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ER boys West final on cour celebration

Huge comeback propels Eastern Randolph boys to state final

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Eastern Randolph team members and coach Johnny Thomas – with arms raised – celebrate the Class 1-A West Region title. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

MORGANTON – Eastern Randolph rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to keep its season alive and advance to a state championship in boys’ basketball for the first time.

The Wildcats pulled out a 62-59 victory against Bishop McGuinness in the Class 1-A West Region final Saturday afternoon at Freedom High School.

“As the coach, even I’m at awe at what they just did,” first-year Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said of his players.

Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard goes up for a shot in front of Jamison Graves of Bishop McGuinness. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Eastern Randolph (29-2) will face Wilson Prep (26-7), a 63-57 winner against Bertie in the East Region final, next Saturday for the state championship in either Chapel Hill or Raleigh.

Fourth-seeded Bishop McGuinness led 41-20 at halftime before the third-seeded Wildcats stormed back. Eastern Randolph scored the first 13 points of the second half and was within 49-43 going to the fourth quarter.

“We ain’t going to lose here,” senior guard Pierce Leonard said. “We’re too close to it. We traveled three hours to get up here. We weren’t trying to go home like that.”

Leonard scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.

Eastern Randolph had never been as far as the regional semifinals until this year, but it look bleak midway through the regional final.

At halftime, Thomas had a message about trying to extend the team’s record-breaking postseason: “We’ve already made history. Now we’ve got to do it again.”

The Villains (25-6) took three potential tying shots on the last possession and missed them all. Long forgotten was their 11-0 lead to start the game.

Timothy Brower had 13 points and Nicah Taylor posted 11 points for Eastern Randolph, which won its 10th game in a row.

And it was the Wildcats’ second second-half comeback of the week after winning the regional semifinal Tuesday night at South Stokes.

“I wasn’t really feeling any pressure because we still had plenty of time when they did foul out,” Leonard said. “Our bench players just had to really step up and do their part in the game.”

Eastern Randolph’s Nicah Taylor makes a steal in front of Bishop McGuinness guard Andrew Schrage. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Three Eastern Randolph fouled out, including team scoring leader Davonte Brooks and reserve center Jani Norwood in the third quarter. Brooks had two points.

“With me in there, it would have made it a little bit easier,” Brooks said. “But my boys pulled through, came through with a ‘W’ my senior year. Now we’re going to the ‘ship.”

Brooks said the Wildcats, who were 6-for-8 on second-half 3-point attempts, remained motivated even as the challenge heightened throughout the first half.

“We just don’t want to lose,” Brooks said. “That’s what really jump-starts it.”

Leonard’s 3-pointer gave Eastern Randolph its first lead of the game at 54-51.

Thomas said without much of a basketball tradition, Eastern Randolph needed to overcome all sorts of obstacles against a Bishop McGuinness program that has played on similar stages in the past.

“They’ve been in this situation way more than we have,” he said.

Jamison Graves scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half for Bishop McGuinness, which shot 11-for-25 on free throws.

Asheboro boys Hakeeme Butler v G Smith Feb 2023

Prep boys: Special season ends on downer for Blue Comets; Eastern Randolph advances

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Hakeeme Butler tries to get Asheboro on the board in the first quarter of Thursday night’s loss to Greensboro Smith in the Class 3-A state playoffs. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – Asheboro’s special season in boys’ basketball didn’t come to a fitting conclusion.

That’s what made losing so hard to grasp for the Blue Comets.

Ambushed from the start by Greensboro Smith, Asheboro couldn’t sustain any of its rallies long enough in a 73-46 loss in the second round of the Class 3-A state playoffs Thursday night at raucous Asheboro Recreation Center.

“That’s the thing about this team, we all really care for each other,” senior guard D.J. Headen said. “We’re a really close group.”

So it was a teary-eyed departure for many of the players.

The accomplishments have been notable for the Blue Comets, who made it to the second round for the first time since 2017 and recorded the program’s first 20-win season in seven years.

They’ve done this amid unprecedented circumstances, coming out of a pandemic and then displayed from their home on-campus gym for two seasons.

