Varsity Men

February 14, 2102

Knights Season Ends

By: Jim Skotthy

“Let them play…Let them play…Let them play”. It was a line from the second “Bad News Bears” movie. The team had a 3 inning exhibition game in the Astrodome, and time was running out before the game was complete. The MLB players and fans chanted that to let the kids finish the game, but last night, that chant should have been used big time. I did some research on most fouls called in a high school game, and could not come up with the number, but I did find a most fouls called in a college game. This may not be the all time record, but in 1990 Seton Hall and Villanova were called for a combined 58 fouls in 1990, twenty-two years ago!!! THAT record was shattered last night in the Knights loss to Reagan in the quarter-finals of the CPC championship week. A total of 64 fouls were called in the game..amazing!

In high school, you play 32 minutes, in college you play 40 minutes, something is wrong here! With 64 fouls, that “averages” to one foul every 30 seconds. More fouls were called than Reagan scored and to be honest, I watched the first game between RJR and West Forsyth, and the whistle was blown just as much and as many kids fouled out of that game as with ours.

But..the whistles were not the reason we lost. We had chances in the first quarter, with barely half the first quarter complete, we were already on the line. Problem was..we didn’t connect with our free throws, a problem that would plague us all night.

The Black Knights came out of the gate fast, and took an immediate lead. With 6:13 left in the first, Reagan was still trying to figure out what the Knights were up to, because they were behind 4-2. Not that the score was anything special, but the Raiders were not connecting on their shots, and the Knights were getting rebounds and playing with confidence. With 6:13 to go, the Reagan coach had seen enough of the “fouls”, and blew up…enough for a technical. Brandon Easter hit both shots to make it 6-2. With 5:16 left in the FIRST, less than half a quarter gone, Charles Brunson was on the line for a 1 and 1. He knocked them both down, 8-4 Knights, and the Reagan supporters were already uneasy. Reagan took the lead with 3:00 left, 9-8 and increased the score to 11-8. Eli Moore got a bucket with 2:09 to go and was fouled with 31.6 left. He tied the score at 11, but with 4.4 seconds left, Moore fouled, the basket was good, but the extra shot wasn’t. 13-11 to end the first.

In the second quarter, Reagan got a quick basket, then Ashton Phillips connect to make it 15-13. He was fouled with 5:53 to go in the half and made both to keep the score within two, 17-15. Two and a half minutes were left when Brandon Easter was fouled, he hit both to make the score 22-19. Forty- four second were on the clock when Bronson Canovai went to the line to hit one of two shots, the score was 25-20. Two more North fouls in the remaining seconds resulted in two more points and at the half it was 27-20. Thirty one fouls were called in the first half, and while a lot of those were on Reagan, the Knights could not take advantage. It would come back to bite them in the second half.

What I didn’t write, was the missed foul shots in the half, probably enough to give the Knights the lead at the half. When given the opportunity, you strike. We didn’t.

Chase Mitchell came out in the third to hit a three to bring the Knights to within four, 27-23. He hit another with 4:44 to go to make it 32-26. With 1:13 to go in the quarter it was Reagan 41, the Knights 32 and the game was slipping away. With 47.4 seconds to go, Ashton Phillips drove to the hoop, got caught up in traffic and heaved a shot as he crashed to the floor. It went through and he was fouled. His extra shot didn’t go through, so the score was 41-34. With seconds left in the quarter, Charles Brunson went the length of the floor, and at the buzzer laid one up that went through. 44-36. The Knights were still in the game.

6:49 was left in the game, with the score 46-38, Ashton Phillips hit a three to make it 46-41. Between then and the 5:26 mark, Charles Brunson was fouled three times, and made all his shots, it was 49-45, Reagan. At the 3:26 mark, Shy Tuttle got his fifth foul, and then a technical for saying something to the ref on his way off the court. Reagan hit all four shots, the two tech shots, and the foul shots and they got the ball. 53-45 Reagan. Eli Moore was fouled with 3:10 to go on his shot, which went through, his extra point was good to make it 54-48. but at that point, the Knights had to foul. Reagan made most of it making 8 points. The final was 62-51.The Knights had 2 players to foul out of the game, same as Reagan. Same as a matter of fact as the earlier game, 2 players each from RJR and West Forsyth were sent to the bench.

Congratulations to the Knights for a fine season, and although it wasn’t the record we had hoped for, there is promise in coming years.

This game was the end of the high school careers for our departing seniors, Charles Brunson, Bronson Canovai, Thomas Howard, and Logan Shouse. We wish them well in the future and once again thank them for being Black Knights. They will always have a home here in Welcome. We will see you again in November of next year, for a new season of Black Knight Basketball! GO BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-10

Ashton Phillips-9

Chase Mitchell-8

Bronson Canovai-5

Eli Moore-9

Brandon Easter-4

Shy Tuttle-6

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February 11, 2012

Black Knights Lose Big to Davie County

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights faced off against Davie County last night in hopes of repeating their win against them at home. It was not to be, as Davie wanted revenge on their senior night and won big..90-63.

The word “Dunk” cannot be used too many times on this night, as Davie came out with foam coming out of their mouths. With 3:48 to go in the first, it was already Davie 14, North 6. Shy Tuttle had 4 of the North points, and Brandon Easter accounted for the other two. With 2:57 to go in the first, Tuttle was fouled during his shot, which was good. His extra point was good as well and the score was 16-8. Davie hit a three at 2:44, but Charles Brunson knocked down a three on the next possession, quickly followed by an Easter three. With 1:59 to go, Davie led 19-14. Davie got the next and only points in the quarter to finish at 23-14.

To open the second, Ashton Phillips was fouled on a three point attempt. He made 2 of his 3 shots to make it 23-16. Davie got the next four points and then Eli Moore got a shot with 6:42 to go to make it 27-18. Dunks were the name of the game for Davie on this night and with 5:36 left, they got their third big dunk to make it 29-18. It was just one of seven dunks on the night for the War Eagles. With 3:53 left in the half, Chase Mitchell hit a three to make it 34-23. He hit another three with 2:34 to go, followed by an Easter three at the 1:19 mark. It was 36-32. Logan Shouse got a basket with fifty three seconds left to make the score 38-34, but with sixteen seconds left, Davie hit a bucket to make the half 40-34.

Chase Mitchell got a three in the third with 7:23 to go to make it 44-37.  A couple of dunks later, it was 53-39 in favor of Davie. Boyce Wooten got a bucket with 4:38 left..53-41. The rest of the quarter was in control by Davie, and they put the Knights down big at the end…64-46.

The fourth quarter was no better than the third, Davie kept the pressure up, and the Knights had no answer. Davie outscored us 26-17 in the final quarter. With about 2 minutes to go, Coach King made substitutions, and in that two minutes, Jack O’Neal hit a very long three to make the score 86-63. Not enough for the Knights, but he had the last points for the Knights on this night. The final was 90-63.

It has been a learning season to say the least, and the Knights will be the sixth seed in the conference tournament starting on Monday at Reagan High School. We will face Reagan in the first round on Monday at 7:30 in Pfafftown. Come OUT and support the Black Knights!!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-7

Ashton Phillips-5

Chase Mitchell-9

Eli Moore-5

Brandon Easter-20

Jack O’Neal-3

Shy Tuttle-10

Logan Shouse-2

Boyce Wooten-2

FINAL MEN’S CPC STANDINGS

1. Mt. Tabor
2. Davie County
3. Reagan
4. West Forsyth
5. RJ Reynolds
6. North Davidson

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Men’s CPC Tournament Bracket

All Games Played at Reagan High School

Monday 6PM

RJ Reynolds (5) vs West Forsyth (4)

Monday 7:30PM

North Davidson (6) vs Reagan (3)

Wednesday 6PM

West Forsyth/Reynolds winner vs Mt. Tabor (1)

Wednesday 7:30PM

ND/Reagan winner vs Davie (2)

Friday 7:30PM

Men’s Championship Game

February 8, 2012

Tabor Defeats Knights on Senior Knight

By: Jim Skotthy

On the evening our Black Knight Seniors played their final home game of their careers, we welcomed first place Mt. Tabor to Welcome, and despite losing 60-45, the place was rocking for the entire game, and especially in the first half! CURSES, we say to the scheduling gods, but we play the hand we’re dealt, and the Knights put a scare into Mt. Tabor for close to 20 minutes.

Tabor came out with a 10-2 lead 2:30 into the game. The two points for the Knights were by Charles Brunson, just 30 seconds into the contest. With 5:35 to go, Chase Mitchell cut the lead to 5 with a three pointer. Tabor increased the lead to 13-5 with 4:19 left, but Shy Tuttle scored to make it 13-7. After another Tabor basket, Tuttle connected again to make it 15-9. North had 2 fouls on shots by Mitchell and Brandon Easter to make the score 18-9 with 2:21 left. Tabor scored again and it was 21-9, and it was not looking good for the Knights, until 1:06 left. Eli Moore went up for a shot, it went through and he was fouled. He hit his free throw, and the first period score was 21-12.

Tuttle had consecutive baskets to open the second quarter and with 7:01 to go, it was 21-16. Mitchell then had consecutive baskets, and North had the lead 22-21 with 4:01 left. Mt. Tabor retook the lead23-22 at the 3:44 mark. Boyce Wooten was fouled with 1:58 to go and he hit one of two shots to tie it up at 23. With 43.7 seconds left, Tabor scored, 25-23. Brandon Easter connected on a three pointer with 30.6 seconds to make it 26-25 in favor of North. The Knights played a zone defense, which seemed to frustrate Mt. Tabor in the half. In addition, the Knights were able to get rebounds, and have nice transitions and went inside for two points many times, instead of relying on the three. Tabor didn’t know what to do and for the last 30 seconds of the half, they held the ball outside of the zone, hoping, praying for the Knights to make a mistake. It didn’t happen, and with just a second left on the clock, they shot a long three…no good. The Knights went into the locker room with a one point lead and as they left the court, the crowd sent them off in style…it was LOUD. In the second quarter, the Knights outscored Tabor 13-5, a very impressive quarter indeed!

Mt. Tabor isn’t in first place for nothing however, and in the last two quarters, they outscored us 17-10 and 17-10. They came out scoring first in the third to make it 27-26. Charles Brunson put the Knights back into the lead 28-27 with 7:05 left. Logan Shouse fouled on a shot, but Tabor was only able to make one of two so the score was tied again. 28 each with 6:54 to go. Mt. Tabor was clearly rattled and it showed with 6:25 left. They were called for a technical foul on some rough play. Chase Mitchell went to the line and connected on both shots to make it 30-28. Two minutes elapsed with no scoring and with 4:34 remaining in the third, Shouse committed a foul. Mt. Tabor go one of two so the score was 30-29, with the Knights still in the lead. There was 4:13 left when Shy Tuttle was fouled. He made one of two to make the score 31-29 and unfortunately, that was the last the Knights would see of the lead. Tabor connected with 3:57 to go in the third to give them a one point lead, 32-31. It was 38-31, Mt. Tabor with 1:24 left before Tuttle hit a shot to make it 38-33. Fifty two seconds were left on the clock when Charles Brunson was fouled. He nailed both and the score at that point was 40-35. Tabor tried to slow the clock again to get the Knights to come out of the zone, but this time, the three pointer they shot went in with 1.2 seconds left. The quarter ended with the score 43-35.

The fourth began with Tuttle hitting a shot to make it 45-37. Mitchell was fouled at the 5:28 mark, he made one of two and it was 45-38. Thomas Howard got a bucket with 4:05 to go, and the Knights were within six, 46-40. Too close for comfort for Tabor and they took a time out. They came out of the timeout with a basket, 48-40. Eli Moore fouled with 2;50 left in the game and Mt. Tabor made the first shot. The missed the second shot, but got the rebound and put it into the basket, it was 51-40. Moore got a nice shot off with 2:14 left, 53-42. North had to foul, and Tabor made a majority of the baskets. Charles Brunson was fouled with 1:31 left and with 1:05 left to account for the last of the Knights points. The final was 60-45.

