Sports - December 2003

Ironmen ruin Rebels undefeated mark

Published December 8, 2003

By MIKE POWELL, CORRESPONDENT

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For the first 16 minutes, Friday night's battle of unbeatens between Cherryville and West Lincoln lived up to expectations.

With a capacity crowd at West Lincoln looking on, the  Rebels played the Ironmen on near even terms and went into the break trailing by only three points, 28-35.

However, Cherryville turned up its defense in the third quarter and went on a 30-9 blitz that turned a competitive game into a blowout. The Ironmen won 74-44 to run their record to 6-0, while West Lincoln suffered its first loss under new coach Chad Wright and fell to 4-1.

Jason Browne, a 6-5 senior, scored 21 points to lead Cherryville, followed by Casey Rainwater with 13, Kenneth Harris with 11 and Brandon Thomas with 10.

It was a game of two different halves. In the first half, the Rebels controlled the tempo, held their own on the boards against Cherryville's huge front line, and played tight defense. Led by B.J. Holland, who scored eight first-half points on 4-for-8 shooting, the Rebels went ahead by five points midway through the second quarter.

And although Cherryville closed the first half with a 10-2 run to go up by three, West Lincoln gave every indication that it could play with the highly-touted Ironmen.

But that was before Cherryville coach Scott Harrill talked with his team at halftime about defense.

"West Lincoln did a great job in the first half by playing their style of game. So we talked about putting on more defensive pressure and forcing a quicker tempo. We pressed a lot more, and I think that helped us out," Harrill said.

Senior point guard John Ferguson came off the bench to spark Cherryville's pressure defense, which forced five third-quarter turnovers and held the Rebels to 3-for-12 shooting during the eight-minute stretch.

"John Ferguson gave us a real good third quarter. His quickness helped us force the tempo we wanted," Harrill said.

The Ironmen broke the game open with an 18-2 run that included a 3-pointer from Rainwater, a basket by Brown after a steal and a thunderous dunk by Kenneth Harris after a turnover.

"In the second half, we never got into our offensive sets, and that is to Cherryville's credit," West Lincoln's Wright said. "Their changing defenses kept us off-balance. As we grow and mature as a team, we will be able to recognize that. It's all part of the maturation process that our team will go through."

By the end of the third quarter, the Ironmen led 58-34, and the fourth period was nothing more than mop-up time.

"Cherryville made a concentrated effort to get (the ball) down on the blocks, and they have some skilled big kids. Our defense had to collapse, and after they built the lead in the paint, they got hot behind the arc. They are an explosive team. They have that capability," Wright said.

Holland had 11 points to lead West Lincoln, while Ty Curtis and Chase Caldwell also reached double figures with 10 each.

Cherryville (74)--Ferguson 2, Casey Rainwater 13, Griggs 8, Hoyle 2, Miranda 3, Kenneth Harris 11, Jason Browne 21, Thomas 10, Chris Harris 4.

West Lincoln (44)--Poole 2, B.J. Holland 11, Cook 2, Arp 2, Chase Caldwell 10, Ty Curtis 10, Huffman 4, Edwards 3.

Girls

Cherryville 50

West Lincoln 34

Cherryville (50)--Natalie Willis 14, Angie Walls 5, Carpenter 2, Moss 4, Wooster 9, Rayfield 2, Ebone Johnson 14.

West Lincoln (34)--Simpson 2, Taylor 2, Watts 3, Elmore 6, Davis 1, Peterson 7, Wellman 5, Tallent 6, Dibari 2.

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