“To win a conference championship, to win 20 games doing this,” coach Brian Nance said, referring to challenges of irregular practice times and other logistical snags. “It’s really kind of a little bit unbelievable to a point. For what these kids have been through for two years, but really the senior class for four years.”

Then in what became its final game of the season, seventh-seeded Asheboro (20-6) ran into 10th-seeded Greensboro Smith (26-3), which bolted to leads of 11-0 and 20-2 in the West Region game.

“We just came out slow to start,” senior Hakeeme Butler said. “The turnovers killed us.”

The Blue Comets later closed the gap to 24-16, but their deficit grew to 43-25 at halftime. The Golden Eagles began the second half on a 13-0 run, though Asheboro answered by notching the final nine points of the quarter.

“We kept trying to attack them at different angles,” Headen said.

“We just got punched in the face early, that big run,” Nance said. “They took it to us a little bit and we didn’t respond very good early on. Made some good runs.”

Butler’s 20 points and Camden Walker’s 17 points paced Asheboro.

The Blue Comets went 10-0 in regular-season play in the Mid-Piedmont Conference for one of their accomplishments. Headen said he hopes the team is considered one of the best in school history.

“A great season,” Butler said. “We’ve all been together for this. I’m proud of my boys.”

Nance, a veteran coach, had a similar reaction. This was the second season – and ideally the final season – that Asheboro plays home games downtown as renovations take place on campus. Gym capacity was reached and some fans were turned away for the state-playoff game.

“The kids put the time in and bought in to what we’ve tried to do and we couldn’t be more proud of them,” Nance said. “They believed in what they were doing. We just ran into a better basketball team.”

Class 2-A

At Reidsville, undefeated Reidsville pulled away for an 81-66 victory.

Trinity (21-8) trailed 37-33 points at halftime but couldn’t keep up. The Rams (23-0) benefitted from a 28-11 third-quarter advantage.

Class 1-A

At Ramseur, Pierce Leonard scored 20 points and third-seeded Eastern Randolph rolled past 14th-seeded Avery County 75-60.

On Saturday, the Wildcats (26-2) play host to sixth-seeded Robbinsville (23-5), which in the playoffs has won 46-45 vs. Mountain Island Charter and 51-49 vs. Swain County.

Eastern Randolph went up 42-24 by halftime against Avery County (18-10).

Davonte Brooks posted 18 points and Timothy Brower had 16 points for the Wildcats.

ER boys Timothy Brower v Trinity PAC T Feb2023

Wildcats capture another prize, top Trinity boys in PAC final

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Eastern Randolph’s Timothy Brower goes up for a basket as Trinity’s Jacob Hodges, right, defends. Other Trinity players, left to right, Brandon Campbell, Grayson Earls, Dylan Hodges and Dominic Payne look on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

RAMSEUR – Timothy Brower was down on the court in pain in the first quarter of the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament’s boys’ basketball championship.

The Eastern Randolph guard delivered much of the punishment for the rest of Friday night’s game.

Brower’s 28 points helped propel the regular-season champion Wildcats in a 74-64 victory against visiting Trinity that marked their first conference tournament title in seven years.

Brower said he sensed his tumble was pleasing to the opposing team’s fans.

“It kind of hit me,” he said. “That turned something on inside me.”

The Wildcats sure know how to turn it on, and even though a 17-point lead shrunk to two points in the fourth quarter they had what it took to turn away third-seeded Trinity.

It’s the winningest season in program history for Eastern Randolph (24-2).

“I knew we were going to have a good season, but I didn’t think it would be like this,” said senior guard Pierce Leonard, a transfer from Uwharrie Charter Academy.

The latest example from the Wildcats might have been fitting.

“It was how our boys persevered,” first-year coach Johnny Thomas said. “We’re not only showing people that we can be a fast team, we’re showing people that we can be a smart team. We can play half-court basketball and in the process of playing half-court basketball, we can get the job done.

“We allowed ourselves to stay positive and stay motivated. So the highlight for me is walking away with not only the (regular-season) championship, but the tournament championship.”

Eastern Randolph’s Davonte Brooks, despite not feeling well at times, racked up 20 points and Connor Carter’s 12 points came on four 3-point baskets.

