C.B. Aycock teams open seasons with losses

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on November 16, 2006 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- On the surface, Charles B. Aycock's opening night 71-27 loss to Clayton looked like a horrible blowout.

When you dig deeper, you see how the Golden Falcons coach can be very proud of the effort which took place Wednesday night.

"We lost, but there's a lot of good positive things you can take from this," said C.B. Aycock coach David West. "They never rested on that court. They hustled the whole time, even if they hustled to the wrong spot, they were still hustling."

The young, short-handed Golden Falcons started three underclassmen and were still in the process of completing tryouts due to the C.B. Aycock football team still participating in the playoffs. Against a Clayton team which was quicker, taller and more experienced -- they were no match.

A suffocating, full-court trapping defense made ball-handling near impossible for freshman point guard David Gurganus and his teammates.

"They're real fast," said the sweat-soaked Gurganus. "Varsity is a lot different than middle school basketball."

Easy baskets from turnovers sparked the Clayton offense as they exploded out of the gate and claimed a 19-2 lead in the first quarter.

"We could have opened up our own pastry shop with as many turnovers as we had," said West. "Eventually with continued repetition, execution and practice we're going to get better."

Clayton led 44-16 at halftime.

The lead would grow to as many as 45 in the second half, but still, the Golden Falcons didn't stop playing. Whether it was diving for loose balls, racing back on defense or pulling down big defensive rebounds, C.B. Aycock kept fighting until the final horn sounded.

"We might have lost the game by the score, but that was in no way a losing effort," said West. "These kids never ever quit."

Donte Tabron led three Clayton players in double figures with 13 points. Tomicko Strickland scored 11 and Jarel Moses added 10 for the Comets, who were playing their season-opening game.

C.B. Aycock (0-1) got a team-high eight points from both Leonard Compton and Jonathan Williams.

"These guys will be heard from a little later," said West looking toward the future. "We're a growing team. With a young team like this ... they can do anything."

A lack of practice and a bad case of the turnovers allowed the Clayton girls to spoil C.B. Aycock's home opener, 53-29.

"We've only had about nine days of practice," said first-year Golden Falcons' coach Carrie Reynell. "We still haven't put in a lot of things."

Millie Lackey scored a game-high 16 points for Clayton. Kasie Moore added 14 and Marnikka Young had 12 points.

"First game out we fought hard," said Clayton coach Marlon Lee. "It was a good win, a good road win."

Jasmine Dobbin led C.B. Aycock (0-1) with 14 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

The game didn't appear as if it was going to be a one-sided affair at the start.

After a strong first quarter from Dobbin, the Comets trailed 12-9 at the end of the period. Dobbin scored seven points in the quarter, four of which came courtesy of easy baskets she got following steals.

"She's always all heart," said Reynell of Dobbin. "You can always expect 110 percent from her."

In the second quarter, the Clayton lead was only two following two free throws from Bridgette Briggs.

The Comets then relied on an aggressive match-up zone that gave C.B. Aycock fits the rest of the evening and spearheaded a 9-2 run. Two three-pointers from Moore keyed the spurt, giving Clayton a 24-15 advantage at the half.

In the second half, the lack of offensive execution allowed Clayton to remain comfortably ahead for most of the game.

"Sometimes we're so stuck on going to a certain place instead of reading the defense and taking what they give you," said Reynell.

C.B. Aycock cut the lead to 10, at 44-34, on a jumper from Yolanda Pitt with 6:12 to play, but they would get no closer the rest of the night. Back-to-back baskets from Moore put the game away for Clayton.

"The effort was there we just have to clean some things up," said Reynell.

Boys game

Clayton 22 22 13 14 -- 71

C.B. Aycock 6 10 6 5 -- 27

CLAYTON (1-0)

Donte Tabron 5 1 0-0 13, Tomicko Strickland 4 1 0-0 11, Jarel Moses 2 2 0-0 10, Brandon McPhatter 2 1 1-2 8, Harrison Smith 1 1 2-4 7, Antwon Ray 3 0 0-1 6, Courtney Williams 1 0 2-2 4, Clint Mixon 2 0 0-0 4, Jan Vasourek 1 0 2-4 4, Sabastian Banks 1 0 0-0 2, Bryan Forbes 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 23 6 7-13 71.

C.B. AYCOCK (0-1)

Leonard Compton 2 1 1-2 8, Jonathan Williams 3 0 2-2 8, Evan Medford 2 0 0-0 4, Andrew Poole 1 0 1-2 3, David Gurganus 1 0 0-0 2, Daniel Pennington 1 0 0-1 2, Jordan Yawn 0 0 0-2, Devon Newsome 0 0 0-0, Jordan Riley 0 0 0-0. TOTALS -- 10 1 4-9 27.

Girls game

Clayton 12 12 19 10 -- 53

C.B. Aycock 9 9 12 9 -- 29

CLAYTON (1-0)

Millie Lackey 7 0 2-5 16, Kasie Moore 3 2 2-5 14, Marnikka Young 5 0 2-6 12, Kate Anderson 1 2 0-2 8, Porscha Armwood 1 0 1-2 3. TOTALS -- 17 4 7-20 53.

C.B. AYCOCK (1-0)

Jasmine Dobbin 5 1 1-2 14, Chantel Gaines 4 0 1-2 9, Bridgette Briggs 2 0 2-2 6, Erin Medford 1 0 2-4 4, Lauren Pratt 2 0 0-0 4, Yolanda Pitt 1 0 0-3 2. TOTALS -- 15 1 6-13 29.