The Knights are now 8-14 on the year, 2-7 in the conference with one game left at Davie County on Friday night. Make the trip and cheer on the Knights in their final regular season game of the year!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-9

Chase Mitchell-12

Eli Moore-5

Thomas Howard-2

Brandon Easter-3

Shy Tuttle-13

Boyce Wooten-1

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February 4, 2012

Black Knights Thrash West Forsyth

By: Jim Skotthy

Our Black Knights went to Clemmons to take on the West Forsyth Titans last night, and despite shoes purchased by Chris Paul for the Titans, they had no answer as the Knights took care of business and exacted revenge for an OT loss to West earlier in the season. The final was a convincing 55-45 win.

Earlier in the day I ran into one of our big guys, Brandon Easter while helping to deliver part of the pre-game meal. (Thanks to all the parents, by the way for helping to get meals delivered) I asked Easter if he was always so quiet, and in typical fashion, he just smiled. Little did I know the impact he would have that evening. More on that later.

North jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but West answered after a North foul. The basket and free shot were both good, and West led 3-2. Charles Brunson put the Knights back in the lead 4-3 with 6:08 to go in the first. Chase Mitchell stretched the lead to 7-3 with his trademark three pointer with 5:17 left. West Forsyth took an 8-7 lead with 2:44 remaining. Brunson was fouled on an attempted shot with 1:40 to go. He made both free throws and the Knights had a one point lead, 9-8. Thomas Howard finished up the first quarter scoring for the Knights with a shot that gave the Knights a 12-11 lead at the end of one.

West Forsyth started the second quarter with a quick three pointer, to take the lead, but Bronson Canovai got the Knights to within one point on the next possession. Ashton Phillips hit a shot with 7:09 left in the half to give the Knights the lead once again, 15-14. West tied it up at 15, after hitting one of two free throws with 4:50 to go, but Canovai put the Knights back up 17-15 with 4:36 remaining. Thomas Howard was fouled at the 3:41 mark, he hit one of two and it was 18-15. Canovai hit one of two foul shots with 2:08 left and it was 19-15. With forty seconds to go in the half, West tied it up at 19 a piece, but North went into the locker room with a 20-19 lead, after Chase Mitchell was fouled. He hit one of two to make the score at the half, 20-19.

It was senior night for the Titans and the half featured their tribute to their departing students and there were A LOT of them, from the cheerleaders, to the dance team to both the women and men’s basketball teams. By my count, the men’s team alone will lose close to half their roster. None bigger than Alex McAlister, their BMOC, who recently signed to play football at the University of Florida. He ends up playing a major part in the Brandon Easter story. In the OT loss against West, McAlister was the go to guy in the second half, due to his size. He ended up keeping the Titans in that game, eventually forcing the overtime, and in the second half last night, you could tell West was going to try to do the same thing, but on this night it didn’t work!

In the third quarter, West Forsyth took a five point lead with 6:23 remaining and for a time, it looked like the Knights were going to let it slip away. Easter got the Knights back on track with a basket with 5:38 left to make it 25-22 West. Charles Brunson was fouled with 5:10 left, his basket was good, as was his extra shot. 25 all. Ashton Phillips put up a three pointer with 3:15 left to give the Knights a 28-27 lead. Both team traded fouls and with 1:14 to go, West had a 31-30 lead until Shy Tuttle scored with 58.5 seconds left and at the end of three quarters, the Knights clung to a 32-31 lead.

Then came the fourth quarter where the Knights exploded for 23 points! Brandon Easter scored first in the fourth to give the Knights a 34-31 lead. Chase Mitchell connected with 6:49 left to make it 36-33 good guys. With 6:16 remaining in the game North had a turnover, but what was interesting was that Easter was talking “junk”. As I told you earlier in the article, Easter is a kind of quiet fellow. Watch him on the floor, if he fouls, he goes about his business, makes a great shot, same thing. If he is fouled, he goes to the line. No smack, just all business. I found out after the game that West’s BMOC, McAlister was trying to get into Easter’s head all game with a bunch of talk. To this point, it didn’t appear to bother him, but you know what they say…poke a bear enough times….this will come into play again.

With 4:33 to go in the game West Forsyth had a 37-36 lead, but on the next possession, Charles Brunson was fouled. He made both shots to give the Knights a one point lead 38-37. West took the lead again with 3:57 to go, 39-38. On the next possession, Brunson was fouled on his shot. It went through the basket, and so did the extra point. 41-39 North. West tied it up again at 41 with 2:40 left, then Bronson Canovai nailed a three to make it 44-41. Remember I told you how McAlister was talking junk to Easter all game? Well it came back to bite him in the behind, as he was called for the technical foul on Easter. He calmly walked the length of the floor to the line, and promptly dropped both shots. 46-41 North. The bear was poked, and the bear got the better of the one who poked! With 1:17 to go, Mitchell was fouled. He hit one of two to give the Knights a 47-41 lead. West could only muster one more basket and was forced to continually foul. Charles Brunson, Chase Mitchell and Thomas Howard were all fouled in the final seconds and they dropped enough through the net to secure a 55-45 win for the Knights. Charles Brunson led the team with 14 points, and Chase Mitchell added 11. I said at the beginning of the article that it was a convincing win. It was, because this was a complete game for the Black Knights. They played smart throughout the game, and didn't panic. Most importantly, they made their shots as time wound down. THAT makes it a convincing win! The Knights are now 8-13 overall, and 2-6 in the conference. They will be back home for their final home game on Tuesday evening for senior night against Mt. Tabor. Make sure you come out in force and support the BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-14

Ashton Phillips-5

Chase Mitchell-11

Bronson Canovai-8

Thomas Howard-5

Brandon Easter-8

Shy Tuttle-4

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January 30, 2012

Knights Fall to RJR 71-53

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights took on the Demons from RJ Reynolds Tuesday evening and fell 71-53. Reynolds got the first points, but Charles Brunson quickly put the Knights in the lead after he was fouled. The extra point was good and North led 3-2. It was a shaky start for both teams, with numerous turnovers. Thomas Howard tied it up at 5 a piece with 4:04 left in the first. Reynolds had a 7-5 lead until Boyce Wooten tied it again with a nice shot. Brandon Easter tied the game again at 10 all with a three pointer with 34.6 seconds remaining, but Reynolds got another basket before time expired to lead 12-10 after one.

To start the second quarter, both Bronson Canovai and Charles Brunson were fouled. They each hit one of two shots and the score was tied once again, 12 each. Reynolds got a basket on the next possession and on the following North possession, Shy Tuttle was fouled. Hitting one of two shots, the score was 14-14. After a North foul and conversion by Reynolds, Brandon Easter was fouled. He made both his free throws and the score was now 16-15. Logan Shouse hit a basket with 4:23 to go in the half to keep North a point down, 18-17. Reynolds nailed a three pointer with 4:07 left and on the following possession, Shouse was fouled again. He hit both shots to make it 21-19. Reynolds had a 22-19 lead when Eli Moore connected to bring the Knights within one point, 22-21. Reynolds then went on a 7-2 run to finish the half. The Knights were down six, 29-23.

After a quick two points by Reynolds to open the 3^rd  quarter, Shy Tuttle got a shot to make the score 31-25. A minute later, he hit another shot and it was 32-27. Thomas Howard nailed a three with 6:07 remaining to pull the Knights to within four, 34-30. With 5:18 to go, Charles Brunson was fouled, he missed his shots, but North got the rebound, and Brandon Easter was fouled on his attempt. He made both and the Knights were only two down, 34-32. At this point, the student section got loud, and led the fans in cheers. Unfortunately, Reynolds went on an 11-0 run and with 3:10 left in the third it was 44-32. Easter was fouled with 2:34 left and hit his shots to put the Knights down by 10 at 44-34. Boyce Wooten connected with 1:52 to go to keep the Knights within ten, 46-36. With 1:09 left, Reynolds led 50-36. Just over three seconds remained when Charles Brunson stole the ball, went the length of the floor and got a layup at the buzzer. At the end of three, the score was 50-38.

Six minutes and eights seconds were left in the game, and Reynolds had a comfortable 58-39 lead. With 6:00 left, Chase Mitchell hit a three to make the score 58-42. 4:29 remained when Easter was fouled during his shot. The basket counted, and so did his free throw. The score was 64-45. Thomas Howard added another two with 4:11 to go to make it 64-47. Brunson and Easter hit back to back buckets and with 3:02 left, the Knights trailed 69-51. Bronson Canovai was fouled with 2:04 to go and made his free throws. The score was 69-53. At that point, Coach King emptied the bench but despite the best efforts of the Knights, the final score was 71-53. The Knights are now 7-13 overall and 1-6 in the CPC. The Knights travel to Clemmons on Friday to meet West Forsyth, before returning to Pete Jones Gym for their final home game of the year on Tuesday of next week. It will be Senior night, so make sure you come out to show your appreciation for our departing seniors.

Scoring

Charles Brunson-9

Chase Mitchell-4

Bronson Canovai-3

Eli Moore-4

Thomas Howard-7

Brandon Easter-11

Shy Tuttle-7

Logan Shouse-4

Boyce Wooten-4

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January 28, 2012

Black Knights Stumble Against Reagan

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights faced off against the Reagan Raiders Friday night in Pfafftown and came away with a loss, 56-46. Reagan opened up with a five point lead, before Chase Mitchell knocked down a three with 5:59 left in the first. Thomas Howard hit a shot to make it 8-5 with 5:07 to go. It was 11-5, Reagan when Mitchell hit another three to make it 11-8. Mitchell has come out on fire in the last three games with his long range game. Charles Brunson added another two points with 1:00 left, but at the end of the first quarter, it was 18-10, Reagan.

In the second quarter, Reagan stretched the lead to 23-10, before Brunson was fouled with 5:42 left in the quarter. He hit both free throws to make it 23-12. Bronson Canovai got into the action hitting the first two of his first half nine points the old fashioned way, layups. It was 25-14. He collected another two points with 2:38, 25-16 and with 1:41 left in the half he was fouled on his shot. The ball was good and so was the extra point, 25-19. Reagan got a bucket with 24 seconds to go, but Canovai hit another shot with 6.5 seconds left to make the half score 27-21.

In the third quarter, Reagan led 32-21 before Brandon Easter knocked down a three with 5:26 left, to make it 32-24. Thomas Howard added two points with 4:53 to go and Charles Brunson stole the ball on the next possession and had a layup with 4:17 left in the quarter. The Knights were down 32-28, creating some uneasiness in the Reagan crowd.

Reagan got back on track and made a 6-0 run before Canovai connected with a three at the 2:29 mark to make it 38-31. He was perfect on the night, and you usually run with the hot hand when you can, but he saw limited action the rest of the night, and did not take another shot. Charles Brunson added another two point from the free throw line when he was fouled with 2:06 left to make it 38-33, but Reagan finished the quarter with another 6-0 run to finish up the quarter. The score was 44-33.

Brandon Easter was fouled with 6:01 left in the game and made both shots to make the score 44-35. After two points from Reagan, he was fouled again and made both, 46-37. Charles Brunson connected to make it 46-39, and Reagan got uncomfortable and called a time out with 5:12 left. Easter connected with 4:36 left to make it 46-41. That lead became 49-41 before Eli Moore hit a shot to pull the Knights to within six points at 49-43. North took a time out. Reagan made it a ten point game, 53-43 before Brunson was fouled on his shot. The basket was good, as was the extra point and the score was 53-46. That was the last of the Knights scoring as forced fouls by the Knights resulted in another three points for Reagan down the stretch to make the final 56-46. The Knights seemed out of sync all night, but played hard despite the miscues. Bronson Canovai had one of his best games of the year finishing with 12 points, and Charles Brunson had a great night, finishing with 13. The Knights, now 7-12 and 1-5 in the conference, return home this Tuesday against Reynolds for the annual Pink Shirt night to support Breast Cancer awareness. Come out and support the Knights, and wear pink to show your support for the cause. We’ll see you there!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-13

Chase Mitchell-6

Bronson Canovai-12

Eli Moore-2

Thomas Howard-4

Brandon Easter-9

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January 24, 2012

Black Knights Secure First CPC Win…Down Davie County 59-56

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights hosted the War Eagles from Davie County this evening, and finally came away with a hard earned CPC victory, winning by a score of 59-56.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article critical of the play of the team, and challenged them to step up and play with effort. Since that particular game, the team has done just that. They have played with a lot of heart and effort, but were still not in the win column. In a later article, I mentioned that the effort was there, and the win would eventually come and tonight it did.