“They run their system well,” Trinity coach Tim Kelly said. “They have so many different weapons. They’re the best team in our league.”

Brower, a sophomore, nearly doubled his season average of 14.9 points per game.

“I knew whoever was guarding me couldn’t guard me,” Brower said, dealing with what he described as a hyperextended knee.

“He got everywhere he wanted to get to,” Thomas said of Brower.

Despite now tripling last season’s eight-win total, this title game was far from automatic.

“We just couldn’t close out,” Kelly said of rallies that faded.

Dominic Payne racked up 25 points, Dylan Hodges had 15 of his 19 points in the first half and Brandon Campbell tallied 12 points for Trinity (20-7).

Eastern Randolph ended the first quarter on a 20-3 stretch and extended its lead to 30-13 by scoring the first five points of the second quarter. Trinity’s 14-1 run changed the game’s complexion.

The Wildcats’ 38-31 halftime edge grew again as Brower put together a stellar third quarter. Trinity ended up in the bonus early in the second half, but the Bulldogs also encountered foul trouble as Campbell and Hodges picked up their fourth fouls with more than seven minutes to play.

Still, Trinity shook off a 12-point hole, with Payne’s three-point play and his baseline jumper cutting the deficit to 59-57. The Bulldogs had a possession with a chance to tie or go ahead.

The next points came from Brooks on a putback of his own missed shot, then Brower drained a 14-foot jump before Carter’s 3 made it 66-59 with less than two minutes left.

“It felt awesome because no one thought we could do it,” Brower said.

The final score might have been closer, but Kelly didn’t want his team to back off.

“Why do that?” Kelly said. “Give yourself a chance to win.”

Leonard ended up on the PAC Tournament title-winning team for the second year in a row.

“I do what I got to do to allow us to win,” he said.

It was the first time either team had reached a conference tournament final since 2016. Eastern Randolph also won that matchup.

Asheboro boys Hakeeme Butler v Oak Grove Feb2023

Prep Basketball: Eastern Randolph teams reach PAC finals; Asheboro boys suffer upset loss

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Asheboro’s Hakeeme Butler takes a shot against Oak Grove during the Mid-Piedmont Conference Tournament semifinals. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

RAMSEUR – Both Eastern Randolph basketball teams will be in the championship games on their home court Friday night.

The finals matchups for Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament were set after Wednesday night’s results.

The 6 p.m. girls’ game pits Randleman (23-1) against Eastern Randolph (17-6) followed by the boys’ title game between Trinity (20-6) and Eastern Randolph (23-2)

On the girls’ side, second-seeded Eastern Randolph defeated visiting Southwestern Randolph 75-49 behind Brecken Snotherly’s 37 points.

The third-seeded Cougars (18-8) received 14 points from Maddie Small.

** Top-seeded Randleman rolled past fifth-seeded Uwharrie Charter Academy 58-40 with Jordan Booker pouring in 17 points, Audra Petty posting 16 points and Graycn Hall adding 15 points.

Ashara Spurill scored 10 points for visiting UCA (11-15).

** In the boys’ tournament, top-seeded Eastern Randolph had a difficult time in turning back fourth-seeded Randleman 48-45.

The Wildcats had scored at least 58 points in every previous game this season. They led by 12 points at halftime, but couldn’t put Randleman away.

Davonte Brooks racked up 18 points and 13 rebounds for Eastern Randolph.

Greg Price’s 18 points led Randleman (15-11), which closed the gap in the final seconds on Christian Long’s 3-pointer on the game’s last shot.

** Dominic Payne scored 30 points as third-seeded Trinity edged second-seeded Southwestern Randolph 67-66.

Dylan Hodges had 17 points and Brandon Campbell provided 13 points for the visiting Bulldogs.

Southwestern Randolph (15-10) had been the only PAC team to defeat Eastern Randolph this season. Nathan Ellis had 21 points and Sean Adkins added 16.

Mid-Piedmont Conference

Wednesday night at Ledford, fifth-seeded Oak Grove upset top-seeded Asheboro 67-61 in the conference tournament semifinals.

