The Patton boys basketball team dominated the glass in an impressive first-half effort on Tuesday night in Valdese, leading to a 73-52 victory at county rival Draughn.
The Panthers — who had opened Western Piedmont 3A/4A Conference play with a 78-62 home win over East Burke four nights earlier — led by as much as 30 points in the opening half as they had outrebounded Draughn by an overwhelming 26-5 margin through two periods.
Patton (6-3, 2-0 WPC) opened up a 12-2 lead on Laine Barrier’s dropoff assist to Karson Kress for an easy bucket as Kress became the fifth and final starter to score in the early stages.
The margin swelled past 20 points at 34-13 on a Barrier assist to Kyle Taylor in transition, and Patton rolled that into an 11-0 scoring run for a 43-13 lead on an acrobatic finish from Barrier off the glass.
The Panthers led by 34 points on five second-half occasions, though the margin never got to running-clock status at 35 points.
“In the first half, I thought we played really hard,” Patton second-year head coach Dax Bostian said. “In the second half, I thought we could have executed a little better. We came out and we were a little selfish with the ball. But we got done what we needed to in order to get the win.
“Draughn plays really hard, and that can cause you to get sped up, which I felt happened to us in the second half. Overall, decent performance heading into Friday and a big rival game (at home against Freedom).”
Olando Norman scored a team-high 15 points for Patton, while Barrier (seven rebounds, eight assists) and Brady Davis added 11 each and Taylor (four rebounds, four assists) made it four players in double figures with 10 points.
Nathan Waters — who had averaged 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in the previous two games — came back down to earth with just six first-half points but shared team-high honors with Kress (six points) with eight rebounds and added four assists, and Noah Tallent scored a season-high eight points off the bench.
The win moved Patton more than halfway to last season’s total (10) already and marked the PHS program’s ninth consecutive 2-0 start in conference play.
“We’re just taking it a game at a time and trying to get 1 percent better every day,” Bostian said. “I think we’re doing that and seeing what we can really be at times, we just have to put it all together consistently.”
Draughn (0-8, 0-2) was led in defeat by Henry Cooper (16 points) and Cayden Lewis (15 points). Noah Chrisco added 10 points and six rebounds, and Hunter Ellis pulled down a team-best eight rebounds.
In Patton’s win over East Burke on Dec. 12, the Panthers led by just one point at halftime but pulled away thanks to a 25-13 third period.
Waters and Davis each posted 20 points and three assists, with Waters grabbing 10 rebounds in a third straight 20-point double-double. Taylor added 17 points, and Norman contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Lincoln Burns scored 17 points to lead the Cavaliers, who also got 14 apiece from Tyler Brown and Luke Demiter.
Also on Dec. 12, Draughn dropped its conference opener at R-S Central, 76-41, as Lewis (11 points) and Cooper (eight points) led the team offensively that night as well.
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Draughn’s Taylor Holder (right) drives the lane in a preseason
scrimmage in this file photo. Holder scored a game-high 15 points
and added six steals, five rebounds, and three assists in her Lady
Wildcats’ home win over Patton on Tuesday as Draughn ran its record
to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in conference.
JAMES LYNCH JR. / THE PAPER
Lady Wildcats continue best-ever start
The Draughn girls used a 25-0 run to lead as much as 27-2 midway through the second period Tuesday as they defeated visiting Patton, 59-12, to continue the best start in program history.
A season-high eight players scored for the Lady Wildcats (7-1, 2-0 WPC), who managed 16 steals thanks in large part to their fullcourt pressure defense.
Draughn senior Taylor Holder posted game-high efforts of 15 points and six steals to go with five rebounds and three assists, and she was joined in double figures by starter Mati Kincaid (12 points, team-high six rebounds) and reserve Bailey Winkler (season-high 10 points).
Jacey Davis added eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals for Draughn, and Kenley Berry had seven points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Mackenzie Powell (three points), Lindsey Hensley (two points, four rebounds, four steals), and Maddy Hudson (two points) rounded out the DHS scoring.
“We played great on defense, and on offense, the biggest thing is we were unselfish,” Draughn coach Liz Taylor said. “A lot of people were scoring tonight, which is really good to see.”
Emma Rolland led Patton (3-5, 0-2) with six points, while Hayden Hein tallied a game-high seven rebounds and added three blocks.
Draughn had opened league action with a 45-24 road win over R-S on Dec. 12, leading 30-10 at halftime and being paced offensively in that victory by Davis (15 points), Holder (14 points), and Berry (eight points).
“Obviously we are pleased with our record, but we know we are going to face some pretty good teams coming up,” Taylor added. “So, we’re hoping we’re prepared to compete with those teams. I think in the Christmas tournament, it will be good for us to see some teams we would not face otherwise and get some different looks.”
Patton had also dropped its previous game, 62-19, against East Burke on Dec. 12 as the Lady Cavaliers led 36-6 at the half and soon pushed the contest to running-clock status.
