PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry dropped a nonconference rematch to Reagan 59-42 on Jan. 4.
East hosted Reagan just six days after the 4A Raiders handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season 48-47.
Rebounding was key in the game, and East controlled the boards early as Reagan big man Cooper Jackson sat with foul trouble. Neither side led by more than two possessions in the first half, with the Cards going up by five at halftime, but the second half was a different story.
Reagan scored 13 points in the third quarter – all coming from inside the paint or the free throw line – while East Surry was held scoreless in the half until the 7:36 mark of the fourth quarter. It was still a single-digit game entering the fourth quarter, but 24 fourth-quarter points from the visitors put the game out of reach.
Reagan’s Jackson, a 6’6” center, and Carl Ford, a 6’4” forward, combined for 24 total rebounds and eight offensive rebounds. Ford had a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
East Surry’s leading rebounder was Brett Clayton with eight total boards and three on the offensive end. Clayton had six boards in the first quarter, but had to sit for extended periods of time with foul trouble. Matthew Keener added seven rebounds off the bench for East Surry (4-2), but the Cards struggled to turn those boards into points as he and Clayton combined for just one field goal.
East Surry built a 9-2 lead out of the gate with Jordan Davis and Daniel Creech each knocking down triples early. Reagan (9-4), the winner of nine consecutive games, matched with a pair of 3-pointers in the first and used its perimeter shooting to go on a 12-2 run.
Creech, Davis, Folger Boaz, Luke Brown and Colby Johnson all scored for East in a second quarter in which the Cards put up 16 points to Reagan’s eight. Creech hit his second 3-pointer of the night late in the quarter to bring the lead up to five at 27-22.
Reagan was able to play both Jackson and Ford in the third quarter and their presence on the boards showed. Each player grabbed five rebounds in the third quarter which led to eight points. East Surry already had a tough time shooting in the third quarter, but the Raiders’ interior presence made second-chance points nearly impossible.
Tyler Reeves ended East’s scoring drought early in the fourth quarter to make it 36-29. Reagan’s K.J. Ford and Jalill Rogers drilled 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Raiders their first double-digit lead, but Davis responded with a triple of his own.
Despite trailing by nine, East Surry was able to put pressure on Reagan with a full-court press that started to give the home team some momentum. However, the Raiders squashed the Cards’ comeback hopes by going on a 15-3 run. Reagan scored 25 points in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 21.
Scoring
Reagan – 14, 8, 13, 24 = 59
East Surry – 11, 16, 0, 15 = 42
RR: Jalill Rogers 12, Carl Ford 12, Caleb Ellison 12, K.J. Ford 10, Cooper Jackson 7, Lincoln Jackson 3, Yazir Wilson 2, Jake Phillips 1
ES: Jordan Davis 12, Luke Brown 8, Daniel Creech 6, Folger Boaz 5, Levi Watson 3, Jace Goldbach 2, Brett Clayton 2, Tyler Reeves 2, Colby Johnson 2
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com