Asheboro (19-5), which was the defending tournament champion, had gone through the 10-game league slate undefeated in the regular season. It had an 11-game winning streak overall.

The Blue Comets, who’ll await the pairings for the Class 3-A state playoffs, received 21 points apiece from Jerquarius Stanback and Hakeeme Butler.

** In the girls’ tournament a night earlier, third-seeded North Davidson topped last-place Asheboro 76-68 despite Salem Lee’s 24 points and Sion Murrian’s 20 points. Sixth-seeded Asheboro’s season ended with a 4-21 record with 10 consecutive losses.

Asheboro boys J Stanback shoots v Ledford Feb2023

Prep Boys: Blue Comets hit decades-long high

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Asheboro’s Jerquarius Stanback goes up for a shot last week against Ledford’s Whit Denny. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO – There are lots of reasons that have made this a special season for the Asheboro boys’ basketball team.

The goal will be to keep it going.

The Blue Comets won the Mid-Piedmont Conference’s regular season, going through that portion of conference play without a loss for the first time since 1976.

“We knew we would have some success in conference,” veteran coach Brian Nance said. “We had a good first half (of league play) and next thing you know, you’re 6-0, 7-0 …”

Asheboro (19-4, 10-0 Mid-Piedmont Conference) made it to the finish line without a league loss going into this week’s conference tournament. Nance said he liked the Blue Comets’ focus in rematches after defeating opponents in the first rotation through the schedule.

Asheboro played its regular-season home finale by overpowering second-place Ledford 49-37 on Tuesday night to clinch the Mid-Piedmont Conference title. Jerquarius Stanback had 17 points.

The Blue Comets capped the regular season by winning 70-42 on Friday night at Montgomery Central with Camden Walker posting 17 points. That pushed Asheboro’s winning streak to 11 games.

Seniors Hakeeme Butler and Tanner Marsh are three-year starters and Stanback, a junior, is also a returning starter. Senior D.J. Headen had plenty of varsity experience entering the season. Walker, a junior, has been considered the biggest surprise, Nance said, and has provided a shooting threat on the perimeter.

Stanback averages 18 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. In the 10 Mid-Piedmont Conference games, he racked up a triple-double (that included points, rebounds and blocked shots) and seven double-doubles.

In conference play, Stanback’s 14.2 points per outing were followed by Butler and Headen before Marsh checked in fourth on the team at 9.5, giving the Blue Comets balanced scoring.

The Blue Comets enter the conference tournament as the defending champion of that event, rising from the No. 3 seed last year. There’s Wednesday’s semifinal against either North Davidson or Oak Grove and potentially Friday night’s final – both at Ledford.

This is Nance’s 17th season. His teams have won four league tournaments, but never secured a regular-season and tournament title in the same season. That hasn’t happened for Asheboro since the 1996-97 season.

“It has been a fun year,” Nance said. “We would like to win a couple more.”

Piedmont Athletic Conference

** Eastern Randolph began last week by trouncing visiting Trinity 98-70 with Davonte Brooks posting 32 points and Timothy Brower pouring in 24. Then the Wildcats clinched the PAC regular-season title by withstanding an upset from host Providence Grove by 88-84 (see separate story).

** Trinity received 31 points from Dominic Payne and 19 from Dylan Hodges in the clash with Eastern Randolph. The Bulldogs bounced back to top visiting Randleman 61-55 behind 20 points from Payne and 19 from Hodges.

Still, that means third-place Trinity (18-6, 8-4) has work to do to produce its second 20-win season in a row. Greg Price of fourth-place Randleman (14-10, 6-6) had 19 points.

** When Providence Grove whipped host Wheatmore 81-52, Sakai McKoy had 17 points. Wheatmore’s Cooper Black had 27 points.

** Southwestern Randolph kept its hopes alive for a share of the PAC crown by upending visiting Uwharrie Charter Academy 72-46 with Sean Adkins scoring 17 points on Senior Night.

