Spring Creek boys hold off Rosewood

By David Williams
Published in Sports on February 1, 2004 2:00 AM

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"We were real fortunate to win it."

Spring Creek boys basketball coach Sonny Kilpatrick spoke those words as if he were feeling them in the pit of his stomach Friday night as he was leaving the Rosewood gym.

Kilpatrick's Gators had a comfortable 10-point lead going into the final minute of their Carolina 1-A Conference matchup with the Eagles -- until Rosewood's Dustin Overman single-handedly gunned Rosewood into near-upset. Overman knocked down three-straight three-pointers in that final minute, but could not get the game-winner to fall as Spring Creek beat the Eagles 62-58.

The victory puts Spring Creek (11-6, 6-1) in a tie with Ayden-Grifton (10-6, 6-1) at the top of the league, with Farmville Central (6-7, 5-1) a half-game back.

Rosewood (4-11, 2-5) is now two games out of the conference's final playoff spot with two weeks left to play.

Rosewood's girls kept their winning ways with an easy 52-30 win over the Lady Gators, keeping the heat on first-place Farmville Central. The victory, coupled with the Lady Jaguars' win over North Johnston, gives Farmville (17-1, 6-0) a half-game lead on Rosewood (13-2, 6-1), while the Eagles are two games up on Spring Creek (7-11, 4-3) and the Lady Panthers (13-4, 3-3).

Spring Creek's boys rode guard Josh Bishop through the early part of the game. Bishop had a steady game, scoring throughout for a game-high 23 points as the visiting Gators went up by as many as 13 early in the second half.

Rosewood cut the gap back to five points with 3:47 to play when Grey Wilson's dagger-like three-pointer killed any Eagle momentum and stretched the gap back out to eight points. Shane Stevenson became a factor in the paint as Spring Creek led 59-49 with just over a minute left.

But the Gators could not close the deal just yet.

The diminutive Overman began to bang away from the three-point line, popping in three straight from different points on the arc to close the gap. Spring Creek struggled to make free throws in the final minute and when Overman dropped his third trey, Rosewood trailed only by one at 59-58 with 25 seconds left.

Wilson canned two free throws after being fouled to get the margin out to 61-58 as Rosewood came down the floor. In the remaining seconds, Overman and Matt Howell shot five times from the three-point line, only to see the ball clang off the rim. Brian Armstrong clamped down on the rebound with a half-second left and canned a free-throw to finally get the game put away.

"Four (Overman) lit it up," said Kilpatrick. "My guys let up a little, they fouled and we didn't sink our free throws."

"This group of kids, they won't ever give up," said Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell. "They fought to the end."

Overman and forward Taylor Carr shared high-scorer honors for Rosewood with 16 points each. Wilson had 18 for Spring Creek, while Stevenson ended up with 15.

Rosewood's girls used zone looks all night to frustrate the Lady Gator shooters, and got their offense going with baseline work from Jennifer Boren and the slashing play of Jessica Hill. Boren had a team-high 12 points, while Hill poured in eight and provided plenty of good passes for baskets inside. Only one Eagle player that was suited up did not score as coaches Jerry Narron and June Hill used their bench liberally.

"Spring Creek made the adjustments to our zone in the first half," said Narron. "We were weak on our press and Spring Creek did a good job on it."

Lady Gator coach Cassandra Tyson said the team's shooting was its downfall.

"We stopped working," Tyson said. "We got out of position, and the offense was so cold."

The Gator boys are in for a make-or-break week. After playing at Princeton Saturday, Spring Creek plays Farmville Central back-to-back -- at home Tuesday and on the road Thursday -- before taking on Ayden-Grifton Friday. Rosewood will play at home twice -- hosting Ayden-Grifton on Wednesday and entertaining North Johnston on Friday.

Boys game

Spring Creek 17 7 21 17 -- 62

Rosewood 11 10 13 23 -- 58

SPRING CREEK (13-5, 6-1)

Josh Bishop 8 1 4-4 23, Grey Wilson 1 4 4-6 18, Shane Stevenson 7 0 1-2 15, Brian Armstrong 1 0 2-4 4, Michael Broadie 1 0 0-3 2. TOTALS -- 18 5 11-21 62.

ROSEWOOD (4-11, 2-5)

Dustin Overman 2 4 0-2 16, Taylor Carr 7 0 2-3 16, Danny Langston 4 0 0-2 8, Javon Williams 2 0 0-1 4, Antell Richards 2 0 0-0 4, Matt Hill 2 0 0-0 4, Kyle Bunn 1 0 1-2 3, Kyle Grey 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 21 4 3-10 58.

Three-point baskets -- Spring Creek 5 (Wilson 4, Bishop), Rosewood 4 (Overman 4). Turnovers -- Spring Creek 15, Rosewood 17. Total fouls -- Spring Creek 13, Rosewood 17. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.

Girls game

Spring Creek 5 5 11 9 -- 30

Rosewood 12 14 14 12 -- 52

SPRING CREEK (7-11, 4-3)

Shandolyn Rogers 5 0 3-4 13, Yolanda Lawson 2 0 0-1 4, Alex Glover 1 0 1-2 3, Amy Curly 0 1 0-0 3, Candace Phillips 1 0 0-0 2. Tomeka Pride 1 0 0-0 2, Troia Morgan 0 0 2-3 2, Austi Joyner 0 0 1-2 1. TOTALS -- 10 1 7-12 30.

ROSEWOOD (13-2, 6-1)

Jennifer Boren 6 0 0-0 12, Jessica Hill 3 0 2-7 8, Latitia Wade 3 0 1-2 7, Stephanie Rhodes 3 0 0-0 6, Nikki Strawn 1 0 3-4 5, Shanita Monroe 2 0 0-0 4, Claire Narron 2 0 0-0 4, Sarah Ardes 0 0 2-2 2, Morgan Wheeler 1 0 0-4 2, Sara Poole 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 22 8-19 52.

Three point baskets -- Spring Creek 1 (Curly). Turnovers -- Spring Creek 27, Rosewood 25. Total fouls -- Spring Creek 18, Rosewood 12. Fouled out -- none. Technicals - none.