Chase Mitchell got the Knights on the board with a minute gone in the first period with a three pointer. Davie quickly came back and took a 10-5 lead. Brandon Easter had an earlier bucket, but with 3:51 to go, he knocked down a three to get the Knights to within 2 points, 108. Mitchell proceeded to hit two more three pointers and with 2:13 to go in the first, North had the lead again 14-10. Davie hit a basket to make it 14-12, but Mitchell was fouled with 8.6 seconds to go. He hit one of two shots to make the first period score 15-12 in favor of the Knights.

Hutner Hoots came off the bench late in the first and at the beginning of the second quarter, had a nice, but tricky layup to give the Knights a 17-14 lead. Bronson Canovai added two points with 6:47 left, it was 19-14. Davie connected on a three to make it 19-17, but Boyce Wooten hit a shot with 5:45 left, 21-17. He was fouled on the next North possession during his shot and made one of two, to give the Knights a 22-17 lead. Davie quickly hit a three and another shot to tie it up at 22 with 3:21 left. Charles Brunson gave the Knights the lead again with 3:02 to go, but with 15.9 seconds remaining in the half, Davie once again tied it up and at the half, the score was 24 all.

During the half, the senior North Davidson swimmers were recognized along with their parents. Proper recognition is on the swimming page, but we acknowledge, Brady Whicker, Kasey Michael, Kylee Wooten, and Brinna Decker for their accomplishments!

In the third quarter, Shy Tuttle broke the tie, but once again, Davie countered to tie it up. Ashton Phillips hit a shot with 7:07 left in the quarter, and North would hold that lead until late into the fourth. Mitchell and Tuttle added points and with 5:26 left in the third, the Knights held onto a 32-26 lead. With 2:40 to go, the Knights were holding on to dear life with a 35-34 lead. Too many times this year, it seems the Knights were playing not to lose, rather than to win and a couple of times this evening, it was the same thing. But to the Knights credit, every time they began to play “not to lose”, they found it within themselves to “play to win”, and Thomas Howard was an example of that with 1:54 to go in the quarter. He had a nice steal and ran the length of the floor. He was fouled on his shot attempt, but made both free throws to once again give the Knights a cushion, 37-34. He hit a big three pointer with fifty seconds to go to make it 40-36. Charles Brunson added another two free throws with 1.5 seconds left to finish the quarter Knights 42, Davie 36.

Davie scored first in the final quarter, but Eli Moore was fouled with 6:54 remaining. He hit both his shots, much to the dismay of the hefty Davie Student section that made the trip. Shy Tuttle gave the Knights a six point lead with 6:16, it was 46-40. After a Davie three pointer, Tuttle added another two points, and yet another two points on good ball control. With 5:20 to go, the Black Knights led 48-43. Brandon Easter had a basket with 4:31 left to make it 50-45, but the War Eagles would not go quietly into the Knight! They hit a three pointer, and added another basket and with 2:55 left, it was once again a one point game, 50-49. After a North time out, Boyce Wooten hit a bucket, 52-49, but here came Davie with another three. It was tied at 52. Davie then took the lead 54-52 with 1:02 left. Brandon Easter calmly knocked down a three pointer with 45 seconds to go to give the lead back to the Knights, and in the process, ignited the crowd. Everyone in the gym knew it would come down to the buzzer. Charles Brunson was fouled with 27 seconds to go, but missed his shot, and Davie had the rebound. On a fast break up the court, they threw it out of bounds, and it was North ball. Brunson was fouled again with 17.8 seconds to go, and he hit both shots, North had a 57-54 lead. Davie went down the court, and Boyce Wooten fouled on the shot, which went through the net, it was 57-56 in favor of North. All held their collective breaths as the shot was taken….and MISSED..Shy Tuttle rebounded and was fouled. 1.4 seconds were on the clock. He hit both shots in front of a hostile Davie student section to seal the deal. The final Black Knights 59, Davie County 56. Chase Mitchell had another big game leading the team with 14 points. Shy Tuttle added 11, and Brandon Easter had a double/double with 10 points and 10 rebounds! The Knights are now 7-11 and 1-4 in the CPC, and travel to Reagan High in Pfafftown on Friday night. Make sure you make the trip to support your BLACK KNIGHTS! The latest CPC standings as of Tuesday night are below the scoring totals.

Scoring

Charles Brunson-6

Ashton Phillips-2

Chase Mitchell-14

Bronson Canovai-2

Eli Moore-2

Thomas Howard-5

Brandon Easter-10

Hunter Hoots-2

Shy Tuttle-11

Boyce Wooten-5

CPC STANDINGS AS OF TUESDAY 1-24

1. Mount Tabor  4-1  (Lost to West Forsyth Tuesday 71-61)

T2. Reagan 3-2

T2. West Forsyth 3-2

T3. RJR 2-3

T3. Davie 2-3

4. North Davidson 1-4

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January 20, 2012

Knights Go Down to Mt. Tabor 62-45

By: Jim Skotthy

After another week off, the Black Knights traveled to Winston-Salem to take on the first place Mt. Tabor Spartans, and came away with a 62-45 loss. Tabor was much bigger than the Knights, and it showed throughout the game, as they dominated in the offensive putback category.

The first quarter had Chase Mitchell accounting for all of the Knights points, 9 of them on three, three pointers. He led the Knights in scoring on this night. Tabor on the other hand, had one three pointer and accounted for the rest of their points with pull up jumpers and layups. Two of the “layups” were actually dunks. At the end of the first, it was 16-9.

Ashton Phillips opened the scoring in the second quarter to make it 16-11. Two minutes later, Bronson Canovai connected and the score was 18-13. Less than a minute later, Eli Moore, who had eight points on the evening, had back to back shots to bring the Knights to within four, 21-17. Charles Brunson got on the board with four minutes to go in the half to make it 24-19. Brandon Easter nailed a three with 3:08 left to make the score 28-23. Hunter Hoots hit a shot at the two minute mark to put the Knights back in the game at 29-25. Tabor began what would turn out to be a 14-0 run with five points in the remaining 1:22 of the half and at the half; the score was 34-25.

The third quarter was the killer for the Knights as they didn’t hit a shot for 5 minutes and 15 seconds, meanwhile Tabor continued their run with another nine points. Boyce Wooten finally hit a shot for the Knights with 2:45 to go, to make the score 46-27. By that time, it was over, as the Knights could not recover from the deficit. Eli Moore connected with 45.8 seconds left in the quarter to make the score 50-29. The Knights scored only four points in the quarter.

Thomas Howard opened the fourth with two points, followed by Wooten hitting a shot with 6:24 left. It was 52-33. Shy Tuttle made a shot with 4:17 left to make it 56-35. Ashton Phillips shot a three pointer with 3:44 to go, 59-38. Tabor had 5 dunk attempts in the game, making four of them, the last coming at the 2:28 mark. 61-38. While dunks are nice to watch, they really aren’t necessary when you have the size advantage, but kids will be kids. Logan Shouse made a shot with 2:13 to go and it was 61-40. Eli Moore had a layup with 1:19 left, 61-42. At that point, knowing the game was lost; Coach King emptied his bench, and in came the Black Knights version of UNC’s “Blue Steel”. We’ll call them the “Black Attack”. The Black Attack consisted of, Logan Shouse, Hunter Hoots, Spencer Arrowood, Jack O’Neal, and Carter Skotthy. The difference in this game, however was that the Knights on the bench did not head for the locker room prior to the end of the game. (If you watched, or read about the UNC/FSU game from last week, you will understand). The players on the floor made the most of their time. Spencer Arrowood brought the ball up the court, passed to Jack O’Neal, who sent it to Logan Shouse. He passed it back to O’Neal at the top of the key, who dished it to Carter Skotthy for an open look at the three. He connected and it was 62-45. The Knights, to be sure, left a piece of themselves on the court, literally, because with 19.5 seconds to go, Hunter Hoots was knocked to the floor and bloodied not only his nose, but the court as well. After being attended to, Bronson Canovai came in to replace Hoots, and at the buzzer Tabor took a shot, which was called off, much to the dismay of the player. The final was Mt. Tabor 62, North Davidson 45. The Knights are now 6-11, 0-4 in the CPC. The team will be at home this Tuesday against Davie. Come out and support the BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-2

Ashton Phillips-5

Chase Mitchell-9

Carter Skotthy-3

Bronson Canovai-2

Eli Moore-8

Thomas Howard-2

Brandon Easter-4

Hunter Hoots-2

Shy Tuttle-2

Logan Shouse-2

Boyce Wooten-4

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January 13, 2012

Black Knights Go Down in OT to West Forsyth

By: Jim Skotthy

In the perfect basketball world, you want your team to have a balanced scoring attack. That puts you at the advantage, because the other team has no idea who to defend. If that doesn’t work, you hope that you get one player with a hot hand, and ride that hand for as long as possible.

After a week off for exams, the Black Knights had the latter this evening in an overtime loss to the West Forsyth Titans in Welcome and that hot hand kept us in the game until everyone else warmed up. Chase Mitchell had arguably his best game in his high school career, scoring 14 points in a heartbreaking loss in OT 59-54.

It took two minutes before West Forsyth finally got a score 2-0. Once the ice was broken, Mitchell hit the first of his 14 points with a three pointer less than 30 seconds later to give North a 3-2 lead. West Forsyth made the lead 9-3 with 3:02 to go in the first, and Mitchell got the Knights right back into it with another three pointer at the 2:45 mark to make it 9-6. Bronson Canovai added another three pointer with 2:02 left, to give the Knights the first lead of the game, a lead they would not relinquish until overtime. It was 10-9 North. With 1:37 to go, Eli Moore was fouled on a fast break, he made both free throws and the Knights had a 12-9 advantage. Moore was big on defense too, with a rejection on a West shot with 28 seconds left in the quarter, the Knights brought the ball up court, and dished it off to the hot hand, Mitchell, who buried another three. 15-9 in favor of the Knights.

The second quarter opened with Charles Brunson connecting to make it 17-9. Brunson also had a huge game, leading the Knights with 16 points, and directing the floor in as good a game as he's had all year.  Brandon Easter was fouled on his attempt at the 6:10 mark, and he made both shots to make it   19-12. Moore made it 21-15 with a bucket with 3:46 to go and Brunson was fouled at 2:54. He made both and it was a 23-17 score. Mitchell hit another three with 2:23 to go. The Knights went into the locker room at the half with the score 26-19. They looked good, playing a quicker game than they usually do, and put the Titans on their heels during the half.

The Knights had the ball to begin the third quarter and Brunson was fouled on his shot attempt, made them both and it was 28-10. Shy Tuttle added another basket with 7:09 left, 30-21. Tuttle and Brunson added another five points in the next four minutes, but West Forsyth began chipping away at the lead due in large part to their big guy, Charles McAllister, who was in the right place at the right time in the second half. With 3:39 left in the third, it was 34-28 in favor of the Knights. Chase Mitchell, who had the hot hand from outside the three point line in the first half, was guarded very closely in the second half…the Titans knew if they didn’t guard him, it was game over. With 3:14 to go in the third, the Knights passed it off to Mitchell on the outside, but of course, the Titans were ready for that and guarded him. Mitchell either decided he had enough of being shut out on scoring in the half, or saw an opportunity, because instead of passing the ball off, he drove HARD into the defense for a layup, and it was 36-28. Charles Brunson was fouled with 1:12 to go, but the bucket counted and so did his free throw. It was a nine point lead for the Knights, and then with 36.5 seconds left in the third, after a West Forsyth miss, and North rebound, something happened to potentially change to course of the game. Ashton Phillips had the ball and was basically tackled from behind while bringing the ball up court. A scrum evolved, and before you knew it, a double technical was called. The quarter ended 39-32, North lead, but somehow, the refs call of the double technical did something to the Knights mentally. They weren’t the same after that.