** Fifth-place UCA responded by completing a season sweep of last-place Wheatmore by winning its home finale 76-42.

ER basketball Davonte Brooks dunk v PG Feb2023

Eastern Randolph boys find way to outright PAC title

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Eastern Randolph’s Davonte Brooks ties the game with a dunk late in the third quarter at Providence Grove. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Wildcats withstand Providence Grove for rare basketball prize

CLIMAX – Eastern Randolph had to make changes to figure out how to topple Providence Grove in Thursday night’s unexpected down-to-the-end tussle in boys’ basketball.

Just mark it up as another accomplishment for this group of Wildcats.

They’re outright Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season champions, collecting the school’s first league title of any sort in boys’ basketball in seven years and only second regular-season title in 29 years.

“We wanted to bring something back to Eastern Randolph for basketball and not just football,” senior forward Davonte Brooks said. “Now we can be a basketball and football school, not just football.”

The biggest variation of the past couple of months might come in perception considering Eastern Randolph won just eight games last season.

“It’s hard to change someone’s mindset,” first-year coach Johnny Thomas said.

And it was plenty difficult do dispatch Providence Grove, which turned in perhaps its best performance of the season on Senior Night.

Eastern Randolph clung to a one-point lead in the final minute, making three free throws in the last 12 seconds to secure an 88-84 victory against its neighboring rival.

“We got it done,” reserve Mason Briles said, calling it the wildest environment the Wildcats had competed in all season. “It feels great.”

The Wildcats (22-2, 11-1 PAC) will be the top seed and receive a quarterfinal bye in the league tournament next week before a Wednesday night semifinal at home. Eastern Randolph will be the location of the girls’ and boys’ tournament finals Feb. 17.

Brooks scored 30 points and Connor Carter had all 11 of his points in the second half, beginning with a go-ahead 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the third quarter.

“I didn’t want to lose, period,” Brooks said, “especially to PG. After we felt (how it felt) to lose the first two (defeats), we didn’t want another.”

It appeared the Patriots weren’t interested in coming up short again, either.

“All I asked them to do is fight,” Providence Grove coach Wes Luther said. “We’ve had a disappointing season, but the way we played (this game), I’ll take it.”

Sixth-place Providence Grove (7-17, 3-9), which lost by 33 points in the first meeting with Eastern Randolph, went to halftime with a 38-37 lead courtesy of Jacob Grantham’s difficult 16-foot shot at the buzzer. He kept up a personal scoring spree in the third quarter, when the Patriots went up 50-42.

Connor Carter drains a second-half 3-pointer over Providence Grove’s Joseph Coltrane. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

A Brooks dunk tied it at 60-60 shortly before Carter heated up. He was dialed in from both corners in the fourth quarter, with the Wildcats building an eight-point advantage and later his 3-pointer stretching the edge to 83-78.

Grantham’s two free throws and Zane Cheek’s breakaway layup for Providence Grove – the latter with 51 seconds left – were sandwiched around Brooks’ basket off a rebound before the Wildcats sealed it with free throws.

“It was a great game both ways,” Luther said. “We did hit more shots than we have all year. They kept trying to put us away with big shots. We just wouldn’t go away.”

Eastern Randolph’s Timothy Brower tallied 15 points, Pierce Leonard had 13 points and Nicah Taylor added 11 points.  The contributions didn’t end there.

“You’ve got Jani (Norwood) and Will Stalker and those guys in there getting big rebounds,” Thomas said.

Grantham finished with 17 points, Chase Whitaker had 14 and Sakai McKoy notched 13 points for the Patriots, who were last season’s regular-season PAC champions.

Eastern Randolph finished one game ahead of Southwestern Randolph, which snapped the Wildcats’ 19-game winning streak Jan. 31.

“We know everybody is going to come and everybody is going to fight us the best that they possibly can,” Thomas said. “Coming into halftime, my speech to my kids was, of course, very intense.”

So the Wildcats amped up their pressure defense to extend to full court.

As a result, it was a regular season full of rewards.

SWR basketball Nathan Ellis vs ER 013123

Prep Basketball: PAC boys’ race extends to final games

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Southwestern Randolph’s Nathan Ellis goes up for a shot as Eastern Randolph players, left to right, Timothy Brower, Nicah Taylor, Davonte Brooks and Pierce Leonard look on. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

 

ASHEBORO – The big upset from last week came with Southwestern Randolph ending the Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team’s winning streak at 19 games.

