Daily Roundup: February 1, 2022

February 2, 2022, 12:36 am | by Tim Hower

***The rankings by each area basketball team come from the Coastal Preps Power Rankings***

GIRLS BASKETBALL

No. 6 Ashley 42, No. 8 South Brunswick 33

***Click here to view a gallery of 30 photos from the action***

Sophomore MacKenzie Morton led all scorers with 12 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals, and the Screaming Eagles completed the season sweep.

Ashley (9-9, 2-8 Mideastern) used a 13-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to grab a 17-7 lead following a layup from Callie Reitzel.

The advantage grew to as much as 11, but South Brunswick’s (3-12, 1-9) Logan Fitzhugh made a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 33-27.

Morton answered with a jumper to increase the lead back to eight. She sealed the victory by going 3 of 4 from the free throw line in the final minute.

Savannah Cook added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Her younger sister, Marlee, finished with six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Cougars got a team-high nine points from Summer Rainwater. Jaidyn Akers-Bryant added eight points.

Both teams are back in action Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Screaming Eagles play at Laney, with South Brunswick visits Topsail.

No. 9 Cape Fear Academy 51, No. 10 Coastal Christian 34

Katie Rudow and Bella Erichsen combined for 39 points to give the Hurricanes a road win over their rival.

Rudow scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the second quarter. Erichsen finished with 10 of her 14 points in the second half.

CFA (5-11, 3-0 Coastal Rivers) held a narrow 22-16 halftime lead before extending it to 38-25 entering the fourth quarter.

Makenzie Mills added eight points in the win.

Coastal Christian (8-13, 2-2) was led by Sofia Galbraith, who made three 3-pointer en route to 15 points.

The Hurricanes play at Harrells Christian Academy at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Centurions host Hilltop Christian on Thursday at 5 p.m.

No. 4 Laney 49, No. 3 New Hanover 34

The Buccaneers avenged an earlier-season loss thanks to a team-high 18 points from junior guard Jada Simpson.

Simpson connected on four 3-pointers in the second quarter to put Laney (13-5, 7-3 Mideastern) up 23-20.

Taylor Chism scored seven of her 11 points in a 23-point third quarter that allowed the Buccaneers pull away for good.

Brooke Sommer added eight points, while Aniece Lewis finished with six.

New Hanover (11-5, 7-3) standout Andrehya Shuford made four 3-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points.

The Buccaneers host Ashley on Wednesday night at 6. The Wildcats travel to North Brunswick at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

No. 1 Hoggard 66, No. 7 North Brunswick 13

Junior point guard Anya Massey continued her incredible play with a 25-point performance in just two and a half quarters.

Massey went 7 of 9 from 3-point range. She also added six rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Hoggard (17-3, 10-0 Mideastern) led 19-2 after the opening eight minutes and 40-9 at halftime.

All nine Vikings that suited up reached the scoring column. Lexi Steed finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Madeline Elgart chipped in nine points, four assists and three steals.

Hoggard, which plays at West Brunswick at 6 p.m. Wednesday, shot 57 percent (26 of 46) from the field and 63 percent (12 of 19) from 3-point range.

North Brunswick (8-10, 1-8) welcomes New Hanover on Wednesday night at 6.

No. 2 Topsail 68, No. 5 West Brunswick 55

After falling behind 15-9 after the first quarter, the Pirates exploded for 59 points over the final 24 minutes to earn the home victory.

No individual stats were provided for either team.

Both teams play at home Wednesday at 6 p.m. Topsail (13-3, 6-2 Mideastern) welcomes South Brunswick, while West Brunswick (10-6, 4-5) hosts Hoggard.

No. 11 Trask 43 East Columbus 35

Julia Plunk drained a career-high eight 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in the road win.

Trask (6-9, 4-1 Waccamaw) trailed 20-19 at halftime. They outscored the Gators 11-4 in the third quarter to grab a lead they would never relinquish.

Madelyn White and Willow Nixon each finished with seven points, while Layna Nixon added six.

The teams play again Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Trask.

Other scores

Whiteville 65, No. 12 Pender 19

BOYS BASKETBALL

No. 9 Ashley 37, No. 11 South Brunswick 32

***Click here to view a gallery of 30 photos from the action***

Coen Locklear gave the Screaming Eagles their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer with 2:06 to play, and the home team held on for a hard-fought win.