Shy Tuttle committed two fouls in less than a minute, resulting in three points for the Titans, and it was a four point game, 39-35. Eli Moore had a pretty layup on an inbound pass with 6:54 left to make it 41-35. With 6:10 left, Charles Brunson made a great steal and went up the court for a layup and it was 43-38. Moore was fouled with 5:37 left, and made both shots to give the Knights a 45-38 lead, but the Titans kept up the intensity and kept chipping away. With 4:16 to go, it was a three point game, 45-42. Shy Tuttle had a block on the next possession, got the ball, passed to Brunson, who passed it back to Tuttle who made a nice layup, it was 47-42. Ashton Phillips added a tre with 3:01 left, and it was again an eight point lead, 50-42. The Knights then went ice cold and let West Forsyth go on an 8-0 run to end regulation. 50-50. Four minutes of overtime.

Shy Tuttle got the Knights on the board immediately in OT, 52-50, but West quickly went up by two, 54-52 with 2:24 left. Brunson tied it up again at 54 with 1:33 left, but that was the last the Knights saw of a chance to win, as West Forsyth had some good looks, questionable whistles, and missed shots by the Knights. The final was 59-54. This game was the best all around game the team has played all year. It was an up tempo game, the team moved the ball up court quickly, and they got back on defense much quicker than they have. They may have lost the game, but they had the lead for most of the game, and did a tremendous job on both sides of the ball. No reason to hang your heads…you gave your all tonight! The Knights will have another week off, as Forsyth County has exams next week, but they will be in action again on Friday, January 20^th at Mt. Tabor, for yet another tough CPC matchup. The Knights are now 6-10, 0-3 in CPC, but even though the 0-3 mark doesn’t look good in conference, the Knights have been in each conference contest until the very end. We will win one…it’s a matter of time. GO KNIGHTS!!

Do not Forget to check out Brad Arrowood’s photo site for the latest in Black Knight photos. The address is listed on our home page, and we thank Brad for his contributions this year!

Scoring

Charles Brunson-16

Ashton Phillips-3

Chase Mitchell-14

Bronson Canovai-3

Eli Moore-8

Brandon Easter-2

Shy Tuttle-8

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January 6, 2012

Knights Put Up a Fight, but Lose to Reagan

By: Jim Skotthy

The Knights welcomed the Reagan Raiders to a packed Pete Jones Gym for a CPC matchup. On paper, it looked like we would be blown out, but we held our own before losing 47-41. Forsyth County has an open enrollment policy, which basically means, if you don’t live in the area school you are assigned to and want to go to another school, get yourself there and you are welcome. Well, on this night, the Raiders had their hands full, even if their team was “stacked”.

The first quarter was very slow…not a lot of baskets, and defensive skills on both sides. Reagan pulled out to a 6-0 lead until Ashton Phillips got the Knights on the board with 4:26 in the first. With one minute to go in the first it was 9-4, the additional points for North provided by Thomas Howard on the free line. With 37.8 seconds left in the first, Howard took a charge..North ball. Shy Tuttle committed a foul, and Reagan made one of two with 6.5 seconds to go to make it a 10-4 score to finish the first.

To open the second quarter, Charles Brunson was fouled early in opening seconds, and he made one of two shots to make it 10-5. Chase Mitchell made what turned out to be a good foul with 6:24 to go, because Reagan missed both shots..and seconds later he launched a three but was fouled on the attempt. Three shots from the free throw line…one, two, three…all made, and it was 10-8. After a Mitchell foul which resulted in two points the Knights went up the floor and Charles Brunson lofted a lazy layup from just inside the free throw line..swish..it was 12-10. Brandon Easter connected on a basket to make it 13-12 in favor of Reagan with 3:43 to go in the half. He fouled on the next possession during a shot, which was good..the Extra point counted, and it was 16-12 Reagan. North got a little messy with the defense and passing and with 1:19 left it was 20-12, but with 56 seconds to go Bronson Canovai had the first of his 2 rejections of the game. 14.5 seconds were left in the half, and Eli Moore fouled the shooter. The score at that point was 22-12. The extra point went through the basket, but was called off for a Reagan lane violation…at the half it was 22-12.

With 5:02 left in the third, Reagan stretched the lead to 12 points, 26-14. Thomas Howard, and Eli Moore cut the lead with back to back baskets before Reagan made it a ten point game with 3:22 remaining in the quarter. Chase Mitchell nailed a three pointer with 2:51 to go and suddenly the Knights were getting into striking distance, it was 28-21. Shy Tuttle was fouled and made one of his two shots to make the score 28-22. Brandon Easter cut the lead to four with a basket with a minute and a half to go in the third. Reagan made one of two free throws with just over a minute to go to make it 29-24. The tried to stretch the lead with one more basket, but Bronson Canovai put a hand on the ball and rejected it as time ran out. 29-24 entering the fourth quarter.

Baskets were traded in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, and after a Reagan steal and layup, the score was 35-26. Reagan made the lead 13 with 5:12 to go, and North needed a timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout Brandon Easter hit back to back 3 pointers to make the score 39-32, Mitchell added a bucket with 3:30 left to make it 39-35 and on the next Reagan possession took a charge. Now it was Reagan who needed to regroup and took a time out.

With 2:09 left in the game, Thomas Howard scored to make it a two point game, 39-37, before Reagan got a bucket. Shy Tuttle scored with 53 seconds to go, and Charles Brunson added a basket with 28 seconds to make the score 43-41. It was as close as the Knights would get, as they had to foul to try to get the ball back. Reagan made their free shots, and the game ended 47-41. Our shooting percentage was still not great, but we were able to play good defense to keep the score close. A few offensive rebounds and put backs would have made the difference. The Knights are now 6-9 and 0-2 in the CPC. They return to the court at home next Friday night against West Forsyth. Come out and support the Black Knights!

Scoring

Charles Brunson       5

Ashton Phillips          2

Chase Mitchell          9

Eli Moore                   4

Thomas Howard       6

Brandon Easter         12

Shy Tuttle                 3

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January 4, 2012

Knights Go Down to Central Davidson 53-44

By: Jim Skotthy

Took me a while to figure out how to do this one…still not sure how it will end up, but I’m going to take you through the story of a basketball game, and what could be in a nutshell the rest of the season.

Here’s how it works….it takes five players on a floor to make a team. The five on the court are expected to contribute, offensively and defensively. That’s how it works. There are also reserves on the bench. Their job is to come into the game and give the ones who were in the game a rest, a chance to recharge, and they too are expected to contribute. That’s how it works, it’s called a team. If a player on the floor is not contributing, they are substituted, that’s how it works. Follow me so far? Our team has 14 players on the roster, and tonight, only five of them scored. Granted, there were four players who did not see action, so do the math…that leaves ten players who were on the floor. That’s why the final score was Central Davidson 53, Black Knights 44. The reasons for that score are a plenty, first off…we played into their game, instead of making them play to our game. We scored 55 points on Tuesday against a CPC team, and one player accounted for 25 of those points but only 44 tonight? In the words of the ESPN football crew…”C’MON MAN”! Tuesday night, seven Knights scored and it wasn’t enough, tonight five scored, what do you think would happen? If you can’t win with seven players scoring, despite the best effort, you certainly won’t win with only five scoring, unless you have a Chris Paul on your team…we don’t. That’s how it works. We have to have more consistent shots at the basket, and they have to go through. We have the shots, but we are not consistent. Against Central, we were 10/30 on two point shots, and 5/17 on three attempts. Success? I think not.

As fans, you are probably thinking it’s the coach…it’s not. I’m here to tell you, it not the coach, or his staff. I listened to his instructions during the game, and the “team” was not executing them. Again, and again, and again. Sometimes it seems we have some players who just try to do anything to score, instead of looking for a good shot. The result thus far, has usually been a turnover. It’s not the blueprint for success. Sometimes we make passes that are not smart, or do not defend the basket, or make unnecessary fouls…that’s how you lose. Boys…wake up…PUT UP YOUR ARMS and DEFEND! Stop loafing up and down the court. REBOUND…and for the love of North Davidson, run the play called off the bench…I’m certain your coach has more experience than you do, and I’m sure he’s drilled it into you with all the practices you’ve had. If you still don’t understand it by now, at this point in the season, then it’s a lost cause. Maybe you need to hear that from some else than the coaches. Your coach told you at the beginning of the season that you were “ambassadors” of the school and he expected to comport yourselves as such. Well, I’m here to tell you that you are also ambassadors of the North Davidson community, and we expect a better effort from you. If you don’t start playing as a team, I guarantee you that the rest of your season will be miserable. It’s nothing but CPC from here on out, and there is no such thing as an easy win in the CPC, and you don’t want to be the first team in the conference to have that around your neck. So here’s the deal…WE, your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, coaches, teachers, principal, assistant principals, the deputy sheriff’s that stand guard at the door, ticket takers, concession stand workers, score keepers, cheerleaders, trainers, student managers, announcers, athletic association members, and fellow students are here, and will continue to pull for you, but it’s time for you to step up! You do that, and it’ll be ok…win or lose, just play as a team and stop playing as individuals!

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January 3, 2012

Knights Drop Conference Opener to RJR 60-55

By: Jim Skotthy

Ashton Phillips can shoot a ball. He’s been able to for as long as I can remember. He did it as a child, in middle school, on the JV team, and this year in every gym we’ve played in. Ashton Phillips is deadly when given the chance with his shot, and it was on display tonight against the Demons of RJR. Phillips poured in 25 points, an incredible seven three pointers in a losing cause, as the Black Knights opened CPC action losing by a score of 60-55.

Now I know…five points…but the Knights were within three points of a tied game with only six seconds remaining, a few miscues, and a few shots that shouldn’t have been taken……

The first quarter was unusual, the score was tied 6-6 at the end. Charles Brunson had four of the six, with Boyce Wooten added the other two.

In the second quarter, Brandon Easter knocked down a three pointer and the Knights had a 9-6 lead. Reynolds got it to within one 9-8, with 7:10 left, before Phillips got on his roll with the first of his three pointers at the 6:28 mark to give the Knights a 12-8 lead. By the half, it was 19-16 in favor of Reynolds…but the second half provided all the points, and the excitement.

Reynolds began the third quarter with a 21-16 lead with 7:27 to go. Chase Mitchell took a charge on the next possession, and the lead at that point was 21-19, RJR. Eli Moore tied it at 21 a piece with 6:47 left, and with 4:58 to go, Phillips brought the Knights back to within two points, 27-25. With 3:40 left in the third, Reynolds knocked down three points and it was 32-27. Phillips once again rescued the Knights with another three at the 2:36 mark to make it a two point game. 32-30. Time out was called. Reynolds hit a three coming out of the time out, and North got a layup to bring it to 35-32 with 1:49 left. Phillips was on a roll, however, and with 1:16 left, he hit a long three and was fouled in the process. The shot was good, but the extra point was missed…no matter with :52 seconds to go, he hit ANOTHER three, and the Knights had the lead, 38-35. Reynolds answered with a basket to make the third quarter score, Knights 38, Reynolds 37.

In the fourth, the Knights began to get sloppy with the ball, and missed some easy shots, along with a little poor play on defense. Reynolds was able to retake the lead 48-41 with a little over five minutes remaining. Charles Brunson was fouled with 5:05 to go, and hit both his shots to make it 48-43, and Phillips drilled another three pointer to keep the Knights within two points..48-46. He collected another two points on a goaltending call against Reynolds with 3:05 left. The score was 52-48 Reynolds. Boyce Wooten had a nice big block on a Reynolds shot on their next possession, which turned into a bucket by Charles Brunson to make it 52-50. North got very sloppy on defense and began to commit fouls, some on purpose, many not. Reynolds began to put the game out of reach, but Phillips would have none of that and with just six seconds on the clock, he launched another true three pointer which found net to get the Knights to within three points, 58-55. Another foul put RJR on the line, and they connected, and the final was 60-55.