The Cougars won 75-66 at home, so that likely will keep the suspense in the Piedmont Athletic Conference going until the final night of the regular season.

Nathan Ellis led the way with 21 points, while teammates Thomas Leal (14 points), Sean Adkins (12), Kearns Trotter (11) and Landon Williamson (10) all scored in double figures.

Second-place Southwestern Randolph remained just a half-game out of first place by topping visiting Wheatmore 54-34 as Adkins posted 16 points Friday night.

Eastern Randolph hadn’t lost since its opener Dec. 2 at Southwest Guilford.

The Wildcats got back on track by winning 89-76 at Uwharrie Charter Academy on Friday night with a boost from Davonte Brooks’ 24 points (after he had 20 in the Southwestern Randolph game). Pierce Leonard, playing against his former school, tacked on 18 points and Timothy Brower had 17 points. These outputs helped overcome 41 points from UCA’s Ashton Troutman.

Eastern Randolph could secure the outright regular-season title by beating visiting Trinity, which remains in contention, on Tuesday night and host Providence Grove on Thursday night. Southwestern Randolph’s lone game this week was set for Tuesday night at UCA, while Trinity is also home vs. Randleman on Thursday night.

** Trinity played just once last week with Dominic Payne and Dylan Hodges each scoring 23 points in a 68-51 victory at Providence Grove.

** Despite 24 points from Tyshaun Goldston, Randleman fell 64-60 at UCA. The Tigers received 22 points from Christian Long in an 82-41 pounding of visiting Providence Grove.

** In the Mid-Piedmont Conference, Asheboro moved closer to clinching a title by defeating visiting Central Davidson 50-47 and topping host North Davidson 55-48. Hakeeme Butler’s 18 points and 20 points, respectively, those games paced the Blue Comets.

Eastern Randolph’s Logan Beaver launches a shot over Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Blakeley Justus last week. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Girls’ basketball

Randleman secured the outright PAC championship by defeating host UCA 56-33 as Gracyn Hall tallied 20 points.

The Tigers then won their regular-season home finale by 63-27 against Providence Grove.

** Eastern Randolph won twice, including a 43-34 road victory against host Southwestern Randolph as Brecken Snotherly rolled up 25 points and 11 rebounds. That result avenged a loss from early January.

Next, Snotherly poured in 30 points in Eastern Randolph’s 61-34 victory against UCA. That gave the Wildcats a four-game winning streak entering this week.

Eastern Randolph clinched at least a share of second place in the PAC.

Asheboro boys Tanner Marsh fastbreak Jan2023

Prep Basketball: Asheboro, Eastern Randolph boys remain on rolls

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Asheboro’s Tanner Marsh leads a fastbreak with teammate Jerquarius Stanback on his right during a game against North Davidson earlier this month. (Scott Pelkey/Randolph Record)

Asheboro won two more Mid-Piedmont Conference games last week in boys’ basketball to go with a non-conference victory against Uwharrie Charter Academy.

The Blue Comets enter this week undefeated in league play.

It began when Jerquarius Stanback had 19 points in a 66-54 triumph against visiting UCA.

The next night, Asheboro won its first showdown with Ledford in the Mid-Piedmont Conference, prevailing 66-54 for a road triumph behind DJ Headen’s 20 points and Tanner Marsh’s 14 points.

The Blue Comets followed that by defeating Oak Grove 81-63 with Stanback putting up 22 points.

** Eastern Randolph capped a 3-0 week to move to 19-1 overall by defeating host Wheatmore 97-52 as Timothy Brower led the way with 21 points. The Wildcats scored 70 first-half points, including 41 in the second quarter.

Riley Strickland’s 23 points were tops for Wheatmore.

When Eastern Randolph withstood host Chatham Central for a 96-93 non-league victory, Davonte Brooks poured in 41 points on 17-for-24 shooting from the field to go with 15 rebounds. Brower had 18 points and Pierce Leonard added 14 points.

