By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
YEATESVILLE — On the third day of the Washington Daily News/PotashCorp Aurora Holiday Tournament it was only fitting that the Seahawks used a third-quarter rally to leap past the Tigers 76-68 on Monday.
Creswell (3-5, Tideland Conference) got off to a strong start when tournament action resumed after a one-day hiatus as it jumped out to a 22-16 lead in the first quarter.
Justin Phelps tallied seven first-quarter points, while Garry Blount netted six to lead the Tigers early. Phelps finished with a game-high 28 points, while Blount tallied 12.
The Seahawks countered behind the strong play of power forward Curtis Meyers, who scored 12 points in the first quarter and led his team with 21.
Meyer’s aggressive play kept Southside (4-5, Four Rivers Conference) in the game throughout the first half, but it was a strong defensive effort combined with balanced scoring that gave the Seahawks the advantage during a pivotal 15-4 run in the third.
“We started getting our press right. We did a better job of having people in the positions they were supposed be than we have in the past,” Southside coach Dwayne White said.
“They worked at it and really tried to make a conscious effort to get where they are supposed to be and that made a big difference.”
Southside’s pressure along with 12 third-quarter points by Willie Ruffin and seven from Jordan Benston helped the Seahawks out-score Creswell 29-16 in the third and take a 63-52 advantage into the fourth. Ruffin finished the game with 18, while Benston had nine.
The key moment for the Seahawks was when they tied the Tigers at 48 after a Meyer’s bucket, and then pulled ahead 49-48 after Ruffin hit one of his two free throws after a Creswell technical foul with 3:13 left in the quarter. That series of events kicked off a 15-4 run which left the Tigers in the dust.
“We just stopped concentrating and started doing a whole bunch of things that we shouldn’t be doing. It caused us a lot of problems because we weren’t playing team ball,” Creswell coach Wayne Rogers said. “I had to take some of the starters out and put in whoever wanted to hustle.”
The Tigers will play their final game of the tournament today at 3 p.m. against Terra Ceia, while the Seahawks will play the hosting Panthers at 4:30 p.m.
Northside shoots down Terra Ceia
Northside coach Mike Procter has been looking for someone who can make shots from beyond the paint and on Tuesday Nathan Cahoon made his case for the job as he netted a game-high 18 points on the strength of his perimeter shooting to lead the hosting Panthers to a 60-43 win over Terra Ceia on the third day of the Washington Daily News/PotashCorp Aurora Holiday Tournament.
Northside came out slinging as it took a 19-7 lead early and a 36-18 advantage at halftime. The Panthers (5-5, Four Rivers Conference) stumbled a bit in the third as the Knights (6-5, Tarheel Independent Conference) out-scored them 16-12. However, Terra Ceia could not sustain its momentum.
“I thought we played a really good first half,” Northside coach Mike Procter said. “I don’t think we came out and played with any intensity in the third quarter, but I thought the first half was real good for us.”
Procter said getting production from Cahoon gave his team a big lift.
“Nathan has been hitting them in practice, but he has just struggled to do it in games,” Procter said. “But he found his range tonight and made a few shots, hopefully that will carry over into tomorrow’s game.”
The Panthers also got a big game from Isaiah McCullor who added 14 points, Dumont Harvey who chipped in seven and Calvin Cox who tallied 11.
Procter said having a person who can consistently hit a jumper makes the offense function at a much higher level.
“You really need to have somebody who can hit the outside shot,” Procter said. “It makes it so much easier when you can get an outside jump shot, it just opens up things for everybody else.”
While the Panthers’ offense was in high gear, the Knights attack is still a work in progress.
Aside from the third quarter, Terra Ceia struggled to put points on the board for the second straight game.
“We made a lot of crucial mistakes and when you play against this caliber of a team you can’t have that,” Terra Ceia coach Roger Klaasen said.
Klaasen’s teams are known from their pressure defense, and the Knights’ coach said that a better executed press could help resurrect the offense.
“I told them at halftime about what their defense can do for them,” Klaassen said. “We did it for a few minutes in the third quarter but that was it. We came out and our defense really set the tone, and that’s what we have to have all the time.”
The Knights will play their final game of the tournament today when they face off against Creswell at 3 p.m., while the Panthers will face off against cross town rival Southside at 4:30 p.m.
Game 1
Southside 16 18 29 13 — 76
Creswell 22 14 16 16 — 68
Seahawks (76)
Grice 4, Curtis Meyers 21, Willie Ruffin 18, Williams 4, Jordan 3, Reddick 8, Benston 9, Green 2, Selby 2, White 2, Aaron 1.
Tigers (68)
Danvonte Phelps 12, Garry Blount 28, Blount 6, Honablew 4, Owens 4, Sawyer 2, Best 1, Hill 4.
Game 2
Terra Ceia 7 11 16 9 — 43
Northside 19 17 12 12 — 60
Knights (43)
Latham 5, Lilley 2, Howell 5, Blake Butcher 13, Van Essendelft 5, Kiam Boerema 10, Chesson 3, Rhodes 6.
Panthers (60)
Isaiah McCullor 14, Nathan Cahoon 18, Eric Coller 5, William 2, Calvin Cox 11, Harvey 7, Woolard 2, Martin 1.