The second annual Cape Fear Academy Holiday Classic wrapped up Saturday night in appropriate fashion as the Hurricanes rebounded from a Friday setback to beat Topsail 38-22 to close out the three-day round robin style event.
Evan Head came up big for CFA with 14 points and Dominik Moenke chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds to pace the Hurricanes.
“I was really proud with our first half in yesterday’s game against West Brunswick and the way we were able to bounce back today after a tough loss last night is really what this tournament was about for us,” said Cape Fear Academy Coach Loren Baysden. “We saw a high pressure defense against West Brunswick and this game we got back to playing hard and having a little fun. We got back to the basics and picked up our intensity late today against Topsail.”
Jake Sullivan opened the game with a three-ball for the Pirates, but Cape Fear clamped down defensively and held Topsail scoreless from the field for over a 10-minute period in the first half. The senior standout for the Hurricanes picked up a steal three minutes into the first quarter and finished a three-point play at the free throw line to give CFA a 5-4 lead.
“Evan controls the game,” said Baysden. “For as good as he is, it’s a real testament to how unselfish our other guys are because they accept that he is our guy. They are comfortable in fitting into their role on the team and they let him take over.”
Head hit two straight baskets including his only three-pointer of the night to extend Cape Fear’s cushion to 12-4 with 3:09 to play in the half.
Connor Dillion came off the bench to give Topsail their only bucket of the second quarter and an assist from Head to Justin Aldrich for his first field goal put the Hurricanes up 15-6 at the break.
Moenke stepped up in the second half with a rebound and put back to start the third quarter as the big man for CFA knocked down three straight buckets on consecutive possessions for the Hurricanes.
“This tournament was all about getting better,” said Baysden. “Three games in three days and with the level of competition we faced, it should definitely help us as we get into conference play over the next few weeks.”
Cape Fear Academy took two of three games in the tournament to move to 8-2 on the year. The Hurricanes hit the road for a date at Fayetteville Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Topsail travels to South Brunswick on Jan. 7.
Topsail 4-2-7-9= 22
CFA 5-10-8-15= 38
Stats: CFA- Evan Head, (14); Dominik Moenke, (10); Jay Batchler, (3); Dennis Looney, (3); Justin Aldrich, (2); Dillon Corcoran, (2); Jack Beermann, (1); Victor Agbafe, (1).
Topsail- Jake Sullivan, (5); Drew Bagwell, (5); Connor Dillion, (4); Xander Hunt, (3); Riley Bell, (3).
West Brunswick 70 Coastal Christian 18
West Brunswick finished up the three-day Holiday Classic with their third win of the tournament in a dominating performance 70-18 over Coastal Christian. Gray Cheers lit up the floor with 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead the Trojans as 10 different players recorded baskets in the victory.
“We have such great chemistry up and down the lineup,” said Cheers. “For me, I had to refocus after two tough games to start the tournament and got an early shoot around this morning and I thought that if I picked up my game defensively, it would translate to points on the other end.”
The relentless West Brunswick defense forced 20 turnovers in the game, controlled the boards by a 31-10 margin and allowed just four total field goals. Alex Clarida chipped in with nine points and four rebounds, while Antonio Clarida added nine points to top the scoring chart for the Trojans.
“We are at our best when we’re playing with a lot of intensity on the defensive end of the floor,” said West Brunswick Coach Eric Davis. “I thought we did a real good job of that today and it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. What we do on defense ultimately controls what our offense does. We were able to force some turnovers and had a lot of movement off the ball.”
Ty Hill opened with a quick pull up jumper and Cheers added back-to-back buckets to start a 7-0 run until Coleman Williford put Coastal on the board with one of two free throws. A nice inlet pass from Zarie Hankins down low to Jon Jordan in the post made it 9-2 and West Brunswick never looked back.
A turnover late in the first quarter allowed Hill to penetrate the lane as the sophomore drew in the defense and kicked it to Saadiq Johnson for a three-ball in the corner to make it a 12-point game late in the opening frame.
