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the courier-times | roxboro, Nc
wedNesday, dec. 3, 2014
Person girls get first win, finish third in C-T Classic By Kelly Snow courier-times sports editor kellysnow@roxboro-courier.com
Kelly sNow | courier times
Person guard Tylesha Smith dives after a loose ball while getting climbed over by a Northern Vance player during Saturday’s third-place game.
The Person High School varsity girls’ basketball team did enough at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to hold off Northern Vance 48-41 in the third-place game of The CourierTimes Thanksgiving Classic Saturday at Rocket Gym. The victory was Person’s first of the season and improved its overall record to 1-3 on the season. It was also the first win for first-year head coach Jay Carmi-
chael. Northern Vance trailed by as many 12 in the first half but rallied to tie the game at 39-all with 3:35 to play after Brianna Walker converted 1-of-2 from the line after being fouled going after a loose ball. The Vikings were held without a field goal for the rest of the game, and only made 2-of-10 from the line, while Person made 7-of-12 free throws to help seal the win. For the game, Northern Vance made just 12-of-40 (30-percent) free throws, and only made 5-of-
18 in the fourth quarter. Cyanna Lester led the Rockets with 17 points, with all of her field goals coming in the first half. The Rockets’ point guard did her second-half damage at the line, converting 7-of-12 free throw opportunities. Lester drained a pair of 3-pointers, including one from half court at the first-quarter buzzer to stretch Person’s lead to 12-3. Jada McGhee scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, See CLASSIC, Page 9
Malik Street
A.J. Cash
Kelly sNow | courier times
The Person High School boys’ basketball team shows off its new trophy after defeating Northern Vance in the championship game of The Courier-Times Thanksgiving Classic. The Rockets held off the Vikings 61-58 Saturday. Matthew Mayer
Elliott Phillips
Rockets survive late scare person holds off Northern Vance to claim c-t classic title By Kelly Snow courier-times sports editor kellysnow@roxboro-courier.com
Nikko Pettiford
Five PHS players earn All-Conference honors By Kelly Snow courier-times sports editor kellysnow@roxboro-courier.com
Five Person High School football players earned AllPAC-6 honors as voted on by the conference’s coaches. The All-Conference listings were released Sunday after Hillside’s third-round 4-A playoff loss to New Bern Friday. The Hornets’ football team was the final fall sports team still participating. Person senior A.J. Cash led a group of Rockets to earn individual accolades. Cash was named an All-PAC-6 wide receiver and defensive back. He led the team with 30
catches for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Cash’s 13-yard touchdown in the final minute against Burlington Cummings gave the Rockets a late lead. The senior saw a lot of time at cornerback this season and had the best game of his career in a loss to Riverside. Cash intercepted two passes, including a 60-yard touchdown return in the first quarter. He returned his second interception inside the Pirates’ 10-yard line and set up a touchdown. Joining Cash as All-Conference performers on offense were Elliott Phillips and Nikko Pettiford. See FOOTBALL , Page 8
With 2:44 remaining in Saturday’s championship game of The Courier-Times Thanksgiving Classic, the Person High School boys’ basketball team could pick its own sports cliche. The Rockets were up 13 and “the hay was in the barn”, “the fat lady was singing”, and you could “turn out the light because the party’s over.” But in what seemed like an instant Northern Vance opened the barn door, silenced the fat lady, flipped the switch and nearly pulled off an improbable comeback — nearly. The Rockets survived the Vikings’ furious rally and held on for a 61-58 victory to claim the program’s fourth consecutive C-T Classic title against the only other team to win the annual tournament. Northern Vance roared back into the game in the final minutes and thought it was going to the line with a chance to win after Kristopher Haywood’s shot appeared to tie the game 60-60 with 5.8 seconds to play. Haywood went the length of the floor after a missed Person free throw, drove down the right
Kelly sNow | courier times
The Person High School boys’ basketball coaching staff tries to show the officials where a Northern Vance player touched the net on a late basket during Saturday’s game. A potential game-tying basket was waved off for basket interference.
