Word of God 70, Southern Durham 58
One of the favorites entering the 8-Team Boys Tournament, Word of God jumped all over Southern Durham early and never looked back as the Holy Rams defeated Southern 70-58.
Leading the way for Word of God was 6-foot-8 sophomore C.J. Leslie. The talented big man scored a game-high 29 points in a variety of ways, flashing the talent that has him labeled one of the top sophomores in the country. The NC State commitment was joined in double figures by five-star point guard prospect John Wall (11) and Milton Chavis (10).
Word of God (10-0) returns to the floor tonight in a big-time matchup against Taft. Taft, out of Woodland Hills, California, is led by North Carolina signee Larry Drew. The game is slated for 7:20 pm.
WOG 18 21 17 14 — 70
SD 9 13 14 20 – 58
WOG: Beckwith 2, Denning 7, Leslie 19, Wall 11, Wells 9, Edwards 2, Chavis 10.
SD: Clayton 2, Hayes 10, Rollack 8, Wells 7, Laws 2, Jordan 2, Williams 4, Hunter 4, Springfield-Cobb 8, Wiggins 8, Anderson 1.
Kinston 60, Ravenscroft 47
Kinston jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back as senior guard Bo Ingram's 23 points led the Vikings to a 60-47 win over Ravenscroft. Sophomore sensation Reggie Bullock added 14 points for Kinston, as the 6-foot-6 shooting guard is full of potential.
Ravenscroft forward Ryan Kelly, a 6-foot-9 junior who holds offers from NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech among others, scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 boards for the Ravens, but it wasn't enough to lead his team to the win.
Kinston (9-2) advances to the semifinals in the 8-Team Boys Tournament where they will face DeMatha tonight at 9:00 pm. Ravenscroft plays Knightdale at 4:00 pm.
RR 8 13 16 10 – 47
KH 21 13 14 12 — 60
RR: Parker 7, Stevenson 3, Skwara 2, Kelly 28, Wilson 5, Stony 2.
KHS: Miller 11, Hines 2, Ingram 23, Jones 2, Best 2, Bullock 14, Sutton 5.
Panther Creek 54, Broughton 48
Junior Earnest Ross, the go-to player for Panther Creek, came up big for the Catamounts. Being recruited by programs such as Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia Tech, and UNC among others, Ross scored a game-high 27 points, including six free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Catamount coach L.J. Hepp spoke highly of his star player.
“He made the ones we needed him to make," said Hepp. “That’s him, that’s his confidence, that’s his mechanics. He has a willingness to step up late and make things happen.”
Broughton was led by Dexter Randolph and Luke Davis who scored 14 and 12 respectively.
Panther Creek,from nearby Morrisville, is just in its second year as a program. The Catamounts plays Northern (NC) Durham at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday for the 4-team championship. Broughton will square off against Cary (NC) Green Hope at 2:20 p.m. on Friday in the third-place game.
PC: 12 4 18 20 — 54
RB: 12 6 14 16 – 48
PC: Rankin 5, B. Oliver 4, Head 8, Ross 27, M. Oliver 8, Toney 2.
RB: Davis 12, Browning 7, Hayden 6, Taylor 4, Randolph 14, McKnight 2, Owens 3.
Bryan Hanks contributed to this report.