Freedom boys cap NWC title run by beating McDowell

The Freedom boys basketball team capped its outright Northwestern 6A/7A Conference regular-season championship run with a 60-48 win over rival McDowell on Feb. 13 in Marion, building a 20-11 lead after the first quarter before the Titans trimmed the deficit to 34-28 at the half.

However, the Patriots outscored the hosts in each of the final two periods.

Senior Amare Williams (team-high 15 points) keyed the Patriots’ hot start with three first-period 3s, and he made four of his five total treys in the opening half. King Johnson (13 points) and Kobe Johnson (10 points; eight in second half) joined Williams in double figures as Freedom completed a sweep of the Titans.

The Patriots dominated the league this winter and had already sealed the NWC title, the program’s 24th all-time, three days prior with a road win over Alexander Central in just the 10th conference game out of 12 total.

The Freedom girls, meanwhile, suffered a 63-36 loss in Marion to open the evening’s varsity action, falling behind 14-9 after the first quarter before being outscored 18-5 in the second, 16-12 in the third, and 15-10 in the fourth.

Alayhia Bates was the only member of the Lady Patriots to reach double figures as she finished with 16 points, while fellow seniors Kaitlyn Hagmann added seven and Cynica Caldwell and Ava Cooke five apiece.

Lady Wildcats end 7-game skid against EB

Prior to last week, no current Draughn girls player had ever defeated East Burke.

The Lady Wildcats changed that with a 47-43 win in Western Piedmont 3A/4A Conference play on Feb. 13 in Icard, spoiling Senior Night for the Lady Cavaliers in the process despite playing for the fourth time in as many days.

The victory over EB was the first for Draughn since a 53-46 home triumph on Dec. 8, 2021, and it snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Lady Wildcats against their chief rivals.

It was also the best EB team that the Draughn girls program had ever defeated on the road. The Lady Wildcats’ only previous road win in the series came in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, and the Lady Cavs finished 4-9 that year.

“I really don’t know how to describe what that win meant,” said Draughn coach Liz Taylor, who played for the Lady Cavs for three years before playing at DHS as a senior during the school’s inaugural year in 2008-09.

“I’m just so excited for them to be able to do that because East Burke always has a really good program, so for us to be able to come in and get that win was just so big for our girls. They played probably their best game of the season so far.”

The Lady Wildcats trailed 19-11 after the opening quarter and 28-20 at the half. But after tying the contest at 32-all entering the fourth period, they made more plays than EB down the stretch as they ultimately earned a four-point victory.

“I think energy and communication on the floor played a really big role in that,” said Draughn senior Jacey Davis, who finished with a team-high 19 points. “We just came out in our defense and played really hard. I think we all wanted it and we worked together, so it was super exciting to be able to do that.”

“Four games in a week is tough,” added classmate Kenley Berry, who scored 10 points. “But everybody just showed up and showed what type of team we can be.”

The Lady Wildcats’ third senior, Taylor Holder, added eight points, as did sophomore Bailey Winkler. Additionally, junior Mati Kincaid completed the scoring for Draughn with two points.

On the other side, EB senior Belle Gwyn led all scorers with 20 points. Adding nine points was another 12th grader, Addie Brittain, while freshman Sarabeth Bradley finished with seven.

“We wanted it for us as a team, we wanted it for our community, and we came out and put it to the test,” said Holder of what pushed the Lady Wildcats over the top. “We ended up beating them because of hustle, and we wanted it more I feel like.

“I think we all played together and really showed if we just execute and play how we know we’re supposed to play; we can get the job done.”

Draughn previously earned a 56-26 road win over Patton on Feb. 12 thanks to 15 points from Davis, 12 from Berry, 11 from Holder, and six apiece from Winkler and Makenzie Powell. The Lady Wildcats were up 15-7 at the end of the first quarter, 32-8 at halftime, and 50-18 through three periods on their way to a comfortable victory.

The Lady Panthers were paced in defeat by 10 points from junior Mia Chapman.

And the Lady Wildcats also visited league unbeaten Hibriten on Monday for their fourth consecutive road game to end the regular season, falling by a 54-37 final despite getting 11 points from Davis, nine from Holder, and eight from Kincaid.

Draughn trailed 15-10 after the first quarter and 30-17 at the half, although they were able to get within eight points at 35-27 following a 3-pointer from Davis midway through the third period. Nonetheless, the Lady Panthers eventually pulled away for their 22nd win in a row since starting the season 1-1.

EB girls clinch No. 2 seed; Boys win 3 straight

The aforementioned Lady Cavs were also in action on Feb. 12 and again on Monday, collecting a 45-25 road win over West Caldwell last week before capping the regular season with a 44-24 home victory over R-S Central to secure the WPC 3A/4A’s No. 2 seed, one game ahead of Draughn despite the recent loss.

