CORINTH HOLDERS -- Four players scored in double figures as the Corinth Holders boys upended Louisburg 67-52 Tuesday night to seal second place in the Northern Carolina 2-A Conference.
The Pirates (11-2 NCC, 18-5 overall), who went to the state playoffs last year as the league’s fifth seed, are guaranteed to have a home game in the first round of the postseason as long as no team below them or regular season champion Bunn wins the conference tournament next week.
“We went from fifth to second,” said CHHS coach Chris Davis. “We had a shot to tie Bunn (for the regular-season crown) until we lost to Roanoke Rapids, and I hate that we had a bad game at such an important time. Good teams can have bad games, and we did (against Roanoke Rapids). But tonight I thought the guys did a good job of coming back and asserting themselves a little bit.”
The teams were tied at 13 after the first quarter. The Pirates didn’t shoot well early but were able to hit some crucial shots over the remaining time.“We didn’t start off shooting the ball well,” Davis said. “But over the course of the game, we made shots and did a real good job in transition. We were able to get some offensive rebounds that turned into baskets also.”
Kenny Collins (five points) and Ki-yon Walden (four) sparked CHHS in the first period. Louisburg stayed with the Pirates behind Aaron Penny, who had a basket and four free throws, and Antwan Perry, who added five points.
The Pirates started to take advantage of mismatches in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Warriors 15-7 and 12-7, respectively, to take a 40-27 advantage heading into the fourth.“There was always one spot on the floor where we had the advantage – we got stuck in that,” Davis said. “I don’t think we did a great job of running the offense, which is uncharacteristic of us. There was too much standing around.”
Walden (10 points in the second and third periods), Tori Carmichael (seven) and Klilah Cox (six) helped the Pirates put some distance between them and Louisburg.
The teams then combined for 52 points in the fourth – 27 by Corinth and 25 for Louisburg.
“The 27 points by the offense was good to see,” Davis said. “The right people got fouled and they made most of the free throws in the fourth quarter, so we ended up with a pretty good percentage. But there was a stretch where we didn’t shoot well at all.”
The Pirates were 9 of 13 from the line in the first half, missed all four of their attempts in the third but then were 14-for-16 in the final eight minutes to finish 23 for 34 (67.6 percent). Kahlil Larry was a perfect 8-for-8, while Carmichael was 6-7.
The other aspect Davis did not like was allowing rebounds on missed free throws by the Warriors.“We have got to do a better job of boxing out and not giving the other team the ball back,” Davis said. “They had three or four offensive rebounded where they missed free throws. That’s a cardinal sin in basketball.”
Walden led Corinth Holders with 19 points while Carmichael and Cox added 12 apiece and Larry managed 10. Collins contributed nine.
Penny paced Louisburg with 13 points while Brandon Crudup added 12.