It was an amazing display put on tonight by Phillips, one that’s been a while in the making. Now all the Knights have to learn to do, is to finish games.

The team hits the court again on Wednesday as they travel to Central Davidson to take on a talented Spartan team before returning home on Friday to host the Reagan Raiders. Come out to a game this week and help support the North Davidson Black Knights!

Scoring

Charles Brunson           10

Ashton Phillips              25

Chase Mitchell                6

Eli Moore                           2

Brandon Easter               5

Shy Tuttle                        3

Boyce Wooten                  4

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December 31.3011

Men Take 4^th Place in Frank Spencer Tourney

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knight men played in the third place game earlier this week in the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic, and lost to McMichael HS from Rockingham County, 73-64.

After an impressive first round victory against the Lexington Yellow Jackets on the floor of East Forsyth HS, the Knights moved on to the floor of the LJVM coliseum, home of the ACC’s Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Perhaps it was the size of the arena, and the fact that shooting in the place made a difference, I’m not sure, but the Knights were not into their game as they went down by 20 points to eventual bracket champion, Forsyth Country Day. That meant back to East Forsyth for the 3^rd place game against McMichael HS.

The poor play from the LJVM carried over into the first quarter of the McMichael game, and the Knights were quickly down 13-0 with 5:46 to go in the first quarter. By the end of the first it was 22-11..the Knights were not out of it…but had a big hole to dig out of. The second quarter didn’t help the cause, McMichael outscored the Knights 20-13 to finish the half..42-25.

In the second half, the Knights woke up, and tried to make a game of it, but by the end of the third quarter it was 54-42. The fourth quarter was when the Knights got it going, getting the score to within 4 points, 58-54, but in the end the final was 73-64.

It would be easy to say what the team did wrong, and what it did right, but in the end, after this week, it should be noted that the team played three different offenses, and responded well to two of them. The last game could have been closer, if not for the beginning of the game, which may have been LJVM hangover. But the bright side is that the Knights did make it to the coliseum in their first appearance in many years, and walked away in 4th place. That should bode well for the future teams if they play in this tournament again. The upperclassmen know what it takes, and what it will take to advance.

The Black Knights open conference action on Tuesday, at RJR, then go on the road on Wednesday to take on Central Davidson before coming home to face Reagan on Friday.

Make sure you make the trips to support the Knights on the road, and if not BE THERE on FRIDAY!

Scoring

Charles Brunson                       9

Ashton Phillips                           8

Chase Mitchell                           9

Bronson Canovai                      4

Eli Moore                                     3

Thomas Howard                       8

Hunter Hoots                             3

Shy Tuttle                                   16

Boyce Wooten                           4

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December 27, 2011

Knights Bombed by FCD, Will Play For Third Place in Spencer Classic

By: Jim Skotthy

Going into this afternoon’s game, the Black Knights knew they would be playing a Forsyth Country Day team that is known for launching three pointers.  Knowing, and defending them, are two different things. Playing with intensity and playing like you are in awe of where you are playing are also two different things. Last night, the Knights played with intensity, and the defense could stop about anything. Today….well today was different. The Knights had nothing, no offense, no defense, and it showed as they lost to FCD by 20 points, 62-42.

The first quarter was the highlight of the afternoon for the Knights, only one point down at the end, 17-16. It looked like we may be able to hang with the number one seed, but it was not to be.

I usually try to give a “blow by blow” description of the game as the quarters go by, but there isn’t anyway to say we scored, they went down and hit a three, we went down and missed, they went down and hit a three. FCD is a very talented team, and could very well win the championship.

The best way to describe today’s game is to say that it was great to see the Knights play in the LJVM…everyone got a chance to play on the “BIG” floor, and it will be a memory they won’t soon forget. It should also be a memory they want to forget, because as good as they were yesterday, they were as bad as could be today. Something they can take into next year if they play this tournament again. The Knights played right into FCD’s game plan, and did not execute their own plan. Open shots were not taken, and difficult shots were taken. Defense didn’t exist, and it just didn’t seem like the Knights were focused. The result is a twenty point defeat, 62-42.

The Knights play for third place tomorrow back at East Forsyth against McMichael High from Rockingham County. Game time is 4:30pm. Hope to see you there to support your BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson           6

Ashton Phillips              3

Chase Mitchell              16

Eli Moore                         3

Brandon Easter             10

Shy Tuttle                      4

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December 26, 2011

Black Knights Advance to the LJVM in Frank Spencer Tourney, Down Lexington 64-53

By: Jim Skotthy

The Frank Spencer Holiday Classic kicked off today at both Mt. Tabor and East Forsyth. The Knights are in the Pepsi bracket, so the first game was 7:15 this evening at East against the Lexington Yellow Jackets. The Knights move on, winning by a score of 64-53.

Lexington got on the board first with a three pointer at the 7:23 mark. Just over a minute later, Chase Mitchell tied the score with a three of his own. Ashton Phillips added to the long parade hitting another tre and a three point lead for the Knights, 6-3.

Lexington plays a style of ball that can only be described as “street ball”, hands all over you and using their body to try to force you into trouble. It took a little while for the Knights to figure out how to adapt against that style, but once they did, they settled down and became patient, and played the game they are used to. Finesse passing, good looks at the basket, and a very good defense tonight helped the cause. At the close of the first quarter, the Knights had a 14-12 lead.

Charles Brunson was fouled just seconds into the second quarter, he hit one of two shots to make it 15-12. Shy Tuttle dropped two with 7:17 left in the second and the Knights had a five point lead, 17-12. Mitchell drained 3 points with 5:40 left to make the score 21-15. Brandon Easter added a deuce with 4:34 left and it was 23-17. With 3:33 left in the half, Lexington took a 24-23 lead, but Charles Brunson tied it at 24, hitting one of two foul shots with 2:36 left. Bunson added another two free throw points with 53.1 showing, but Easter fouled with 32.8 to put Lexington on the line. They connected and at the half it was a tie game 26-26. Despite the closeness of the game, it never seemed like the Knights were losing control of the game, just the opposite…it seemed like Lexington was trying to hold on. They came into the game with a 1-4 record, but played much better than the record indicated.

Lexington took the lead in the third with a two pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-26 lead, but Chase Mitchell was fouled at the 7:04 mark, and hit both his free throws to tie it back up. Thomas Howard tied it up once again at 30 with 6:34 to go. The Knights were playing with a purpose and determination, more so than they’ve shown much of the year and they kept it up the entire game. Case in point, Thomas Howard dove for a loose ball with 5:58 left to give North the possession. Lexington took the lead again at 32-30, but with 4:45 left in the third, Shy Tuttle tied it at 32. Charles Brunson was fouled on his shot, which went through and made his free throw to give the Knights a three point lead, 35-32 with 4:09 left in the third. Tuttle and Brunson added back to back baskets to make the lead 39-32 with 2:58 left. As Lexington brought the ball down on the next possession and went for a shot, Tuttle had a BIG BLOCK which ignited the North crowd. Thomas Howard and Charles Brunson connected on their shots and with 1:25 left, it was 43-34. Mitchell was fouled with :38 on the clock, and hit one of two shots, it was 44-36. With 21 seconds remaining, Tuttle had another rejection, and Ashton Phillips was fouled with one tenth of a second to go. An inbound ended the quarter in favor of the Knights, 44-36.

In the fourth quarter, Lexington cut the lead to six at 46-40 with 6:44 remaining, but the Knights stretched the lead to ten points, 50-40 with 5:13 left, thanks to made fouls shots by Phillips and Brunson. Lexington was able to score, and on the next possession, Shy Tuttle scored. It’s not that he scored, but how he scored. It was Shy versus four Yellow Jackets, and he just muscled his way to the basket, with all four Jackets trying to cover him. With 4:15 left, Lexington made a three to make the score 52-45. The Knights went into a slower offense, in an attempt to kill the clock. A good series of passing, however came up short when the Knights could not convert the basket. Lexington rebounded, and Shy Tuttle fouled. The Jackets hit both shots, and the score was 52-47. Brandon Easter knocked down a shot to stretch it to 54-47, and then a strange play. With 2:17 left, Lexington’s CJ Woodberry fouled Ashton Phillips, then “bumped” into the ref and exchanged a few choice words with him. He was called for a technical foul. Charles Brunson hit one of the two technical shots, and Phillips hit one of the two foul shots, making it 56-47. The Knights retained the ball. Brunson was fouled with 1:53 left, he hit one of two, and Phillips was fouled with 1:37 to go. He connected on both to make it 59-47. Lexington knocked down a three with 1:23 left to make it a nine point game. Easter was fouled with 1:20 left, he hit both, and Thomas Howard was fouled at the 1:05 mark, he hit one of two. It was 62-50. Brandon Easter had a rejection of a Lexington shot on the next possession, and with 36.7 seconds remaining, Lexington’s Mikal Lewis was hit with a technical for jawing. Brunson went to the line and calmly dropped both shots, to make it 64-50. With 21.9 seconds to go, Carter Skotthy fouled, and Lexington hit one of two, 64-51. The final was 64-53. All in all, it was the best all around game of the year for the Black Knights. They didn’t panic when Lexington made runs, and kept their composure throughout the game, despite a sometimes hostile visiting side crowd, and defeated the defending Pepsi Bracket Champions in the process. The Knights, (6-4) are back in action tomorrow (Tuesday) at the LJVM Coliseum at 4PM. They take on Forsyth Country Day, who defeated Atkins HS earlier in the day. Come on out during the holiday break and support your BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson              15

Ashton Phillips                 11

Chase Mitchell                   9

Bronson Canovai               2

Eli Moore                              2

Thomas Howard                5

Brandon Easter                  6

Shy Tuttle                         14

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December 20, 2011

Knights Down East Davidson

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights traveled to East Davidson this evening for a rematch, and the Knights came away with another victory. The score was 65-56.

East Davidson jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, but the Knights were able to get on the board with a Shy Tuttle basket at the 5:14 mark. On the next possession, Eli Moore had a block on an East shot, and when North brought the ball up the court, Tuttle fed Brandon Easter to tie the score at 4. Chase Mitchell knocked down a three to give the Knights a 7-4 lead. Moore had a steal on an inbound pass with 2:51 to go and got the layup. 9-4 North. By the end of the first quarter, the Knights held an 11-6 lead.

Thomas Howard connected for three points with 6:19 left in the half to stretch the Knight lead to 14-6. At the 4:28 mark, Easter stretched the lead to nine points, 18-9.  Charles Brunson was fouled on his shot attempt with 2:15 remaining in the half. He hit both his free throws, and the score was 20-12. On the next possession, East Davidson got a three pointer, to cut the lead to five. Ashton Phillips was fouled on his shot attempt with 1:52 to go, and he made both his free throws, it was 22-15. On the next possession, Phillips scored again, 24-15 Knights. With a minute ten left, Moore stole the ball, and got it to Brunson, who connected to give the Knights a 26-15 lead. East Davidson was able to score on two fast breaks, to make the halftime score 26-19.

To begin the third quarter, the Knights had a turnover, and East was able to score to make it 26-21. With 6:45 to go, East connected on a three, to make it a four point game, 28-24. Five fifteen remained, when Brandon Easter got a three to make it 33-27. Ashton Phillips stretched the North lead to ten at the 4:22 mark when he was fouled. He hit both his shots, and it was 37-27. Thomas Howard added a deuce with 3:41 left, and East got another three with 2:27 left, and suddenly the Knights were comfortably ahead, 42-27. With 1:41 to go, East connected with three points to cut the Knight lead to twelve, 42-30. A couple of good possessions by the Knights finished the quarter, with North up 47-35.

