Ayden-Grifton escapes with Carolina 1-A lead

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 3, 2008 8:44 AM

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Find Matt Dougherty.

Ayden-Grifton used that strategy to perfection in the fourth quarter Friday evening. And the senior responded in usual fashion.

Dougherty buried 7 of 8 free throws in the final eight minutes and helped the Chargers escape upset-minded Rosewood 62-51. Ayden-Grifton (12-6 overall) remained perfect in six Class 1-A Carolina Conference outings this season.

Meanwhile, the Charger girls held the Eagles to single-digit outputs in each quarter of their 51-29 victory.

Ayden-Grifton's boys converted their first six shots of the game and breezed to a 20-6 advantage just seven minutes into the game. Rosewood, behind 6-foot-5 center Holt Rains and 6-3 forward Tyler Muntz, climbed back into the contest. The duo controlled the boards in the second quarter as the Eagles pulled within 27-22 at halftime.

"We rebounded the ball well and when they did shoot and miss, they didn't have many second-chance points," said Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell. "We defended well in the second quarter and made some shots."

Rains' offensive putback to start the third quarter created a one-possession game. Steffan McGhee drained three consecutive field goals, including a 3-pointer, to widen the Chargers' lead to 34-26.

Rains' back-to-back field goals and Sean Cornman's driving layup trimmed the deficit to 36-30. McGhee converted another 3-pointer and Lonnie Gay's offensive putback stretched the advantage to 45-34 after three quarters.

"McGhee, in the third quarter, found the gaps on the perimeter against the box-and-one (on Dougherty) and made some big shots," said Mitchell.

Stephen McIntyre's two free throws and offensive putback shaved Ayden-Grifton's lead to 51-45 with three minutes left in regulation. But Mitchell agonizingly watched from the sidelines as the Eagles misfired on three consecutive possessions.

Rains' offensive putback rolled off the rim and into the waiting arms of a Charger defender. The Eagles committed a turnover off a dead-ball rebound and then Muntz missed a short jumper underneath.

"We had a hard time putting the ball in the basket," said Mitchell. "We had the ball underneath one time ... offensive stickback and didn't fall. If we could have scored on one of those possessions, it might change the whole game.

"They made their free throws and that was the big difference in the game."

McGhee (18 points) and Dougherty (28 points) combined for five of the next nine points to keep Rosewood at bay.

Rains finished with 18 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles. McIntyre added 17, including an 8 of 10 effort at the free throw line.

Rosewood girls coach Karen Williams wished she didn't burn a second-period timeout against Ayden-Grifton.

"We were playing really good the first 13 minutes of the game," said Williams, whose team trailed 14-11 at that point. "I told them during the timeout they were playing good and to keep it up. We were hustling, rebounding and moving the ball well."

Then the Eagles fell apart.

Ayden-Grifton, the reigning Carolina Conference tournament champion, unleashed a 9-2 run. Krystal Williams started the spurt with a conventional three-point play and Brianna Woods capped it with an uncontested layup off a turnover.

Haile Meadows tallied Rosewood's lone bucket, off Mary Jo Moore's assist, during that stretch. The Chargers led 23-14 at halftime.

"We just got spastic," said coach Williams. "We felt like we needed to get rid of the ball instead of being patient. We had too many turnovers and that equaled points on their part."

The Chargers (14-5 overall, 5-1 CC) opened the third quarter with a 10-3 run. Melissa Hall accounted for the Eagles' lone field goal -- a bank shot inside against the taller Tiara Johnson, who blocked 10 shots.

Ayden-Grifton continued to pull away and sweep the regular-season series. Krystal Williams and Derrica Jones tallied 18 and 12 points, respectively, for the Chargers. Johnson finished with eight.

Meadows and Paige Babb scored six points apiece for the Eagles.

Boys game

Ayden-Grifton 20 7 18 17 -- 62

Rosewood 9 13 12 17 -- 51

AYDEN-GRIFTON (12-6, 6-0)

Larez Dail 1 0 0-0 2, Steffan McGhee 2 3 5-6 18, Matt Dougherty 7 2 8-12 28, Adam Bouldin 2 0 0-0 4, Zack Pipkin 2 0 2-4 6, Lonnie Gay 2 0 0-0 4, Jaquan Brown 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 16 5 15-24 62.

ROSEWOOD (6-11, 2-4)

Stephen McIntyre 0 3 8-10 17, Taylor Allen 2 0 0-0 4, Sean Cornman 3 0 0-0 6, Terance Toran 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Muntz 1 0 2-2 4, Jacquez Raynor 1 0 0-0 2, Joseph Willis 0 0 0-0 0, Holt Rains 8 0 2-2 18. TOTALS -- 15 3 12-14 51.

Girls game

Ayden-Grifton 10 13 15 13 -- 51

Rosewood 9 5 9 6 -- 29

AYDEN-GRIFTON (14-5, 5-1)

Krystal Williams 5 0 8-12 18, Nicole Hyman 1 0 0-2 2, Kwoya West 2 0 0-0 4, Derrica Jones 4 0 4-5 12, Angela Crandal 0 0 2-3 2, Brianna Woods 2 0 1-2 5, Tiara Johnson 2 0 4-10 8. TOTALS -- 16 0 19-34 51.

ROSEWOOD (5-12, 1-5)

Mary Jo Moore 1 0 0-0 2, Misha Chester 2 0 0-2 4, Taylor Johnson 1 0 1-2 3, Jennifer Hall 1 0 0-0 2, Christina Bruton 0 0 1-4 1, Haile Meadows 0 2 0-2 6, Paige Babb 1 1 1-2 6, Shantal Johnson 1 0 0-0 2, Gabby Cornman 0 0 0-0 0, Brittany McGill 0 0 0-0 0, Julie Rhodes 0 0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Conger 0 0 0-0 0, Melissa Hall 1 0 1-4 3. TOTALS -- 8 3 4-12 29.