Daily Roundup: February 11, 2022

February 12, 2022, 12:23 am | by Tim Hower

BOYS SWIMMING

NCHSAA 3A State Championship

at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary

South Brunswick sophomore Cade Needham had an excellent first trip to the state championship by earning a pair of top-10 individual finishes.

Needham placed fifth in the 500 freestyle by touching the wall in a 5:00.31. Earlier in the meet, he was seventh in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:51.94. Both times were his fastest times of the season.

Teammate Chance Mason was the only other area swimmer to compete in an individual event. He finished 19th in the 100 butterfly (1:00.23).

Both swimmers were joined by Belvin Barker and Thomas Overton on the 13th-place 200 freestyle relay (1:38.75).

Mason, Overton, Patrick Boldt and Needham finished 15th in the meet-ending 400 freestyle relay (3:45.34).

The Cougars scored 38 points to place 18th in the team standings.

GIRLS SWIMMING

NCHSAA 3A State Championship

at Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary

Freshman Aley Williams of West Brunswick had the best result from any area swimmer, finishing ninth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:13.99.

Williams also placed 21st in the 200 IM after touching the wall in 2:32.36.

Teammate Eryn Ruppart was 22nd in the 500 freestyle (6:12.47).

Williams, Ruppart, Brooke Holmes and Jalynn Sneed competed in the 200 freestyle relay and placed 23rd with a time of 1:56.76.

South Brunswick’s 400 freestyle relay team of Hannah Overton, Emma Stone, Ellie Harrington and Meghan Ulevich had a 20th-place finish (4:25.64).

BOYS BASKETBALL

No. 4 Trask 65, No. 12 Pender 55

***Click here to view a gallery of 25 photos from the action***

Sophomore Myron Mckoy connected on back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third quarter to help the Titans pull away and sweep the season series against their rival.

Trask (16-8, 8-2 Waccamaw) used a 10-3 run, spanning the first and second quarters, to build a 28-19 lead following a pair of free throws from Robert Pridgen.

The advantage was still nine at halftime. Pender (8-10, 6-4) scored the first seven points of the third quarter to get to within two points, but Mckoy answered with his 3-pointers to extend the lead to 40-32.

“I almost called timeout when they cut it to two, but I didn’t because I guess I’ve got too much Roy Williams in me and I’d rather let them play,” Trask coach Rodney Orr said.

Mckoy led the Titans with 17 points. Pridgen and Isaac Turner both added 15 points, while Tyran Pickett finished with nine.

The Patriots got a game-high 21 points for Kyrese Dye, but only eight in the second half. Freshman Dashon Mckoy scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter, including a pair of two-handed slams. Timothy Randolph also reached double figures with 12 points.

No. 3 Cape Fear Academy 78, Fayetteville Academy 54

Coastal Rivers Conference Tournament final at Fayetteville Academy

Senior Jack McErlean drained six 3-pointers and finished with a team-best 24 points to help the Hurricanes claim their fourth consecutive tournament title.

McErlean was named the tournament MVP. Caden Bariglio, Markus Pastorcic-Straun and Chatham Lambiotte were selected to the all-tournament team.

CFA (18-3) held a 41-31 halftime lead. They outscored the Eagles 23-14 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Pastorcic-Straun finished with 19 points, including two of the Hurricanes’ 12 3-pointers. Lambiotte also reached double figures with 10 points.

No. 6 Southeastern Homeschool 79, Faith Homeschool 26

Guards Jayden Johnson and Blake Batts combined for 40 points in the dominant home victory.

Johnson led all scorers with 23 points on 11 of 17 shooting. Batts made three shots from beyond the arc en route to his 17 points.

Southeastern Homeschool (14-7, 8-4 NCHEAC East) exploded for 31 points in the second quarter to build an insurmountable 51-14 halftime advantage.

Brice Griffin chipped in 11 points, while Zachary Leake added nine and Cooper Lang finished with eight.

Faith Homeschool’s Sam Kelly beat the halftime buzzer with an incredible SportsCenter-worthy full-court shot.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

No. 6 Cape Fear Academy 43, No. 9 Coastal Christian 40

Coastal Rivers Conference Tournament final at Fayetteville Academy

The Hurricanes captured their fourth tournament title in five years, but it didn’t come easy.

After winning the two regular season meetings by 34 and 17 points, CFA (10-11) had to rally late to avenge last year’s loss in the championship game.

Coastal Christian (10-14) led 40-39 with 20 seconds to play, but Brooke Allen missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

CFA’s Katie Rudow grabbed the rebound and raced down the court. She was fouled while driving for a layup and drained both free throws to put the Hurricanes on top.

The Centurions got a great look on the ensuing possession, but the short jumper from Emily White was too strong.

Rudow connected on two more free throws to increase the lead to three, and Coastal Christian’s half-court heave at the buzzer came up short.

Rudow led all scorers with 18 points and was named the MVP. Bella Erichsen added 10 points and Makenzie Mills chipped in nine. They were both selected to the all-tournament team.

Sofia Galbraith led the Centurions with 15 points on five 3-pointers. Allen added eight points and DK Britt finished with seven.

No. 11 Trask 57, No. 12 Pender 53

***Click here to view a gallery of 25 photos from the action***

Madalyn White scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the second half of a hard-fought home victory.

Trask (10-10, 8-2 Waccamaw) won the first meeting between the rivals by 33 points on Jan. 25, but Pender (6-9, 4-6) played much better this time around.

The game was tied at 40-all early in the fourth quarter before senior Julia Plunk made three 3-pointers during an 11-4 run that gave the Titans a 51-44 lead.

Plunk finished with 15 points. Trask also got 12 points – all in the first half – from Willow Nixon.

The Patriots were led by sophomore Jamiah Johnson’s 21 points. Makayla Armstrong added 12 points.