Chase Mitchell began the fourth quarter with a three pointer to give the Knights a 15 point lead. Phillips had a nice basket on a pass from Brunson with 4:57 left in the game to make it 54-39. With 3:43 left, Brunson was fouled on his shot attempt to put him on the line. He made one of two, and it was 55-42. East then began to get very aggressive on defense, tying to make something happen. They were successful on their first attempt by trapping the Knights and causing a turnover, a basket was made, and it was an eleven point game, 55-44. East began to foul to force the Knights to the free throw line in hopes of making them miss…but the Knights kept their composure. The closest East would get in the rest of the game would be nine points. Despite the fouls by East, North kept hitting shots, and with :43 seconds remaining in the game and the Knights up 63-54, the East coach raised the white flag, and emptied the bench. The North coach elected to keep his regulars in the game, and the final was 65-56. The Knights go into the Christmas break with a record of 5-4, and will play the Monday after Christmas in the Frank Spencer Holiday Classic. They’ll take on the Lexington Yellow Jackets in their first game. The brackets and times of Knights potential games can be found under the breaking news tab on the home page.

Scoring

Charles Brunson           11

Ashton Phillips              14

Chase Mitchell              6

Eli Moore                         5

Thomas Howard           5

Brandon Easter             18

Shy Tuttle                      6

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December 17, 2001

Knights Go To 4-4 On The Year

By: Jim Skotthy

The North Davidson Black Knights made the short trip up Business 85 last night to take on the Thomasville Bulldogs, and what on paper should have been an easy victory, turned into a nail biter at the end. Fortunately, the Knights came away victorious, the final was 46-38.

It was a tale of two halves, and luckily for the Knights, the first half went their way.

The much larger Black Knights roared out to a 12-0 lead with two minutes to go in the first. Shy Tuttle got the Knights on the board first at 7:01 with a layup. Shortly after, he was fouled on his shot attempt and made both free throws to give North a 4-0 lead. Chase Mitchell connected on a three point attempt with 4:56 left and it was 7-0. A minute later he knocked down another three and it was 10-0. Thomasville was reeling and had to take a time out. The normally boisterous crowd was very quiet, trying to figure out what just took place. What took place was very aggressive defense by the Knights, along with patient looks at the basket. Thomasville didn’t help their cause by missing the few shots they had. After the time out, Charles Brunson made the lead 12-0 before Thomasville finally got on the board with a layup on a fast break with 1:49 on the clock, it was 12-2. Brandon Easter hit a shot to make it 14-2 with 1:32 remaining in the first. Boyce Wooten had a huge block on a Thomasville shot with forty five seconds to go. With 20.6 left, Bronson Canovai fouled Thomasville on their shot attempt, they missed both free throws, but got their own rebound and scored, to finish the first quarter. 14-4 in favor of the Knights.

Charles Brunson scored on a fast break and was fouled with 6:37 left in the half. He made the free throw to give the Knights an 18-4 lead. Mitchell connected on yet another three pointer to make it 21-4. The Knights were seemingly in cruise control, but Thomasville lived up to their nickname…Bulldog, and kept chipping away. At the half, it was 28-11.

Then came the second half…..

Thomasville, came into the game winless, and only recently began their season due to the long run their football team had in the playoffs, but they did what a good team does, they adjusted both their offense and defense. They began the second half with a 4 man full court press that reminded me of flies on fly paper. They were stuck to the Knights who suddenly looked like they didn’t know what to do with the ball. At the 5:34 mark, Chase Mitchell, who led the team with 15 points, hit yet another three to make it 31-12, but then Thomasville began their offensive adjustment, and began to rain 3’s on the Knights. Thomasville put in Malik Johnson, a small, but very quick point guard, who also happens to be deadly with his shot. While he only had 6 points on the game, they came from long three point shots and they came at a time Thomasville needed them most, but it was his defensive tenacity that kept the Knights on their heels. The aggressive pressure forced the Knights to look inside for scoring, while Thomasville shot from the outside. At the buzzer to end the third, Bronson Canovai had a layup which made the score 42-28, North.

In the fourth quarter, the Knights scored 4 points…ALL from free throws. Nothing they shot went into the net. They began the quarter playing keep away. Thomasville was in a 2-3 zone, and refused to come out of it. North smartly held the ball, but instead of holding the ball, or doing a version of Dean Smith’s famous “4 corners”…they passed around…eventually, the quickness of the Thomasville players allowed them to steal the ball, again, and again, and again. They would go down court and score, turn around and do it all over. With 4:15 left in the game, it was an uncomfortable 43-36 lead. Thomasville was on an 8-1 run and they had the momentum. They were about to overwhelm the Knights at the 3:04 mark. They shot a three pointer, which hit the rim and bounced high…as it came back down, it hit the top of the backboard, then slid through the net. The crowd went wild thinking the first win was within their grasp. But the officials called off the points because the ball hit the top of the backboard. That play seemed to take the wind out of Thomasville’s sails, as they only scored two more points the rest of the game. The final was 46-38. After eight games, the Knights are 4-4, and fortunate to be at that mark. What the team needs to learn to do is to put away the teams you are supposed to. While they have won the games, they have not put them away and they’ve made it extremely difficult on themselves. Whether it’s the offensive being called, or playing in front of larger crowds, I’m not sure, but the team is inconsistent, play to play and game to game. It seemed at the end, the Knights were playing not to lose, instead of playing to win. They had a 21 point lead at one point in the game, and won by eight. If not for the first half, it would have been a different story. The Black Knights are on the road this Tuesday, as they travel to East Davidson. Game time is 7:30. Come out and support the Black Knights!

Make sure you check out Brad Arrowood's photo site for pictures from the game! http://arrowood.smugmug.com/Sports  Thanks Brad for your contributions!

Scoring

Charles Brunson           5

Ashton Phillips              3

Chase Mitchell              15

Bronson Canovai          5

Eli Moore                        2

Thomas Howard           1

Brandon Easter            8

Shy Tuttle                     7

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December 15, 2011

Smith Tops Knights 68-60

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights welcomed a very talented Ben L. Smith team to Pete Jones Gym on Thursday and came up short by a score of 68-60.

North controlled the tip, and Ashton Phillips put the Knights on the board first with a three pointer about 36 seconds into the game. One of the scoreboards malfunctioned, and play was stopped by about two minutes, while the problem was corrected. Once the game resumed, the Knights played very good defense for close to three minutes, however they could not get anything going on offense, as Smith played good defense as well. Smith got on the board with 5:03 to go making it 3-2 Knights. On the following possession, Smith got a steal and they were on a 3 against 2 fast break and went up 5-3. Thomas Howard hit a shot with 3:31 remaining to make it 7-5 Smith. A long three pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 10-5 lead. Chase Mitchell got the Knights to within two with a three with 3:03 to go. Brandon Easter got an inside shot with a minute twenty three to go and it was 12-10.

A minute and six seconds was on the clock when Boyce Wooten committed a foul. Smith made one of two shots and took a three point lead 13-10. On the next Knight possession, Mitchell made a poor pass to Eli Moore, and he fouled Smith on their attempt. Smith hit one of two. North turned the ball over on the next possession, and Smith scored again. It was 16-10. With 18.7 to go, Eli Moore was fouled. He made one of two and at the end of the first quarter, it was 16-11.

The second quarter opened with a Smith three pointer, to give them a 19-11 lead. Thomas Howard scored with 4:05 left in the half to make it 19-15. At the 2:56 mark, after another North Davidson turnover, which was a big problem for the Knights this evening, a time out was called. When play resumed, Logan Shouse had a nice block on a Smith shot, the Knights brought it up the floor, and Ashton Phillips knocked down another three, it was 23-18. Charles Brunson was fouled with 1:58 to go, he hit both his shots and the score was within five, 25-20. North fouled on the next possession, and Smith made the lead seven once again. Two Smith possessions later, they take a shot, the player ends up on the ground, with three North players standing around him, and the SMITH player, gets up off the floor and ends up with the rebound. 14.2 seconds remained and Phillips scored to make it 29-22. As the clock wound to zero, Smith took a three pointer and it went in, as time expired. At the half it was 31-22.

Ashton Phillips opened the scoring for the Black Knights in the third with a three pointer to make it 31-25. Shy Tuttle, committed his third and fourth foul in the space of  thirty six seconds, and had to take a seat with 5:46 to go in the quarter. Smith stretched the lead at that point to ten, 35-25. Boyce Wooten got on the scoreboard with 4:31 remaining to bring the Knights to within eight, 35.27. Smith began to use a full court press again, they used it for a time in the first half, but this time, North had trouble breaking the press. It was a problem that would haunt them for the rest of the evening. Wooten got another two points with 3:23 to go, the score was then 37-29. Two Thirteen remained in the third, and Chase Mitchell connected on a three, and suddenly the Knights were within three, 37-34. Smith then went on a 10-0 run until 8.2 seconds were on the clock, and Brunson was credited with two points on a goaltending call against Smith. The last possession of the quarter resulted in three points from the visitors and it was 50-36 to end the quarter.

Shy Tuttle made it 50-38 in the fourth, and the visitors answered with a deuce of their own. Tuttle was fouled with 7:22 left in the game, he hit one of two shots to make it 52-39. Brunson, Tuttle, and Howard accounted for the North baskets from that point until the 3:40 mark, when Smith got a three pointer to make it 58-49. Ashton Phillips was fouled off the ball with 2:20 left and made both shots. The score was 62-51. On the inbound play, Chase Mitchell steals the ball and makes the shot, 64-53. Charles Brunson and Shy Tuttle were both fouled within 30 seconds of each other, and each of them made one of their two shots. 1:17 to go with the score 67-55. At this point, the Smith JV team began a chant of “You can’t keep up”. In true Black Knight pride, the student section took up for our guys, and chanted back “You’re on JV”. It was all in good fun, and both sides seemed to get a good laugh out of it. Brunson and Howard were fouled within a few seconds of each other, and each made one of two. With 35.5 seconds to go, it was 67-57. Shy Tuttle was fouled with 20.4 seconds during his shot, which was good. He went to the line and sunk his free shot, 67-60. Eli Moore fouled on the next possession, and Smith sunk one of two to make the final 68-60.

The Black Knights continue to make poor offensive decisions, although the defense has shown some improvement in recent games. The team, now 3-3, will travel to Thomasville Friday night to take on the Bulldogs, game time is 7:30, right after the ladies game. Hope to see you there cheering on the Black Knights!

Scoring

Charles Brunson        15

Ashton Phillips          13

Chase Mitchell             8

Eli Moore                       1

Thomas Howard         6

Brandon Easter           2

Shy Tuttle                  11

Boyce Wooten             4

Be sure to go to the home page and click on Brad Arrowood's link to see the pictures from tonight's game! Thanks Brad!

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December 13, 2011

Christmas Knight Doesn’t Bring Joy

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights were in action tonight in Welcome against the Asheboro Blue Comets. The Comets, 8-0 on the year came in with a senior heavy team and defeated the Knights by ten 61-51. The two teams met about a week and a half ago in Asheboro, and the result was better tonight. It was Christmas Knight in the student section, and although there were plenty of Santa’s, they forgot to bring the gift wrapped win for us, instead they left a lump of coal.

North got on the board first with a basket from Shy Tuttle, but Asheboro did not back down and with 5:07 left in the first, it was 7-2 in favor of the Blue Comets. One of the Knights biggest problems so far this year, is a consistent lack of rebounding, both on offensive and defensive boards. Our big guys aren’t getting it done yet, and this talented Asheboro team was aggressive on the boards. Two Thirty Seven remained in the first when Tuttle was fouled. He made both shots and the score was 10-6. The next possession resulted in an Asheboro turnover, but the Knights could not capitalize on the opportunity. Asheboro is a very patient team when they control the ball and make try to take every opportunity to make the most of it, they do more than they don’t. With 8.3 seconds to go in the first, Brandon Easter hit a three to make the score 14-9.

Charles Brunson got North on the board quickly in the second frame to make the score 14-11, and with 5:46 to go Ashton Phillips hit a three pointer, after a really good offensive sequence..it pulled the Knights to within one, 16-15. The rest of the quarter was pretty quiet. With two twenty two left in the half, Chase Mitchell scored to make it 26-19. Fifty three seconds remained when Thomas Howard put up a three pointer, the score..26-22. Not twenty seconds passed when North was on the attack, Ashton Phillips brought the ball up court and made a nice cross court pass to Howard. Phillips immediately put up three fingers, and began to run back up the court, as Howard drained another shot. It was a one point game, 26-25. Three point two seconds to go, and Charles Bronson is fouled. He hit one of two shots and at the half it was Asheboro 28, the Knights 26.

