Spring Creek’s Carmen Montoya, left, and Emily Williams, right, battle a Neuse Charter player for a loose ball rebound during their game in the 2022 Johnstonian News Invitational at North Johnston on Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Ariyana Willis, back, avoids fouling Neuse Charter sophomore Cayley Cochran as she goes in for a second-quarter layup Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Brennan Chambers, 5, forces Neuse Charter’s Donollyn Tyrell to pass the ball off to a teammate during first-half action of their opening-day game in the 2022 Johnstonian News Invitational on Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Neuse Charter’s Phillip Sullivan (with ball) looks for an open teammate after getting surrounded by three Spring Creek defenders on Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Ashton Singleton, 34, boxes out a Neuse Charter defender during a free throw attempt Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Nathan Jackson, 20, fires up a jumper against Neuse Charter’s Darian Murray during second-half play Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
KENLY — Spring Creek failed on the “little details” during opening-round play of the 2022 Johnstonian News Invitational on Wednesday afternoon.
Neuse Charter didn’t.And the outcomes proved it.
Sluggish from the opening tip, the Gator girls endured a 45-35 loss. Turnovers plagued the Gator boys in a 76-43 setback to their former Carolina 1A Conference rivals.
Both Spring Creek teams oppose Research Triangle in consolation-round play today on the North Johnston campus. Tip-off is 3 p.m. for the girls and the boys follow approximately 10 minutes later.
“Tons of turnovers…too many,” said first-year Gators head coach Daniel Krentz, who had three freshmen and one sophomore on the court most of the afternoon.
“They saw an opportunity to get out and run. [Our] overall effort and attitude, much better. [We were] not confident in our abilities to get back in the game at this moment [of the season].”
Demias Williams’ 3-pointer knotted the game at 10-10 with 2:17 remaining in the opening quarter. The Cougars answered with a 7-0 run before Brennan Chambers drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Spring Creek’s offense went cold.
Over the next six-plus minutes, Neuse Charter (12-2 overall) stretched its advantage to 39-20. The Gators entered halftime down 39-21.
“They’re very well coached, knew what they wanted to do with the ball every time and they did well with that,” Krentz said. “Those are things that we’ve got to keep learning and we’ve got to keep getting better.”
Chambers, a freshman, paced the Gators’ offense with 17 points. Williams and Nathan Jackson tallied eight points apiece, while Kam McDaniel scratched for five points.
Sire Holmes poured in a game-high 22 points for the Cougars, who face North Johnston for the invitational crown today. Darian Murray supplied 16 points. Seniors Donollyn Tyrell and Phillip Sullivan recorded 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Girls
First-year SC head coach Paul Hayes may comb the internet to find some rebounding drills and implement them in daily practice.
Despite a distinct height disadvantage in the paint, Neuse Charter pulled down an eye-popping 49 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive end. The Cougars logged 12 second-chance points in the opening half that helped turn a single-digit advantage into a double-digit margin by intermission.
“We’ve got to put a body on somebody [inside],” Hayes said. “We like to sit there and look like turkeys searching for rain, no hands up in the air. It’s fixable stuff. It’s never good to take an ‘L,’ but sometimes it’s good because it provides a reality check.”
Neveah Wright knocked down back-to-back baskets in the final 45 seconds, which pulled the Gators to within 31-24 after three quarters. She drained the first basket of the fourth quarter and Neuse Charter (8-4) burned a timeout.
Sophomore Cayley Cochran and backcourt mate Lyndsy Parrish each nailed a 3-pointer to push the Cougars’ lead back to 39-28. Cochran, the daughter of former Rosewood volleyball coach Jennifer Cochran, pumped in a game-high 19 points.
The Gators never threatened from there.
Wright finished with 15 points. Ariyana Willis scored 10. Heather Alexander, who had logged double-doubles in her last two outings, managed just four points.
2022 Johnstonian News Invitational
(at North Johnston HS, Kenly)
Wednesday’s games
Girls
Neuse Charter 45, Spring Creek 35
North Johnston 49, Research Triangle 21
Boys
Neuse Charter 76, Spring Creek 43
North Johnston 73, Research Triangle 32
Today’s games
Girls’ consolation
3 p.m. – Spring Creek (6-4) vs. Research Triangle (1-7)
Boys’ consolation
4:30 p.m. – Spring Creek (2-8) vs. Research Triangle (3-7)
Girls’ championship
6 p.m. – Neuse Charter (8-4) vs. North Johnston (9-0)
Boys’ championship
7:30 p.m. – Neuse Charter (12-2) vs. North Johnston (7-1)
