’s Ashley Rogers hit a jump shot as time expired in regulation to tie the score at 53. But foul trouble caught up with the Lady Falcons as three players fouled out in overtime.
“It’s kind of expected that my young baby Devils were going to allow Rogers to shoot that last shot,” said Brevard coach Jenny Crew. “I am extremely proud. It seemed like they composed themselves. They grew up a little big in overtime.”
Emily Hollingsworth hit two free throws with 57 seconds remaining in overtime to give Brevard (3-16, 2-5) the lead for good at 59-57. After Courtney Lance, who scored 18 points, gave the Lady Devils a three-point lead with a foul shot, Shonese Jones stole West’s inbounds pass to prevent the Lady Falcons from launching another game-tying shot.
Jones, who hit 5-of-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, scored a game-high 21 points in the rare two-day game. Lance had eight rebounds and six steals.
“I’ve been playing since the first grade through four years of college,” Crew said. “I’ve been coaching for 13 years and never in my life have I had to do this before. We started off the way I thought we would — slow and little stiff.”
Rogers scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to help West force overtime. She also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Summer Kremer added 14 points and six rebounds for West (5-14, 3-4 WAC) while Erica Cantrell added 11 points.
Brevard will travel to Pisgah on Friday while West will go to East Henderson.
Note: West Henderson graduate Connie Creasman earned a varsity letter playing for Kay Yow at N.C. State in 1980. She earned another letter in 1982 as a manager. West and Brevard had a ‘Pink Out’ for the girls’ game to support breast cancer research.
SUMMARIES
BOYS
BREVARD (71) — McNeil, Trell Baker 27, Brock Frisbee 12, Zandecki 2, Griffin 5, Roberts 4, Smith 7, Erwin 1, Babin 2, Jake Osteen 11.
WEST (67) — Embler, Colby Thelen 15, Young 9, Roberts 8, Kagan Williams 11, Shaw, Reeves 2, Troutman 9, Thomas 7, Hyatt 4, VanWingerden 2.
Halftime: West, 39-34.
GIRLS
BREVARD (60) — Hollingsworth 6, K. Lance 3, Akridge, Redmond 6, Dierolf 6, Courtney Lance 18, Shonese Jones 21, Landreth, Owen 6.
WEST (57) — Summer Kremer 14, Erica Cantrell 11, Burton 4, Turlington, Bishop 8, Stewart 2, Ashley Rogers 19, Dinardo.
End of third quarter: Brevard, 43-35.
End of regulation: 53-53.