To begin the third quarter, Brandon Easter immediately hit his shot to tie the game at 28. Shy Tuttle fouled on the next possession, Asheboro hit one of two shots to give the Blue Comets a one point lead. Charles Brunson was fouled on his shot and converted one of his two to tie it up again at 30. North was able to defend the next possession, with a rebound and a clear opportunity for a fast break, however, instead of passing it up, North brought the ball up to create a play. That decision resulted in zero points, a big miscue on the Knights part. Asheboro took advantage and with 1:09 left in the quarter, the lead was eight, 43-35. Thomas Howard was fouled with 1:03 left, he hit one of his two shots, and the score was 43-36. Charles Brunson was fouled with only 2.9 seconds, made both of his shots to make the end of the third period 45-38 in favor of the Blue Comets.

The fourth period opened with Asheboro reeling off four straight points to make the score 49-38. Thomas Howard was fouled at the 4:38 mark and was on the line for one and one’s. He didn’t get his shot and Asheboro converted to make the score 51-40. Three forty four remained in the game and Charles Brunson was fouled on his shot. The ball went in and he was on the line for an extra point. Asheboro took a time out prior to the shot in an attempt to ice Brunson….no matter…he hit the shot, and it was 51-45. 3:02 to was left in the game and Howard connected to make it 53-47. Charles Brunson stole the ball with 2:41 to go and was once again fouled. He hit one of two to make it 53-48. North Davidson still had fouls to give before Asheboro went to the line, but a patient Asheboro team did not let the Knights foul until they made a shot. That happened with 1:27 left, when Eli Moore fouled. The Blue Comets could not make either of their two shots, however, the Knights could not get a good look at the basket either. At this point, the Knights had to go into foul mode, to try to make something happen. Twenty seconds remained, when Ashton Phillips hit a three to make it 59-51. North took a time out to try to set something up, but it was not to be, as Moore fouled with 17.2 seconds. Asheboro made the shots to make the score 61-51. Asheboro ran out the clock, and that was the final. The Knights played much better against this team than they did back on December 2nd, and were only two possessions from tying it up with 3 minutes left. The men are now 3-3 on the season, and will be back on the court in Welcome on Thursday, when they take on Greensboro Smith. Game time is 7:30, right after the JV men. Make sure you come out and support your BLACK KNIGHTS!

 

Scoring

Charles Brunson      10

Ashton Phillips           5

Chase Mitchell           2

Bronson Canovai       2

Eli Moore                     5

Thomas Howard       9

Brandon Easter         7

Shy Tuttle                   11

Photos from tonight's game will be available to view on Brad Arrowood's photo site. Go to http://arrowood.smugmug.com/Sports. Thanks Brad for the contributions!

 

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December 9,2011

Knights Cut Down Ledford on Lumberjack Knight

By: Jim Skotthy

The Black Knights snapped their two game losing streak winning this evening at home against the Ledford Panthers, the score was 56-52. This was a rematch of a game played back in November in Wallburg, won by the Knights in easy fashion. The Panthers lost their first three games, then ripped off a three game winning streak and the team we saw tonight was much better than the one we saw in November. You knew there was going to be something about this game. It was lumberjack night for the student body, and they came out in force. It was great to see the support for the team!

Ledford scored first to open the game, but then Shy “He’s a Freshman” Tuttle made his presence known. He hit a shot with 6:11 in the first, and on the following Ledford possession, he had a huge block on a shot, which sent the student section wild. He turned around and scored again, and with 5:40 to go, it was 4-3…and guess who had all the points! Ashton Phillips got in the scoring book with a three pointer at the 3:55 mark to make the score 7-5 in favor of the good guys. Then guess what…Mr. Tuttle had another block. The students couldn’t control their glee. They were full throated for this game, and it became clear why. Seems that someone from the supporters of Ledford sent some sort of message through one of the social networks, and that became “bulletin board” material for the student body. Because of it a player became the wrath of the lumberjacks! 3:11 to go in the first when Phillips drained another 3 points to give the Knights a 5 point lead. It went back and forth for the rest of the period and at the end, Ledford had a one point lead, 13-12.

When the second quarter began, Ledford stretched the lead with a three pointer, making it 16-12. Mr. Tuttle, (and yes students, I know the “he’s a freshman” thing, but I suggest next game you refer to him as MR. TUTTLE..seems he’s earned it!) made another basket, North was down two. Bronson Canovai connected to tie the score at 16 with 5:22 left. Four thirty-three to go and Chase Mitchell took a charge, which seems to be rarely called these days, and the offender seemed to really excite the student body. You can figure that one out. Mitchell proceeded to drop a three at the 3:41 mark. North was up by three, 19-16. Eli Moore was fouled with just over two minutes to go and made both his shots. The Knights led 21-18. MR. TUTTLE scored again to give the Knights a five point lead, 23-18. Ledford scored and took a time out, with 48 seconds showing on the clock. Knights led 23-20. A great North defense in the last 48 seconds resulted in a Ledford Airball attempt to score before the half, and the score remained the same…23-20.

43-30. The end of the third period was Knights 44…Ledford 32. In the fourth, Ledford cut the lead to ten 46-36 with 6:19 remaining. One minute later MR. TUTTLE had a steal and went the length of the floor, 2 points! 48-36. On the next possession, guess who..MR. TUTTLE steals the ball. He’s fouled, goes to the line, and misses his shots. The second shot results in a scramble for the ball. North has it, and calls time out. 4:54 to go, and the Knights lead 48-36. With 2:26 to go, Ledford cuts the lead to nine, 50-41, but soon after, Thomas Howard is fouled and goes to the line. He hit one of his two shots, to make the score 51-43. One fifty-three remained, and Ledford connected on the three pointer, it’s 51-46. Nail biting time? 1:36 to go and Tuttle commits a hard foul, Ledford made one of two shots making the score 51-47. With forty eight seconds to go, Ledford hits a 3, and suddenly it’s a one point game, 51-50. Six seconds later, Ashton Phillips is fouled and makes both shots, North is up by three, 53-50. Ledford becomes desperate for the three points, they shoot and miss. There’s a scramble for the ball and Ledford commits the foul on who?...MR. TUTTLE. He hits one of two, and the score is 54-50. Ledford scores on the next possession to cut the lead to two, 54-52. At this point, Pete Jones Gym decibel levels are through the roof. 5.9 seconds remain, and Chase Mitchell inbounds the pass to Phillips, who is fouled. He hits them both, and the game is iced. He does, and the score is 56-52. A desperation Airball by Ledford ends the game! Ledford’s leading scorer was Alex Brouillard with 15 points, Charles Brunson led the North attack with 14.The student attendance made the game sound a lot like Cameron Indoor Stadium…very loud, and not stopping. It was wonderful to see, and I hope they continue to show up in force for ALL the games! You are the extra man, and I know the team appreciates seeing their friends and fellow students coming out to support them. You give them a needed boost, so please continue to do what you did tonight! The Black Knights will be at home next Tuesday when we welcome the Asheboro Blue Comets. It was a rough game when we met them at their home place, so a big crowd will really help!

SUPPORT YOUR BLACK KNIGHTS!

Pictures from tonight’s game should be available on Brad Arrowood’s photo site. Go to http://arrowood.smugmug.com/Sports We thank Brad for his contribution!!

Scoring

Charles Brunson           14

Ashton Phillips              13

Chase Mitchell               3

Bronson Canovai          5

Eli Moore                         2

Thomas Howard            1

Brandon Easter              5

Shy Tuttle                       13

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December 7, 2011

Knights Fall 69-61

By: Jim Skotthy

The Knights lost last night and I'm proud of them! They did it with class and showed true sportsmanship in the process. I would rather lose with class, than win without it, which is what happened to our opponents last night, Greensboro Page.

Prior to the warm-ups, the teams come out of the doors. Visitors come out one set of doors and the Knights another. When the Knights come out, they run through a "tunnel" of cheerleaders and students. It happens at every school you go to, a source of pride for your team, although I must admit, I've never seen a student body line the court to support the team along with the cheerleaders, but I like it. NORTH PRIDE!

 When Page came out some of them decided it would be cute to break through the cheerleaders and run down the line. They proceeded to laugh and high five each other after the fact. Guess if you recently won a state football championship, you feel entitled to do that. It showed a lack of class and reflected poorly on their school, their coach, and their upbringing!

That stunt didn't seem to deter our Knights at the beginning of the game however. Ashton Phillips opened it up right away with a 3 pointer. Page quickly tied the score at 3, but the Knights retook the lead on a Charles Brunson bucket. A defensive stop and fast break resulted in another Brunson basket and the Knights were up 7-3. North was playing good defense and had very good ball movement on offense. With 5:42 left in the first, Shy Tuttle was fouled and he makes both his shots, North led by six, 9-3. A minute twenty later, Tuttle scored again to make the score 11-6 Knights. The check engine light then went on for the Black Knights. A stretch of poor play resulted in Page taking a 14-13 lead with 2:11 to go. Exactly one minute later, Chase Mitchell hit a three pointer to tie the score at 16. The quarter ended with Page going on a 6-0 run to make the score 22-16.

The second quarter started for Page as the first ended. They went on a 4-0 run to take a ten point lead 26-16, before Thomas Howard broke the streak with a basket at the 6:48 mark. With 5:48 remaining in the half, Bronson Canovai scored, Page led 28-20. On the next possession Thomas Howard hit a three and the Knights pulled to within six 29-23. The teams played fairly even through the end of the quarter and at the half Page led 36-27.

In the third, with 6:24 to go, Page had stretched the lead to 40-29, and things were beginning to look bad for the Knights. All night long, the floor seemed slick, with players losing their footing, resulting in traveling calls. Didn't stop Charles Brunson, he was one of the victims of the floor and went down, but kept his dribble and was able to pass the ball off. It didn't result in a basket or a spectacular play, but it was smart play on Brunson's part and allowed North to keep possession. 2:56 remained on the clock in the third and Brandon Easter was on the line for two shots. Both were made and the score was then 46-34 in favor of Page. Thirty seconds later, Chase Mitchell connected on a three pointer and the score was then 48-37. North took a time out. Page came out of the time out with an aggressive defense, stealing the ball from behind. With a minute thirty-one to go in the third, Page was up 50-39. Brandon Easter then went on a tear, with two consecutive three pointers to ignite the crowd and energize the team! The score at the end of the third stood 50-45 Page.

The Knights played a much better game both on offense and defense than they did in their previous game and kept a better team honest throughout the entire contest. Although the visitors thought they were going to run away with it and acted like it, the Knights were in it right to the very end!

The Black Knights, now 2-2, return to the court this Friday at home when they welcome the Ledford Panthers. This will be a rematch of the first game of the year won by the Knights! Hope to see you at Pete Jones Gym on Friday to cheer on the BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson          9

Ashton Phillips             6

Chase Mitchell            11

Bronson Canovai         5

Thomas Howard          14

Brandon Easter            11

Shy Tuttle                      5

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December 3, 2011

Knights Suffer First Loss

By: Jim Skotthy

Have you ever gone out to play a game of basketball with your friends, and your little brother or sister tagged along? You divide up teams, and the younger ones are thrown in there, and you seem to be playing eight against five? Remember?...It seemed like the Knights were in that situation last night against the Blue Comets from Asheboro, but in this case, the “little siblings” were wearing gray shirts, and had whistles.

A total of 37 fouls were called in the game, and a lot of them were against North. The Knights came up on the losing end of the game by a score of 53-39. Now I’m not saying the we didn’t deserve fouls…we did, it happens in basketball, but sometimes you just have to let the game play out.

After the game, we asked Coach King what he thought of the officials calls. His response was that they did not lose the game for the Knights and overall they were ok. The first part of that statement, I would agree with, but the second part….not so much. More on that later.

