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MOCKSVILLE — South Rowan boys coach John Davis and Davie County coach Jim
Young had similar ringside seats Monday night for Davie’s 74-68 win over the
Raiders. But the coaches saw two completely different spectacles. It was like
they had gone down to the same multiplex cinema, but one had taken in “Water
Boy,” while the other had checked out “Gone With the Wind.”
It’s all about perceptions. Both
coaches agreed the game was huge. After that, opinions differed.
Young saw a lethargic struggle that
both teams finally got serious about winning in the fourth quarter. “For a
while, it was like watching your sisters kiss,” is how Young, never at a loss
for a colorful metaphor, described it. Young says Davie simply jacked up its
defensive pressure down the stretch and that’s what it enabled it score the
final 11 points.
Davis, on the other hand saw an
intense battle from the opening tip. “People who paid their $4 got their money’s
worth,” is how he put it. Davis saw a game between two hungry teams, both
desperate for their first 4A Central Piedmont Conference victory — a win that
would keep alive one team’s hopes for a postseason berth.
Davis is also convinced he saw Davie’s
hunger sated by a home-cooked meal. Davis, rarely complains about the fellows in
the striped shirts. Last night, he was beyond livid. Where Young saw tenacious
defense, Davis saw a blatant foul. Where Young saw a tough kid drawing a charge
when Sean Stevens stepped in front of South’s Marcus Rucker in the fourth
quarter, Davis saw a flop.
Davis says the decisive moment in
the game came with the score tied at 68 and 49 seconds left. South guard Tore’
Girty was bringing the ball up against Davie pressure. There was contact on the
sideline in front of the Davie bench. Girty, a muscular football running back,
went down hard as if he’d been tackled by Davie’s All-State linebacker
Patrick Lowery. The ball squirted away. Davie ball.
“My guy got bodied,” said Davis.
“The ref said you have to expect a little body contact. That’s not body
contact, that’s a foul. We’ve got the ball with under 50 (seconds left) and
we’re either going to take the last shot or they’re going to have to put us
on the foul line. Should we still have gotten some defensive stops? Sure. Did
Davie make some tough shots? Yeah, they did. But that call — that was the
turning point.”
South actually led 68-63 with 90
seconds to go after Girty found Scott Beck for a layup.
But Davie’s next possession was
amazing. Young ordered a series of screens for Stevens, who must have sprinted a
mile trying to get open. Finally, Stevens, who scored 29, got a look from the
deep right corner. With South’s defensive stopper Ricky Childers almost in his
jersey, Stevens made the shot. He didn’t see it, but he heard the net swish as
he fell into the crowd.
“Sean’s one of those kids who
wants that shot win or lose,” said Young. “When a kid’s tough enough to
want to take that shot, well, you give it to him.”
Now it was 68-66 with under a
minute. South turned it over. Davie found Stevens again. This time, Childers
fouled him on a 3-point try. Stevens made two of three free ones to tie the game
at 68 with 52 seconds left.
Three seconds later, Davie got the
ball back on that disputed Girty turnover and 35 seconds after that, Ed Zajmovic
drew a foul. Zajmovic made his first free throw for a 69-68 lead. He missed the
second, but Rod Tenor soared and tipped the ball back out to Stevens and the War
Eagles maintained possession. With 11 seconds left, South had to foul Stevens
and he calmly made two for a 71-68 lead.
South needed a 3 and set it up
during a timeout. The ball went to Beck on the left wing, and for an instant, he
was open. But Davie guard Jason Hogue rose in the air like a bird of prey to
smack the lefty’s shot into the crazed crowd.
“Dangerous,” said Young. “You
don’t go for the block in that situation. Fortunately, it was so clean.”
It was clean. No one disputed that
one.
South (9-10, 0-4) still had the
ball on the side with 4.4 seconds left, but Matt Biles’ inbounds pass
handcuffed Doug Daugherty, who was closely guarded by Scottie “Pasta”
Crump. The ball agonizingly trickled out of bounds off Daugherty’s back and
shoulder and Davie (14-5, 1-3) had pulled one out that will be discussed around
water coolers for months.
Young said if he’d lost, it would
have been time to start preparing for next season. Now, he still has an outside
shot to finish third (the CPC gets three playoff spots). To get there, Davie
must beat West Forsyth, Mount Tabor and South the second time around the league,
because no one’s going to beat R.J. Reynolds. It definitely promises to be a
fun-filled night when the War Eagles visit Landis to close the regular season,
especially if Davie is still in the hunt.
That’s the one thing everyone
agrees on.
n
NOTES: Daugherty had a tough
shooting night, but scored 21. ... Rucker, who Young compared to Carlos Dixon,
poured in 20 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and made it impossible for Davie to
finish in the lane. ... South played without Maurice Torrence, who averages 15.8
ppg, for reasons Davis preferred not to discuss. ... Marquette Diggs, who starts
at times, sat out because of an altercation late in Thursday’s win at
Northwest Cabarrus. ... Beck returned after missing four games with a torn MCL
and scored 12. ... Davie rained in 11 3s, seven by Stevens.
SOUTHROWAN (68) — Daugherty 21,
Rucker 20, Beck 12, Girty 6, Patterson 4, Kennedy 3, Hornbeak 2, Childers,
G.Propst, Mack, Biles.
DAVIECOUNTY (74) — Stevens 29,
Zajmovic 16, Crump 15, Tenor 5, Sullivan 5, Hogue 4, Stein, N. Propst, Rice,
Jankovic, Britton.
South Rowan 20 14 14 20 — 68
Davie County 17 18 15 24 — 74
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