 |
| ||||||||
• 
Photo Gallery
Text Size 
• Printer Friendly
Photo Gallery
Text Size • Printer Friendly
Monday, February 11, 2013 11:26 PM Nash Central ends Fike season ends in Big East quarters By Jimmy Lewis | Staff Writer On an annual basis, the dawn of conference tournaments provide a small window of opportunity for high school basketball teams to make amends for dismal seasons or improve their postseason positioning. It didn’t take long for that window to slam shut on the Fike High boys Monday evening. The Golden Demons scored the first two points of the contest, only to see Nash Central respond with a 14-0 run on the way to a brisk 63-43 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2013 3-A Big East Conference tournament at Hunt High. Fike, the No. 6 seed, fell to Nash Central for the third time in as many meetings and concluded its season with a 4-17 record. The No. 3-seeded Bulldogs improve to 12-8 and await a matchup with defending N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A champion and No. 2 seed Rocky Mount in Wednesday’s semifinals at Hunt. "You dig that hole, and you’ve got to fight back out of it and we’re not a good enough offensive team to dig that big of a hole,” Fike head coach Brent Secrest said. "I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I thought the guys played hard and they’ve played hard all year. They will continue to play hard and they didn’t give up.” Sophomore guard Anthony Evans knocked down a jumper to give the Demons a brief 2-0 lead, but that advantage was quickly lost when Nash Central senior Nathaniel Pittman glided in for a layup to knot the score. It was the beginning of a 16-1 spurt for Nash Central, which served as the home team. The Bulldogs feasted on Fike turnovers and prevailed in transition offense. Nathaniel Pittman hurt the Demons in particular, slashing and dishing his way to 22 points and nine rebounds. Twin brother, Daniel, had eight points and four rebounds for a lengthy and athletic Nash Central squad. "He’s very athletic,” Secrest said of Nathaniel Pittman. "He’s got a nose for the basketball and does a great job of rebounding without going over your back and doing offensive rebounding. That’s just been our nemesis all year. We’ve had a tough time rebounding and we’re going to have to work on that.” Fike, undersized at nearly every position, was outrebounded by a 42-32 margin. "I’m going to be happy we did rebound a little bit better today,” Nash Central head coach Renny Taylor mused. "I just wish I was confident that we would rebound the next game as well! But I am happy that we did rebound well. The big difference was a lot of second-effort shots, so I was real happy about that.” Senior Brandon Gray led the Demons with 10 points and nine rebounds. Seven of Gray’s retrievals came in the second half as the Demons trailed 30-17 at intermission. "This is my last game in a Fike uniform, so I tried to put on a show a little bit,” Gray reviewed. "But basketball is a team sport, so everybody has to go 100 (percent). The effort kind of dropped a little bit in the second half, but all through the year we did play as a team. But you’ve got to do it all the time so you can put all the pieces together so you can win.” Fike closed to within 12 early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from freshman A.J. Hines. However, Nathaniel Pittman quickly countered, knocking down a trey to push the Nash Central lead to 35-20. Demons sophomore Trevon Virgil finished with six points, all in the first half. He did not collect a rebound. The lead reached 43-22 in the third on Daniel Pittman’s steal and layup, prompting Secrest to shuffle his second unit once more back into the game. Nash Central’s biggest lead of 62-36 came on a fourth quarter Jaquan Wilkins jumper. Fike careers ended for Malcolm Johnson, Sam Ellis, Gray and Rashad Spruill. "It’s been a great experience,” Gray assured. "I really had fun. I’m glad I played football to get strong so I could be able to play basketball more aggressive. That really helped out but overall, I think I had fun and had fun with all the guys playing.” jlewis@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807 
|
| Add Comment: | |  | | (All comments must be approved) |
| View Comments: | | | | (0 comments) |
| Most Popular | From the past 7 days |
 |
 |
 |
| Police probe bomb threat, tombstone | |
| Girl, 10, dies in accidental shooting | |
| Water balloons lead to shooting, crash | |
| Deputies: Woman poisoned family's cheese | |
| Parents sound off on principal shuffle |
| News | Sports | Life | Opinion | Obituaries | Photos | Videos | Contact | Classifieds | Special Sections | Public Notices | Advertise |
 |
|
|