Gators keep poise in fourth quarter

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 11, 2015 1:48 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek head coach Taylor Jones constantly glanced at the scoreboard as the numbers quickly changed on each possession.

He wrestled with two thoughts -- should he burn a timeout and break his team's rhythm or should he let them play?

Jones chose the latter.

"There was nothing I could do in a timeout, nothing I could do in a slow-down mode to get them to compete any harder or to execute any better than what they were doing," he said. "I felt like if I tried to over coach them, it would take away our aggressiveness and what was working well for us."

Now the Gators are teetering on the edge of history.

Senior guard Brandon Gonzalez pumped in a team-leading 28 points and Chad Spurgeon added 19 as Spring Creek handled James Kenan, 91-84, in the "The Swamp" on Tuesday evening. The teams exited tied atop the Carolina 1-A Conference standings at 11-2.

Should the Gators (18-4 overall) close out regular-season play in victorious fashion against North Duplin on Friday, they'll earn a share of their first-ever league championship in program history.

James Kenan (14-5) continues to seek its first conference crown since 2002 when it advanced to the eastern regionals with then-head coach Brian Jones.

"Play harder than them (is) pretty much all I told them (before the game) and we didn't," Tigers head coach Brad Lloyd said. "They're tenacious, intense and I give them credit. With the win, I don't think they proved anything except they were better tonight.

"I'm perturbed with giving up 91 points in a high school basketball game."

The teams combined for an eye-popping 61 fourth-quarter points -- an average of 7.63 points per minute.

Tre Hammonds' 3-pointer off of Gary Williams' assist and Williams' old-fashioned three-point play ignited an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter. Justin Cianfarra's offensive putback helped give SC a four-possession advantage.

John Brooks' 3-pointer, one of four on the night, closed the gap to 71-69. The Tigers took their final lead, 73-72, before the Gators answered with Spurgeon's shot that earned a kind bounce off the back of the iron.

Spring Creek extended its lead from there.

Gonzalez continued to attack the basket and get to the free throw line. He converted nine of 12 attempts, and teammate DaShawn Braswell drained two critical free throws with 44.1 seconds to go.

"It was exciting, the environment was great ... this is what you play for," Gonzalez said. "(The fourth quarter) we just kept looking for each other, moving the ball and taking what was there. We took good shots, were confident."

Kenan climbed to within five points on two occasions, but could get no closer. Brooks torched the nets for a game-high 36 points, while Nick Taylor added 18 points and nine rebounds.

Hammonds and Williams posted 13 points apiece for the Gators, who improved to 8-1 at home this season.

"Our seniors played like seniors, they stepped up to the bell," Jones said. "I thought our kids played poised, I thought they played hard, thought they battled and they looked for each other. Our passing tonight was terrific.

"We played like we practiced (Monday)."