Ashley (7-11, 4-6 Mideastern) has now won three straight games for the first time this season.

“We knew we were going to have to grind it out and value every single possession,” Locklear said. “Once we scored, we had to get a stop in order to win the game.”

Locklear’s only other basket came early in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 23-all.

South Brunswick (7-10, 3-7) responded immediately with a pair of free throws from Caleb Bernard, but the score was tied again less than 30 seconds later after Blake Lewis made a jumper.

The Cougars led 29-28 with a chance to extend it, but Jordan Davis missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2:31 remaining.

Blake Widenhouse missed a pair of free throws on the other end, but the Screaming Eagles controlled the offensive rebound and Locklear hit the go-ahead 3-pointer.

“I do feel more comfortable distributing the ball, but sometimes I know I have to take on a scoring role and hit shots when they’re needed,” Locklear said.

Ashley forced back-to-back turnovers and made four consecutive free throws to seal the victory.

Lewis led all scorers with 15 points, while Widenhouse added eight.

Ford Disbrow made three 3-pointers en route to a team-high 13 points for South Brunswick.

The Screaming Eagles visit Laney at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Cougars are back on the road at Topsail at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

No. 3 Cape Fear Academy 57, No. 4 Coastal Christian 25

Another outstanding defensive effort helped the Hurricanes sweep the season series against their rival.

CFA (14-3, 4-0 Coastal Rivers) won last week’s showdown 36-28 at home.

They had a much better rhythm offensively this time around. Markus Pastorcic-Straun led all scorers with 15 points, while Imran Armstrong added 14.

The Hurricanes jumped out to a 15-5 lead after the opening quarter and continued to pull away. Vytas Nausedas added seven points, while KJ Kernan and Chatham Lambiotte each finished with six.

Coastal Christian (14-8, 3-2) got seven points a piece from Luke Davenport and David Berne.

Next up for CFA is a road game at Harrells Christian Academy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Centurions host Hilltop Christian at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

No. 1 New Hanover 59, No. 8 Laney 41

Senior James Jones Jr. led a balanced attack with 12 points and the Wildcats cruised on the road to run their winning streak to 16 games.

New Hanover (16-0, 10-0 Mideastern) also got eight points a piece from Khalil Genwright and Rodmik Allen. The Pocknett brothers – Lenier and Mikhail – combined for 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Wildcats outscored Laney (13-6, 4-6) 30-11 over the middle two quarters to pull away.

Both teams play Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. New Hanover visits North Brunswick, while the Buccaneers welcome Ashley.

No. 2 Hoggard 54, No. 7 North Brunswick 31

The Vikings remained one game behind rival New Hanover in the Mideastern Conference standings thanks in large part to a dominant third quarter.

Hoggard (17-3, 9-1) ended the second quarter on a 6-0 run to build a 21-18 halftime lead. The momentum carried into the third quarter, where the visitors outscored North Brunswick (9-8, 4-6) 15-6.

Hoku Fisher led all scorers with 19 points, while fellow senior Alonzo Dyson added 11. Sam Jones chipped in six points.

The Scorpions were led by Akell Lance’s 12 points.

The Vikings play at West Brunswick on Wednesday night at 7:30. North Brunswick hosts New Hanover at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

No. 10 West Brunswick 46, 14 Topsail 42

The Trojans ended the game on an 8-4 run to escape with a road win.

A pair of free throws from Quincy Hankins with 5:15 remaining put West Brunswick (9-10, 5-5 Mideastern) on top 40-38. They would never trail again.

After Topsail (3-16, 1-9) senior Demark Howell made a free throw with 46.9 seconds to play to cut the deficit to 43-40, the Trojans easily broke the press and Hankins threw down a two-handed jam.

No individual stats were provided for either team.

West Brunswick hosts Hoggard at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Pirates welcome South Brunswick on Wednesday night at 7:30.

No. 11 Trask 56, East Columbus 46

A 16-point performance from Tyran Pickett lifted the Titans to a road win.

The senior guard also had three assists and three steals.

Two other Trask (12-8, 3-2 Waccamaw) players reached double figures. Robert Pridgen finished with 13 points and three rebounds, while Isaac Turner scored 11 points.

The teams will play at Trask on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.