MOCKSVILLE Davie
County wasnt exactly losing sleep over its shocking loss to South Rowan earlier in
the season.One thing was certain, though.
It wouldnt happen again.
The War Eagles thrilled a large Senior Night crowd
on Friday with a dominating 101-77 win over 4A Central Piedmont Conference rival South.
Those 101 points more than made amends for Davies 65-60 loss in Landis.
We didnt have to talk about
that, War Eagles head coach Jim Young said. We did say that their only win was
against us and not to let them have two on us.
Despite a strong first quarter that actually ended
with South leading 18-17, there was little threat of the Raiders (7-16 overall, 1-7 CPC)
sweeping the series. Davie (19-4, 4-4) shook off the slow start with an astonishing
35-point second quarter. Senior guard Dominic Graham led the way with 13 points, hitting
all three field-goal attempts and 5-of-6 free throws.
It was a good first quarter and bad second
and third quarters, South head coach Davis said. In the first quarter we came
out with a lot of intensity, but we picked up some fouls on key players and had to back
off the defensive intensity a little bit.
The Raiders gave up quickness on the perimeter and
size in the post, and Davie made them pay. Every drive to the basket seemingly netted a
foul call. Every post move by John Orsillo or George Lukic provided the same.
When halftime finally came, putting an end to the
brilliant second quarter, the War Eagles were an amazing 18-for-24 from the foul line.
South stood 4-for-7 at the half.
That was the difference in the game. We had
officials calling the hacks and slaps, the way it should be called, Young said.
We took them out of their game because they had guys in foul trouble.
South could forget any kind of rally. Orsillo,
Marcus Lassiter and Graham scored the first six points of the third quarter. Graham
connected on another 3-pointer and star guard Duane Phillips managed to get some points in
as well, hitting a layup to extend the lead to 68-42.
Graham ended the third quarter, and the game, with
26 points.
Hes been one of the biggest surprises
this year with his improvement, Young said. He went home last summer as just
an average ballplayer. Its just from hard work on his own.
South ended the quarter with four players on the
bench with four fouls and a 75-54 deficit.
Life didnt get any better when Graham cooled
off, because then it was George Lukics turn to shine. The 6-foot-7 magician in the
low post rattled off six quick points, and things were going so well for Davie that Lukic
found himself behind the 3-point stripe, decided to go for it and rattled in a triple.
He sat down with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six
blocks, while Orsillo, also 6-7, had 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Davies other guard, Phillips, tallied a quiet 18 points.
When you look at the guard combo they have
and the combination they have inside, theyre a lethal basketball team, Davis
said.
Deadly, yet entertaining. The fans screamed as
every basket by the reserves pushed Davie closer to the 100 mark, and Sean Stevens got his
team there with a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.
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NOTES: Souths Doug Daugherty recorded a
career high with 26 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter on three 3s. Point guard
Drew King made several nice shots to finish with 12 points, while Damien Argrett finished
with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Argrett was one of Souths players in foul
trouble, picking up his second on what he thought was a bad call and his third a
technical when he let the ref know about it.
SOUTH ROWAN (77) King 12, Childers,
Daugherty 26, Kennedy 4, Torrence 7, Girty 6, Faggart 4, Miller, Argrett 18.
DAVIE COUNTY (101) Lassiter 4, Graham 26,
R. Tenor 2, Lynch, T. Tenor 2, Phillips 18, Stevens 14, Gustafson 2, Orsillo 10, Peacock
4, Lukic 19.
South Rowan 18 20 16 23 77
Davie County 17 35 23 26 101