Against the Lady Warriors, EB led 7-3 after the opening period before extending its advantage to 15-9 at halftime and 26-17 through three quarters en route to a 20-point victory. The Lady Cavs’ leading scorer was Frankie Gwyn with 13 points, while Belle Gwyn and Bradley chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

Then in their most recent contest, the Lady Cavs also won by 20 after leading 13-3 at the end of the first quarter, 26-13 at the half, and 35-24 entering the final frame. Belle Gwyn registered 20 points against the Lady Hilltoppers, with Bradley adding 10 and Brittain scoring nine.

Meanwhile, the EB boys emerged victorious in each of their last three regular-season contests, edging West Caldwell, 54-52, on Feb. 12 in Gamewell before knocking off visiting Draughn by a 62-38 score on Feb. 13 and visiting R-S Central by a 56-44 final on Monday.

The Cavaliers led 14-11 after the first quarter and 26-21 at halftime on Feb. 12 before the Warriors rallied to carry a 35-34 advantage into the fourth period, although EB was ultimately able to pick up a hard-fought win in a game that saw junior Tyler Brown score 19 points to go with 13 from sophomore Lincoln Burns, 11 from junior Carter Bennett, and six from freshman Greyson Roberts.

EB also got 13 points from Bennett, 11 from Brown, 10 from Luke Demiter, and eight each from Burns and Rylan Bargsley against the Wildcats, who the Cavs outscored 12-2 in the first period, 15-8 in the second, and 22-11 in the third before winning by a 24-point final margin.

Draughn was led by 10 and nine points, respectively, from sophomores Henry Cooper and Cayden Lewis.

Demiter then paced the Cavs with 18 points on Monday, while Brown scored 13, Bennett had 11, and Burns added nine as the hosts turned a 28-27 halftime lead into a double-digit triumph.

Patton teams cap regular season on win streaks

The Lady Panthers bounced back from the loss to Draughn with road victories over Chase and West Caldwell, knocking off the Lady Trojans by a 52-37 score on Feb. 13 before defeating the Lady Warriors by a 41-31 final on Monday.

Junior Emma Rolland poured in a career-high 20 points in Patton’s win at Chase, draining two first-quarter 3-pointers and scoring 14 points by halftime as the guests opened a 30-11 advantage.

Hayden Hein added 13 points, and Chapman and Leah Clark added five apiece in the victory.

Patton then trailed 10-1 early on Monday in Gamewell to end the regular season but fought back to trim the deficit to 13-10 after one quarter and 22-20 by halftime. An extended 12-0 Patton scoring run spanning the halves swung the momentum in its favor for good as it won consecutive games for the first time since early December.

A season-high three Lady Panthers scored in double figures: Rolland (13), Chapman (11), and Hein (10).

The Patton boys won each of their final three regular-season games, beginning with a 74-60 home win over Draughn on Feb. 12. The Panthers followed that win with a 69-49 road victory over Chase and a 74-60 road win over West Caldwell.

Seniors Nathan Waters (22 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Brady Davis (22 points, seven rebounds, four steals) co-led Patton in scoring against Draughn in the Panthers’ final regular-season home game, while classmate Laine Barrier supplied a team-high seven assists plus six rebounds.

Cayden Lewis scored a game-high 29 points for the Wildcats, who led by two points at the half (30-28) and trailed by just four entering the final period.

Waters torched the Trojans the next night to the tune of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, with Kyle Taylor adding 20 points and five rebounds and Davis going for 13 points and six rebounds.

Patton then avenged a home loss to West, ending the first half on a 24-7 scoring run to lead 35-22 after trailing by as much as four following five early lead changes and three ties.

The Panthers led by at least seven throughout the second half, led by Taylor’s 24 points and seven assists. Waters scored 18 points, Olando Norman added 10, Barrier had eight points and four assists, and Davis went for five points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Draughn boys also recently fell at Hibriten by a 78-48 final in Monday’s regular-season finale, although the Wildcats did outscore the Panthers 18-11 in the fourth quarter after the mercy-rule running clock went into effect late in the third.

Lewis scored a game-high 20 points for the Wildcats, who also received 11 from Titus Dodd and seven from Noah Chrisco.

NCSSM-Morganton teams fall to league champs

Both NCSSM-Morganton teams dropped their regular-season finales on Feb. 13 against a pair of Queen’s Grant squads that both finished as unbeaten Catawba River 1A/2A/3A Conference champions.

The Dragons boys fell by a 66-32 score, trailing 30-3 after one period and 51-10 by the half. Chase Smith scored 15 points to pace six Queen’s Grant players with six or more points apiece.

The Lady Dragons lost, 70-15, trailing 27-5 after one quarter and 51-7 at halftime. Za’Miya Bynum led four Queen’s Grant players in double figures with 22 points. No NCSSM-M statistics were available from either contest.