PILOT MOUNTAIN — Surry Central rallied from its lowest-scoring first half of the season to beat East Surry in the regular season finale.
East Surry seemed well on its way to securing a season sweep against Central after holding the visiting Eagles to just 15 points in the first half. The Cardinals, who recognized seven seniors prior to the Feb. 10 game, nearly doubled the Eagles’ point total at one point in the third quarter.
Surry Central found new life late in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles scored 27 points in the final 6:32 of Friday’s game after combining for just 29 through the first 25:28 of game time.
The Eagles scored 31 of the game’s final 42 points to secure the 56-44 win.
Surry Central’s win created a three-way tie for second place in the Foothills 2A Conference, with East Surry and West Wilkes also finishing 8-4 in league play. The tiebreaker gave West Wilkes the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, while Central is the No. 3 seed and East is No. 4.
Friday’s game served as Senior Night for seven East Surry players: Matthew Keener, Folger Boaz, Brett Clayton, Daniel Creech, Jordan Davis, Luke Brown, and Colby Johnson
East Surry (11-10, 8-4 FH2A) took its largest lead at 28-15 early in the third quarter. The Cards outscored the Eagles 16-4 in the second quarter while outrebounding the visitors 11-3 in the same span. Only three Cardinals scored in the first half, but that was enough to build a lead.
Brown, who led all scorers with 21, had 10 points at halftime, and fellow seniors Davis and Clayton each had six.
The second half appeared to be more of the same after Brown hit a free throw and Davis knocked down a 3-pointer.
The Eagles (17-6, 8-4 FH2A) began to rally in the third quarter and used a 14-4 run of their own to cut East’s lead to 32-29 entering the fourth. Tripp McMillen began the run with a pair of made free throws, then Central scored each of its next five field goals inside the paint.
Boaz scored inside and Davis hit a 3-pointer to put East up 37-29 with 6:37 to play, but then Central responded with a 17-0 run. Foul trouble kept East Surry from building any kind of momentum, and the Eagles entered the double bonus with 5:13 to play.
Central, meanwhile, continued to attack the basket and draw more fouls. After attempting just four free throws through the first three quarters – none in the first half and four in the third quarter – the Eagles made 16-of-20 attempts in the fourth. This included 14 consecutive made free throws for Central from the 5:13 mark until there were 40.6 seconds on the clock.
The Cards offense couldn’t get going in the fourth, and second-chance opportunities were rare as East only had one offensive rebound in the final quarter.
East Surry only had two more points in the second half (20) than team fouls (18). Even when fouling intentionally late in the game in hopes of a Surry Central miss, East struggled to convert on offense.
McMillen led the Eagles with 15 points while also grabbing four rebounds, dishing two assists and recording one steal. Central’s Josh Pardue picked up a double-double by recording 10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist. Adam Hege dished out a team-high five assists and tied Pardue for a team-high two steals.
Brown led East in scoring with 21 points, and Davis was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 12. Clayton grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, and Brown added seven. Clayton also had the team’s only block, and five Cardinals each had one assist.
Scoring
Surry Central – 11, 4, 14, 27 = 56
East Surry – 8, 16, 8, 12 = 44
SC: Tripp McMillen 15, Josh Pardue 10, Jacob Mitchell 10, Mason Jewell 9, Adam Hege 7, Ayden Wilmoth 5
ES: Luke Brown 21, Jordan Davis 12, Brett Clayton 6, Daniel Creech 3, Folger Boaz 2
Tournament Update
East Surry and Surry Central both picked up wins in the opening round of the FH2A Tournament, held Feb. 13 at their respective schools.
No. 3 Surry Central defeated No. 6 North Wilkes 76-44, while No. 4 East Surry defeated No. 5 Wilkes Central 72-57. No. 2 West Wilkes defeated No. 7 Forbush 87-56 in the other first-round game.
The win over North Wilkes gives Surry Central win No. 18 of the season, which ties the 2011-12 team for the program’s most wins in a single season in the MaxPreps era (2005-present).
Surry Central will face West Wilkes (12-12) in one semifinal match, and No. 1 North Surry (23-1) will face East Surry in the other semifinal. The semifinals and conference championship will take place at North Surry’s Ron King Gymnasium.
North Surry defeated East Surry twice during the regular season, winning 72-50 in Pilot Mountain on Jan. 9 and 62-59 in Toast on Jan. 24.
Surry Central and West Wilkes split during the regular season, with each team winning at home. Central won 77-62 on Dec. 9, and West won 71-70 in overtime on Jan. 20.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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