The Knights got the ball on the opening tip and Chase Mitchell proceeded to score. North up 2-0. Enjoy that now, because that’s the last we’d see of the lead. With 5:45 left in the first, it was the Blue Comets 9, and North 2. Asheboro ran a very good offense and were able to get inside continually during the game for easy layups. With 2:51 left in the first Asheboro was up 13-4 and Senior Thomas Howard had already been hit with his third foul of the game. The game was being called very closely by the officials, almost too close. With 2:14 left in the first, North already had 5 fouls. One more and Asheboro is going for the one and one. With 1:35 left in the first…Asheboro was on the stripe, North now had 6 fouls. Clock management again was a problem for the Knights to close out the quarter and when it ended the score was 14-6.

Early in the second quarter, Charles Brunson hit a bucket to bring the score to 14-8. With 6:19 left in the half, the Knights were hit with their 7^th foul, bringing the total fouls in the game between the two teams to 11. At the 5:16 mark, Ashton Phillips hit a needed 3 pointer, it was 19-11. Less than a minute later, another foul…running total was now 14…and it seemed a trend was developing. The good part was North now had a chance at one and ones. Both Brunson and Phillips got free shots, Brunson hitting both of his, and Phillips one. The score at the half was 29-17, with 19 total fouls in the half.

The third quarter began on a bright note for the Knights…Chase Mitchell and Ashton Phillips both hit 3 pointers on the first two possessions and the defense had 3 consecutive take away’s to open the quarter. Brandon Easter hit another 3 pointer at the 4:38 mark to make the score 34-26. Charles Brunson made both of his free throws with 2:15 left in the quarter to bring the score to 34-28. With 2:05 left, Thomas Howard picked up his 4^th foul of the game and the Knights were still having problems protecting the paint. By the end of the quarter it was 40-28.

With 6:22 left in the game, Eli Moore picked up his 4^th foul, the score 43-28. Fouls in the half…North 7, Asheboro 3. Brandon Easter got 3 with 5:22 remaining. Chase Mitchell hit another 3 after a great offensive set. The Knights had good ball control and were patient. Good passing led to a good look by Mitchell.

2:40 remained in the game and Eli Moore fouled out on a very questionable call. Why? Because as Moore was leaving the court, blood was dripping from his mouth. The score was 45-36 and 14 total half fouls. With 1:27 left, Charles Brunson gets hit with a technical. After the shot, it was 49-36. That made 15 total fouls, and in the next 1:27, 3 more were called. Easter hit another 3 for the final Knight points with 56.3 seconds. The final again was 53-39. North played their hearts out and the loss was not for a lack of effort.

Now back to the assessment of the officials. While it’s true that they did not cost us the game, their close calls and frequent whistles do make a difference. When a player has 3 fouls in the first quarter, you are forced to sit them. What does that mean? You have to put someone else in and that changes the complexion of the game. When the whistles are being blown all the time, you have to be careful and maybe not as aggressive as you’d like to contain the other team. Whistles were blown all night, not just for fouls, but for possible traveling and all the other reasons they blow a whistle. I’ve not heard so many whistles since my honeymoon in the Bahamas during Junkanoo, which is a Bahamian celebration that takes place during the summer. (If you’ve never been, it really is Better in the Bahamas!)  So while the officials did not technically lose the game for us, they perhaps did alter the game plan for the Knights. Varsity Basketball is a very different animal from JV, the action is much quicker and the players much bigger. These Knights have been together from community, either playing with or against each other and the players know each others abilities well. This team can go up against any other team any day of the week. This week was good for the Knights, one big win, one fight to the finish for a win, and one loss. If the team learns from what happened this week and I feel certain they will, this will be a good season.

The Black Knights are in action again this Tuesday at home in Pete Jones Gym to welcome the Greensboro Page Pirates, another test for the Knights. All three men’s teams will be there…Freshmen start at 4:30, followed by the JV Knights at 6, and the Varsity at 7:30. Come out and support YOUR BLACK KNIGHTS!!

Scoring

Charles Brunson    9

Ashton Phillips       7

Chase Mitchell       8

Bronson Canovai   2

Brandon Easter      9

Shy Tuttle               4

comments, suggestions, and input is welcome. Email me at jimndsports@yahoo.com

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November 30, 2011

Varsity Men Win Home Opener

By: Jim Skotthy

The basketball team took on East Davidson tonight, and came away with a 68-54 victory, but it was a lot closer than the score indicated. Before the game began, it was evident that the Knights had a huge height advantage which should make the game a little easier, but looks can be deceiving, and East proved that.

The Knights got the opening tip, and Shy Tuttle took it right to the basket for the first score. On East’s first possession, Tuttle blocks the shot. Ashton Phillips scores a three pointer, and just like that, 45 seconds into the game, North is up  5-0. With 6:46 to go in the first, East gets their fist points on foul shots. 5-2 North. Phillips answers for the Knights with another 3 pointer, giving North an 8-2 lead. With 6:01 left, East still does not have a field goal, but scores another point on a foul shot, 8-3. Tuttle scores again, and it looks like it’s going to be the Knights night. Charles Brunson adds another 2 points, and the Knights seemed to have control of the game at 12-3. With 5:20 left in the first, East finally nails their first field goal of the game, a 3 pointer, a sign of things to come.

North was being very aggressive, seemingly trying to put the game out of reach early, but it take 4 quarters to win, and East was not about to roll over. It began to be a game of the turtle and the haire, with North taking the role of the rabbit. With 3:09 left in the first, East hits another 3 to bring the score to 14-9, and in the meantime North cools off quickly. At the end of the first, it was 14-11 in favor of the Knights.

The second quarter began as the fist ended, the Knights were ice cold, missing their first 4 free throws. At the 4:21 mark, East took the lead 15-14. Ashton Phillips hit a 3 with 4:03 left to cut the lead to 17-15. Hunter Hoots was fouled with 3:42 left, and hit one of two, bringing the Black Knights to within one point. The Knights gave up too many fouls, and kept putting East on the line. Luckily, they could not connect on a lot of shots. The rest of the quarter had the Knights playing uninspired ball, with a lack of concentration. The half ended with the Knights not paying attention to the dwindling clock, and dribbled to the horn. At the half, it was 22-21 in favor of the visitors.

When the second half began, East could smell an upset against the Knights, and were all over the ball. The home team was flatfooted, and failed to get second chance looks on offensive rebounds, as East was crashing the boards to take away the rebounds from the larger Knights. Close to three and a half minutes passed before North was able to connect after a Charles Brunson steal, to bring the score to 30-23. At this point, the Knights began to awaken from their slumber, and after Chase Mitchell hit a 3 pointer while being fouled, he made his free throw, and North was back on top 34-33. East made another 3 pointer, and with 14.2 seconds remaining, East had a throw in under their basket. A floater pass made for an easy basket, and the score was 38-34 East, with only 8 minutes remaining.

The fourth quarter was a different story. North knew they had a battle on their hands, and summoned that something extra in the period. Offensive and defensive contributions from Hoots, Mitchell, Tuttle, Phillips, Brandon Easter, and Charles Brunson turned a 38-34 score into 56-46 in favor of the Knights with just 2:45 remaining. At that point East Davidson began to foul to save the clock. North was pretty true in the free throw attempts down the stretch resulting in a final score of 68-54. Lesson learned for the Knights, as they up their record to 2-0. They travel to Asheboro on Friday to take on the Comets. Game time is 7:30. Make the trip to support your BLACK KNIGHTS!

Scoring

Charles Brunson     9

Ashton Phillips       18

Chase Mitchell        13

Bronson Canovai    2

Eli Moore                  3

Brandon Easter       10

Hunter Hoots          4

Shy Tuttle               9

11/29/2011

Black Knights Open Season with Win!

By: Jim Skotthy

The North Davidson Men’s basketball team traveled to Ledford tonight, and came out with their first win.

Prior to the game, Coach Kevin King said he was looking to see how his team would come out. He was worried about nerves, since most of the team would be playing their first Varsity game, and he was also wondering how the Knights would stack up against a team made up of a lot of Seniors. The answer turned out to be Knights 56, Ledford 40…but Coach King was correct about nerves.

Both teams came out sluggish, with a lot of miscues. Brandon Easter scored the first 4 points of the game for North, as we couldn’t find a decent shot. Once the game was tied, it seemed that North began to settle down.

Chase Mitchell hit a 3 which seemed to begin to ignite the team, and with 4:05 left in the first Eli Moore was fouled, and hit his shots. 9-7 North. The game began to get a little sloppy again on offense, but both teams played pretty good defense. With 1:40 left in the first, Charles Brunson hit a shot to tie it at nine. Shy Tuttle came into the game with a minute left in the first and promptly hit a shot to give North the lead. Charles Brunson scored again with 24 seconds remaining, and North was on their way. At the end of the first quarter, North had the lead 13-10, and would not relinquish it the rest of the way.

In the second quarter, North kept up the momentum and scored the first 4 points of the quarter to stretch the lead to 17-10. The game settled down, with both teams making good passes and good defense, and at the 3:45 mark it was the Knights up 20-12.

With 2:25 to go, Charles Brunson made a great steal and went up for the shot, but was fouled. He hit one of two shots, North was now up 23-12. Ashton Phillips hit a big 3 with 35 seconds to go to give the Knights a commanding 26-13 lead. The Knights locked down the defense for the rest of the half, to deny Ledford a look at the basket, and at the half, North led by 13 points.

The second half seemed to rattle Ledford. Chase Mitchell immediately hit a 3 pointer to give the Knights a 29-13 lead. Brandon Easter hit another 3 pointer to move the score to 32-13 at the 6:53 mark, and Ledford needed a time out. After the time out, Easter, didn’t stop, hitting another 3 pointer to make the score 35-15, the Knights were now humming, and playing well. Ledford, on the other hand could not buy a basket, and you could tell they were flustered. With 5 minutes remaining in the 3^rd quarter, North had a 15 point lead. Shy Tuttle returned to the game and scored right away to make the lead 41-20 with 3:58 left in the third. The rest of the quarter was played pretty smooth by both teams, at with time running down, Brandon Easter took a long shot which bounced off the rim. Eli Moore was there to tap it in at the buzzer. At the end of three, it was now North Davidson 44, Ledford 23.

The forth quarter began to wear on both teams, you could see they were getting tired, and at the 5:43 mark, Coach King made some substitutions. Ledford began to try to press, but the Knights responded by breaking the press and scoring another 3 points, making the score 49-29. Perhaps the Knights thought they could go on cruise control at this point, Ledford had other ideas, going on a 5-0 run to cut the score to 49-33. With a little over a minute left in the game and the score 54-39, Coach King decided to empty his bench to give everyone a chance to play. A well done motion offense by the Knights resulted in a layup by Carter Skotthy with a little over 24 seconds left to give the Knights their final points. A foul called at 19 seconds put Ledford on the line, but they could only convert one of the two shots. The final again was 56-40 in favor of the Knights.

Scoring

Charles Brunson           7

Ashton Phillips             5

Chase Mitchell             9

Carter Skotthy            2

Bronson Canovai          1

Eli Moore                    9

Brandon Easter           15

Shy Tuttle                   8

The Knights are back in action on Wednesday at home against East Davidson. Women’s varsity begins at 6 followed by the men at 7:30. Come out and support your BLACK KNIGHTS!

2011-12  North Davidson Basketball Men's Roster

10         Charles Brunson            6'1"          Senior
12         Ashton Phillips                5'10"        Junior
14         Chase Mitchell                6'2"          Junior
 20         Carter Skotthy                  6'0"          Junior
  22         Bronson Canovai            6'2"          Senior
 24         Eli Moore                          6'0"          Junior
30        Spencer Arrowood          5'8"          Junior
 32        Thomas Howard             6'0"          Senior
        34        Brandon Easter               6'6"          Sophmore
40        Jack Oneal                       5'9"          Junior
 42         Hunter Hoots                    5'9"          Junior
        44       Shy Tuttle                          6'3"           Freshman
50       Logan Shouse                 6'5"          Senior
52       Boyce Wooten                  6'5"          Junior

     Kevin King                         Head Coach
   Ryan Hadinger                 Var. Coach
  Brian Fynn                         JV Coach
  Mark Moore                       9th Grade
Emily Lipe                         Principal
     Mike Meadows                 Ath. Director
     Mark Holcomb                 Ath.  Director