“We all love each other and we have a lot of team chemistry,” said Cheers. “No matter what night it is, any one of us has the ability to step up. Not many teams are able to say they have 10 or 11 guys that can put work in on the floor.”
Thomas Barnett recorded the Centurions only basket of the stanza with a minute to go in the quarter off an assist from Clay Pritchard and Coastal would not score again until Connor Norris drained a long three-ball with four minutes to go in the half.
Strong defense and good ball movement around the perimeter allowed the Trojans to dictate the tempo right from the opening tip as Cheers hit his only trey of the game and followed it up with an easy lay-in to make it 25-6 with 4:35 in the second quarter.
“I know we will be ready to get back into the conference schedule next week,” said Cheers. “We really haven’t played well on the road so far this season, but I know coach will put us in the best position to win.”
West Brunswick improved to 9-3 with the win, while Coastal Christian saw their record fall to 5-9 on the year. The Trojans get back into action with two big Mideastern Conference games next week at New Hanover and Hoggard on Jan. 7 and Jan. 10. The Centurions face Wilmington Christian on Tuesday.
“We’ve been tested over the last few years and I know that our guys are ready for this type of challenge,” said Davis. “We’re good enough and I believe if we do what we need to do and execute, we can compete with anybody. It’s going to be interesting to see how our guys react to playing in the bright lights at Brogden Hall, but I think we are good enough to compete in this conference.”
West 16-20-19-15=70
Coastal 4-7-5-2=18
Stats: West- Gray Cheers, 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals; Alex Clarida, 9 points, 4 rebounds; Antonio Clarida, 7 points; Josh Woodard, 6 points; Saadiq Johnson, 6 points; Zarie Hankins, 5 points; Ty Hill, 5 points; Sherman Fullwood, 4 points; Jon Jordan, 4 points; Nasir Murray, 2 points.
Coastal- Connor Norris, 6 points; Thomas Barnett, 4 points; Roy Holdford, 2 points; Richard Wehterill, 2 points; Coleman Williford, 1 point.
Harrells Christian 57 South Brunswick 35
Senior Graham DePinto scored 16 points and sophomore Marcus Scarborough added 11 points to lead the Crusaders to a 22-point win over the Cougars.
South Brunswick (2-11) kept things close early on, trailing by one at 8-7 after the opening period. But the Crusaders started to pull away in the second period as DePinto (6) and Scarborough (11) combined for 17 of Harrells’ 18 points that produced a 26-16 lead heading into the intermission.
Zach Carlton joined the scoring fray in the fourth period as the led continued to mushroom.
“We definitely played better defense yesterday and today than we did that first day,” Harrells Christian Academy Coach Clayton Hall said. ”We were sluggish early on but think that was because we’re not used to playing at 11:30 (a.m.).
“Chris did a great job for us. They were squeezing down on Quate (McKinzie) and he got the opportunities and he made the most of them. In my six years here, this is the best all-around group of kids I’ve had–kids that want to play either as starters or off the bench. The starters know I won’t hesitate to pull them if they’re not playing well because the kids on the bench relish the chance to show what they can do. It’s a nice problem to have.”
South Brunswick 7- 9-9-10=35
Harrells Christian 8-18-18-13=57
Harrells Christian: Zach Carlton 4 0-0 9, Spencer Cooks 1 3-4 5, Chris Cannady 1 2-2 5, Channing Kelly 1 0-0 2, Justin Smith 1 0-0 2, Kelly Nelms 1 0-0 3, Graham DiPinto 7 2-2 16, Marcus Scarborough 4 0-0 11, Quate McKinzie 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 7-8 57. 3-Point Baskets: Zach Carlton 1, Chris Cannday 1, Kelly Nelms 1, Marcus Scarborough 3.
South Brunswick: Landon Smith 1 0-0 3, Donte Reid 3 0-0 7, Jeffrey Bryant 2 0-0 4, Caleb Stanley 3 0-0 8, Malik Douglas 5 3-5 13. Totals: 14 3-6 35. 3-Point Baskets: Landon Smith 1, Donte Reid 1, Malik Douglas 3.
