By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
MOCKSVILLE — Davie’s boys led by 21 points in the third quarter on Tuesday, but there was freshman Caleb Martin, diving on the floor for a loose ball as if the War Eagles were trailing.
“That’s what we work on all the time in practice,” Martin said. “The hustle plays are more important to our coaches than the fancy ones.”
Davie made all the hustle plays — plus a few fancy ones — in wiping out North Davidson 83-52 for a CPC win.
The fanciest was a touch pass that Cody Martin, Caleb’s twin brother, flicked to dunking machine Shannon Dillard for a fastbreak throw-down in the second quarter. That play really got the crowd into it and ignited a decisive run.
Dillard scored 21 points, Nate Jones had 20, and Cody Martin had 18.
Bryce Williams, North Davidson’s 6-foot-6 post man, scored 26 before fouling out late, but he was a solo act except for the third quarter when B.J. Smith scored nine of his 12 in a flurry.
“We thought Williams and Dillard would neutralize each other unless one got in foul trouble, and that’s what happened,” North Davidson coach Kevin King said.
However, the Black Knights (8-7, 0-4) had no one to cancel out Jones and Cody Martin.
Davie (14-3, 3-2) won more easily than anyone dreamed. Last Friday, North Davidson led Mount Tabor at halftime, and Mount Tabor is the only team that has won on Davie’s raucous home floor.
“Looking at scores, we expected a dogfight,” Davie coach Mike Absher said. “It was hectic. We did a good job to keep our composure.”
Davie needed a pair of 3s by Jones to lead 16-13 after a quarter, and the War Eagles’ edge was just 23-19 after Williams scored in the paint with 3:35 left in the half.
Thirty seconds later, Dillard hammered his dunk, and Davie finished the half on a 13-2 spree to take charge.
“Jones started getting open, and that’s the guy you have to account for all the time,” King said. “He got to the rim, made shots. He was the best player on the floor.”
Cody Martin was also instrumental in the second-quarter run, clearing the boards and scoring seven points, including a slicing drive for Davie’s first double-digit lead at 29-19.
“When we really started running the floor, they got a little tired and couldn’t hang with us,” Caleb Martin said.
It was 36-21 at halftime, and the Black Knights’ Jerry Houpe, an impressive athlete, picked up a technical foul out of frustration as the exasperated Knights made their way to the locker room.
“We had a block/charge go against us, and you have to let a call go and move on,” King said. “But kids are kids. We had a hard time moving on and that one play probably cost us six or eight points.”
The second half opened with Jones at the foul line shooting technicals, and it didn’t get any better from there for the Black Knights.
When Houpe banged an aggressive dunk try off the rim to make the Knights 0-for-4 on slam attempts, Jones immediately drilled a long 3, the crowd went crazy, and the rout was on in earnest.
“We hadn’t played at home since Jan. 7, so I was really pleased to defend the way that we did and to score 83 points,” Absher said. “We’re 3-2 in the league now, and the goals we set are still attainable.”
NORTH DAVIDSON (52)— Williams 26, Smith 12, Houpe 7, Brunson 4, Mitchell 3, Shouse, Campbell, Hicks, Canovai.
DAVIE (83) — Dillard 21, Jones 20, Co. Martin 18, Ca. Martin 6, R. Martin 4, Simmons 4, Miller 3, Tatum 3, Whaley 2, Redmon 2, Absher.
N. Davidson 13 8 19 12 — 52
Davie 16 20 26 21 — 83