In a game that included 15 buckets from long range and eight different lead changes, Jonah Attoe hit a buzzer-beater to end the second quarter and put Wilmington Christian in front for good as the Patriots pulled out a 64-53 win at home Tuesday night.
Attoe knocked down five treys and scored a team-high 23 points, while Kyle Bennett played a strong game in the block with 11 points and seven rebounds. Roy Holdford hit four three-balls of his own to lead Coastal with 19 points, but strong free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter and a tough defensive effort lifted the Patriots to the season sweep over the Centurions.
“It was really a back-and-forth kind of game and I thought we responded well after they took that early lead,” said Wilmington Christian Coach Craig Tucker. “We were kind of looking for an identity before the Christmas break, but I thought we’ve been coming together and gelling better over the last week or so in practice and got some shots to fall tonight.
Without their inside presence in the lineup, Bennett, Andrew Hardee and Cody Lawson picked up the slack under the boards and contributed with some big points in the paint.
“Austin [Inman] was out tonight so we needed someone guys to step up,” said Tucker. “I really thought we got a big effort from Kyle, and Cody Lawson got a start and he really did some good things out there,” Tucker said.
Ben Jordan scored his only field goal of the game on a three-pointer from the top of the arc to start the second quarter and get Wilmington Christian to within four after Coastal went up 18-11 behind two three-balls by Clay Pritchard and a 10-footer by Holdford in the opening frame.
The Patriots went on a 7-2 run over the next four minutes and back-to-back treys by Jacob Tew and Attoe gave WCA their first lead since the opening two points of the game.
“We really started to get things going in that second quarter and Jonah really has the ability to change the game,” said Tucker. “Our other guys are learning how to play and use his talent to their advantage, which then opens things up a bit more for Jonah on the outside.”
Sterling Wellington answered the call for Coastal and responded with a shot from outside the arc to even things back up and Holdford knocked down what he thought was going to be the go ahead basket with under eight seconds to play in the half, but Attoe gave a nice ball fake to draw his defender in the air and knocked down a long three-ball to give Wilmington Christian the lead for good.
Bennett opened the third quarter with points on consecutive possessions and a hard drive to the lane by Tew made it a 6-0 run with 6:30 to play in the stanza. Attoe made it 38-30 after Wellington hit a baseline jumper for the Centurions and Chris Karras came off the bench to knock down a shot from long range to extend the lead to 11 for WCA.
“We tightened up defensively and I think that ultimately was the reason why we were able to win,” said Tucker. “We were able to get good looks and really made some free throws throughout the fourth quarter to keep the lead.”
Coastal got to within five late in the third quarter off a three-point play and a coast-to-coast lay-in by Thomas Barnett, but the Centurions went scoreless from the field for over a four-minute period in the final eight minutes that gave Wilmington Christian a chance to build on their cushion with shots from the charity stripe.
Coastal 18-8-14-13=53
WCA 11-16-18-19=64
Coastal Christian 49 Wilmington Christian 18
Coastal Christian used a 13-0 run over the opening minutes of the game to build a comfortable halftime lead en route to a 49-18 win at Wilmington Christian on Tuesday.
The Lady Centurions stayed patient on the offensive side of floor and recorded 11 team assists by the break, while Lauren Duncan, Madison Huckabee and Sarah Rogers provided the scoring.
“I thought we really came out and played well tonight right from the get go,” said Coastal Christian Coach Mike Scheffel. “It was different this past week since we did not play a game, but it gave us some time to get some of our other girls more comfortable in what we’re trying to do and we executed in all facets of the game tonight.”
Good ball movement around the perimeter gave Coastal the first basket of the game when Sabrina Sims passed off to Rogers on the baseline, who then found Huckabee crashing the lane for an easy two. Duncan came back on the next possession to knock down a three-ball from the wing and Sims picked up an assist off a dish to Huckabee on the Centurions third time down the floor to force an early timeout.
Huckabee put in an all-around effort to finish with 10 points, five rebounds, six steals and seven assists, while Lauren Duncan scored a game-high 16 points to lead Coastal Christian to its ninth win of the year.
“Maddie is one of the easiest players to coach, “said Scheffel. “She consistently plays with a lot of intensity and it makes her fun to coach. She was able to get some of the others involved, Lauren was able to get her points and I thought we really put in a team effort tonight.”
Coastal continued its strong play on the defensive end as Rogers took a hard charge on the baseline, which lead to a 12-foot jumper from Abby Mintz and an 11-0 lead for the Centurions.
Wilmington Christian was finally able to break the full-court presswith three minutes to go in the first quarter as Abby Squires got some space and made a layup to get the Patriots on the board.
Trailing 31-6 at the break, WCA kept things competitive in the second half behind the play of Megan Lambert and Jakara Jordan. Lambert knocked down a mid-range jumper to close out a 5-0 spurt for the Patriots, but Duncan answered with her second three-pointer of the game to put the game out of reach.
“Since the holiday classic at Cape Fear Academy, I’ve been challenging some of our other players to step up,” said Scheffel. “I saw that tonight and we hope to continue to get that consistency night in and night out.”
Coastal Christian improved to 9-7 with the win, while Wilmington Christian dropped to 3-14. The Centurions return to the floor on Saturday, Jan. 25, at home against Fayetteville Christian. WCA entertains Wilson Christian on Friday, Jan. 24.
Coastal 16-15-8-10=49
WCA 2-4-7-5=18