baseline and tossed a shot up that bounced off the glass and the rim before falling as he was being fouled. The referees initally called the basket good, but after a lengthy conference with each other and both head coaches, ruled that a Northern Vance player trailing on the play touched the net just before the ball fell through and the basket was waved off. Haywood went to the line still with a chance to a tie the game, but missed both free throws. Person had two chances at the line to put the game away, but only made 1-of-4 free throws
in the final five seconds, giving Northern Vance one last chance to force overtime, but Haywood’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. The narrow escape lifts Person’s record to 4-0 on the young season. “This is a learning moment fo us,” Person coach Charles Dacus said. “Because of how young we are, we’ve got to learn from this. I told them, I don’t mind grinding out games, but I don’t need any more gray hair. We need to go ahead and get better at closing games out.” The Rockets led for much
of the game and appeared in complete control after Tyrique Wright scored a layup and was fouled after the guards broke the press and found him alone under the basket. His score pushed Person’s lead to 59-46 with 2:44 to play, but four consecutive Rocket turnovers against the Vikings full-court pressure helped them claw back into the game. Northern Vance closed to within 59-55 when Tamaj Bullock drained a 3-pointer with 1:02 to play. Bullock nailed another deep See ROCKETS, Page 7
SPORTS
wednesday, dec. 3, 2014
the courier-times | roxboro, nc A7
ROCKETS: Person claims c-t classic title, rally falls short against halifax FROM PAGE 6 ball to slice the Rockets’ lead to a single point just 15 seconds later after another Person ballhandling miscue. “Things just started falling apart,” Dacus said. “Part of it was missing free throws and the turnovers. They hit a couple of threes, and there it went. We talk a lot about time, score and situation. We had times with sophomores and freshmen on the floor and they’re not used to thinking about time, score and situation. If we settle down, reverse the basketball and take care of it, we would have been in better shape.” The Vikings’ run in the fourth quarter was the last in a game of spurts. Person jumped out to a 15-3 lead and were up as many as 14 in the second quarter before Northern Vance worked its way back. The Vikings outscored the Rockets 19-3 during the final six minutes of the second and took a 33-31 advantage into the second half. Person forward Antwon Smith had a huge third quarter to help push the Rockets to a 4738 lead heading into the fourth. The Rockets’ All-Conference forward had nine of this game-high 16 points in the third, including a one-handed slam just before the buzzer at the end of the quarter. Smith pulled down 11 rebounds and had three steals. “We started the game doing a lot of good things,” Dacus said. “We were in control of ourselves and playing poised and doing what we needed to do. We got a little bit of a lead, relaxed and they hit a couple of three and jacked up their defensive pressure. Again, we started the third quarter very relaxed and comfortable and built the lead back up and were in real good shape.” Person’s Rashi Richmond poured in 11 points and dished out six assists, while forward Ebon Jay finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Dravon Mangum chipped in eight points, while Kavon Williams finished with six points in his first start of the season for injured senior point guard Mike Terry. Terry dislocated the pinky finger on his left hand in the first minute of Friday’s game against Bartlett Yancey and missed Saturday’s game. Williams didn’t turn the ball over in his extended minutes Saturday. “(Williams) played really well,” Dacus said. “He was settled, probably the most he’s been yet. That’s what we need our guards to be. He just needs to help us execute what we do. I thought he played pretty comfortable all night.” Damion Bobbitt led the Vikings with 12 points before leaving with an apparent ankle injury during the third quarter. Haywood scored eight of his nine points while Noah Seward chipped in eight.
quarter to put together. The Comets withstood a frantic late charge to hand Person its first loss of the season, 64-55 Tuesday in Roxboro. The Rockets (4-1) nearly erased a 19-point second-half deficit, got as close as two, but came up just a bit short. “We battled all the way back, but we just couldn’t get over the top,” Person coach Charles Dacus said. “It showed that these guys have a lot of heart. They didn’t just lay down. Halifax was the better team at the end and hit some big shots.” And the Comets had to have those big shots to get back across the state line with a win. Person sliced Halifax’s lead down to 50-48 midway through the fourth quarter before senior Tavion Petty drilled the first of three dagger 3-pointers. Petty buried back-to-back threes from the same spot in the left corner just in front of the Comets’ bench just 24 seconds apart. Trayvon Brandon drained another one from the opposite side of the floor, and Petty delivered the coup de grace with his final trifecta to lift the Comets to a 6251 lead with 1:40 to play. Person was able to get back in the game with its attacking pressure defense, but Halifax found holes in the corners and took advantage. Five of the Comets’ final six made shots in the game came from beyond the 3-point arc after only hitting three through the first 23 minutes. “Halifax does a very good job of playing very methodical and
getting the shots they want,” Dacus said. “I thought we did a good job in the first quarter and early in the second quarter of playing defense and rotating to spots and not allowing them to have open threes. In the fourth quarter, we were trying to speed the pace up and trap and that’s what you’re susceptible to, especially if the bottom guy doesn’t rotate well. Hats off to Petty, he got some nice, clean looks and he knocked them down.” The Comets used a 16-2 thirdquarter run to take a comfortable 48-33 advantage into the fourth. Person charged back behind an intense press that forced turnovers that led to easy baskets. The Rockets used a 15-2 spurt during the first four minutes of the final quarter to cut the Comets’ lead to 50-48 and were at the free throw line with an opportunity to tie the game. “The intensity of our guys went up,” Dacus said “I think it sped them up. I don’t think it rattled them, but it made them turn it over and we were able to tip a few passes and it ignited our run.” Person missed four free throws in a span of six seconds after pulling down rebounds after misses, but came up scoreless. The Rockets made just 8-of18 (44-percent) from the line in the fourth quarter and missed all three of their free throws in the third quarter. Those missed opportunities loomed large in the outcome. “Missing those free throws broke our momentum,” Dacus
said “If we were able to hit them, we could have maybe sustained, but missing those free throws definitely slowed our momentum.” Rashi Richmond led a balanced scoring attack for the Rockets with 14 points, three rebounds and three steals. Ebon Jay finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Antwon Smith scored 10 points and yanked down eight rebounds. D.J. Jeffers scored all six of his points during a key stretch in the second quarter where he was the only starter on the floor. Mike Terry returned to the lineup two games after dislocating his pinky finger. The senior guard came off the bench and scored six points and had three big steals during the Rockets’ fourth-quarter rally. Terry played with his left pinky and ring finger taped together. “He’s getting used to playing really with only three fingers on that hand. It’s different. You can’t feel the ball and dribble the ball the same. I look for him to keep getting better with it.” Petty paced the Comets with 20 points, with 13 coming in the fourth quarter. Brandon chipped in 17, while Keyshawn Johnson added 13. Person will be back in action Friday when it travels to Webb for a 7 p.m. game.
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Person’s Tyrique Wright gets hit by a pair of Northern Vance defenders on a putback during the second half of Saturday’s C-T Classic championship game.
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