Belle Gwyn led EB with 25 points, and Sarabeth Bradley added 11, while Mia Chapman’s eight points led Patton.
Brown scores 34 as EB boys earn 1st win
Junior Tyler Brown had a night to remember for the East Burke boys on Tuesday in Lenoir, scoring a career-high 34 points as the Cavaliers cruised to their first victory of the season, 63-45, over Hibriten.
In addition to shooting 14-of-18 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line, Brown also had four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Sophomore Lincoln Burns added 14 points, four rebounds, and two blocks for EB, which also received one block apiece from Luke Demiter (five points, team-high 12 rebounds), Carter Bennett (four points, four assists, two steals), and Rylan Bargsley (three points, three assists) to go with three points from RJ Williams.
“I’m proud of our guys,” EB coach Jerome Ramsey said. “I think we executed both ways. Offensively we got shots and didn’t turn it over a ton, that’s all you can ask as a coach, and then defensively I think we paid attention and adjusted and just kind of tried to follow the plan that we were after. So, we did well with that.”
The Cavs (1-7, 1-1 WPC) trailed a couple of times in the early going before a 3-pointer from Bargsley — EB’s only made 3 of the contest — gave them a 5-4 advantage. Burns then made a hook shot before Demiter converted a three-point play, with a basket from Brown and another successful hook shot from Burns helping the visitors build a 14-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Following back-to-back baskets by the Panthers to begin the second period, EB scored nine points in a row and 14 of the next 16 as it led 28-14 at the half. The Cavs later carried a 47-33 advantage into the fourth quarter and were up by as many as 22 points at 58-36 before eventually winning by an 18-point final margin.
Brown scored 21 of his points after halftime, with Burns adding 10 over the last two quarters as the pair accounted for all but four of EB’s second-half points.
Ramsey complimented Brown’s aggressiveness, stating that “instead of standing, he was a cutter.”
“He’s good at attacking the basket, and he made some free throws, so it’s pretty much that simple,” added Ramsey. “He just went out there and played, showed a lot of heart.”
Earlier in the evening in a contest pitting two of the top girls teams in the league, East Burke (5-3, 1-1) lost to Hibriten by a 75-68 score despite getting a career-high 24 points from freshman Sarabeth Bradley, who reached double figures in scoring for the fourth game in a row and for the fifth time this season.
Bradley is currently averaging 13.4 points per game, which ranks second in the county behind only senior teammate Belle Gwyn (15.3 ppg).
Addie Brittain added 16 points for the Lady Cavaliers, who also received 15 from Frankie Gwyn. However, the Lady Panthers were led by 28 points from Aamori Patterson — who knocked down eight 3s — and 24 from Emilee Cook, who made five treys and 7 of 8 foul shots.
Cook played at Draughn as a freshman and sophomore, as did fellow Hibriten senior Zoe Rector, who finished with nine points on Tuesday while also grabbing five rebounds to tie Patterson for the team high.
The Lady Panthers shot 14-of-24 (58.3%) from 3-point range as a team, outscoring EB 42-15 from behind the arc. Nevertheless, the Lady Cavs led 8-4 in the first quarter before Hibriten used a 17-2 run to take control.
Hibriten led 24-17 after the opening period, 37-25 at the half, and 53-45 through three quarters on its way to a seven-point victory, although a triple and a driving layup from Bradley midway through the third briefly cut the deficit to three at 42-39 before Patterson nailed a straightaway 3.
A basket from Bradley and two free throws from Brittain later brought EB to within 50-45 before Cook hit a buzzer-beating 3 to extend the Lady Panthers’ advantage back to eight entering the final frame, which began with consecutive treys from Patterson and teammate McKenzie Collins. The hosts enjoyed a couple of 15-point leads from there, but the Lady Cavs were ultimately able to trim the margin down the stretch.
Johnson lifts Freedom to 3rd straight W
Senior Kobe Johnson scored a game-high 31 points and was 6 for 6 at the free-throw line in the final period, helping lift the Freedom boys (5-1) to their third straight win as they edged A.C. Reynolds 69-65 on Tuesday night and avoided more road woes in Asheville.
The Patriots’ lone loss so far came at T.C. Roberson.
Johnson also drained four 3-pointers and spread his contributions out, scoring at least six points in each period.
Freedom led 25-19 after one period and maintained the six-point cushion at halftime before the host Rockets tied the game entering the fourth quarter.
Johnson scored eight down the stretch and junior fellow starting wing Jaden Watkins scored all seven of his points in the final frame on three field goals and a free throw as the duo combined for 15 of FHS’ 21 points.
Junior King Johnson added 11 points for the Patriots in the victory.
The Lady Patriots (2-5) dropped a fourth consecutive contest in Tuesday’s varsity opener, losing 68-27. Freedom’s Cynica Caldwell returned after missing two games with an injury to score a team-high eight points, while Kaitlyn Hagmann added six and Ava Cooke had five.
Mary Green and Keke Smith co-led Reynolds with 15 points.