A night earlier at Randleman, Brooks racked up 24 points in a 65-56 victory. Tyshaun Goldston of the Tigers had 21 points.

** Southwestern Randolph returned to the venue where it pulled off an upset in the Class 2-A state playoffs last year and beat host Providence Grove again, winning 63-58 as Sean Adkins posted 18 points and Thomas Leal had 15 points.

The Cougars won again by stopping host Randleman 63-54 despite Goldston’s 21 points.

** Trinity defeated visiting UCA 64-55 with Dylan Hodges notching 23 points and Dominic Payne supplying 19 points.

Girls’ basketball

Autumn Gentry scored half of her team’s points in Trinity’s 52-48 overtime victory against visiting Wheatmore. The game was played in front of a capacity crowd in advance of the ceremony naming the school’s gym after longtime boys’ coach Tim Kelly.

** Brecken Snotherly of Eastern Randolph had another huge week, scoring 38 points in a 59-54 loss at Randleman and then compiling 43 points and 18 rebounds in a 71-44 whipping of host Wheatmore. Kynnedi Routh had more than half of Wheatmore’s points with 25.

** Providence Grove pulled a surprise by registering its first PAC victory this season by topping visiting Southwestern Randolph 41-39 on Allie Frazier’s winning layup. She finished with 18 points.

SWR girls Kenzie Martin v Trinty Jan2023

Prep Roundup: Cougars, Tigers head toward girls’ showdown

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Kenzie Martin of Southwestern Randolph goes up for a shot during last week’s victory against Trinity. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)

Southwestern Randolph and Randleman are on course for a showdown in girls’ basketball Friday night in Randleman.

The teams have split two meetings this season.

Depending on results leading up to the game, Randleman could be in position to clinch at least a share of the PAC regular-season championship.

Randleman won 55-41 on Dec. 16 at Southwestern Randolph. The teams met again in the championship game of the Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic at Providence Grove, with the Cougars pulling out a 49-48 victory.

That began a stretch for Southwestern Randolph with four consecutive games decided by single-digit margins. The Wildcats were 3-1 in those.

There was a more comfortable result for the Cougars last week, when Caressa King’s 15 points led four players in double figures in a 65-42 home victory vs. Trinity.

Since its only regular-season loss in two seasons, Randleman put together a five-game winning streak through last Friday. Three of those outcomes were by at least 20 points.

The Tigers held a 17-1 overall record entering this week.

Friday’s game will be the last scheduled road game for Southwestern Randolph.

Also in girls’ basketball, Brecken Snotherly’s 28 points were tops for Eastern Randolph in a 61-37 non-conference trouncing of host Eastern Alamance on Friday night. That gave the Wildcats a five-game winning streak.

Boys’ basketball

Asheboro entered this week with a 4-0 mark in Mid-Piedmont Conference action. D.J Headn scored 20 points in a 76-30 romp past visiting Montgomery Central.

There are numerous challenges ahead for the Blue Comets, who’ll play four of their last six league games on the road.

In the PAC, Southwestern Randolph had four players with double-figure point totals, led by Thomas Leal’s 16 (all in the first half), to overcome Trinity in a 59-50 home triumph. That gave the Cougars a four-game winning streak after a five-game skid to pull the team to a 9-9 overall record.

Dominic Payne’s 34 points and Dylan Hodges’ 10 points accounted for most of Trinity’s offense.

Davonte Brooks of Eastern Randolph racked up 43 points and 15 rebounds in a 97-77 non-league victory at Eastern Alamance.

Providence Grove avenged a loss to Uwharrie Charter Academy by winning 70-65 on the road. That result came despite 31 points for UCA’s Ashton Troutman.

Wrestling

Asheboro has won another Mid-Piedmont Conference championship. This one was clinched by defeating visiting Montgomery Central 36-31 on Friday night at North Asheboro Middle School.

The Blue Comets have won four league titles in a row. The past two have come in the realigned conference.

Eastern Randolph boys basketball photo

A new way of doing it works fast for Eastern Randolph boys’ team

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Members of the Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball team have come together for a special season.

MEBANE – No longer in a rut, the Eastern Randolph boys’ basketball program is doing it on its own terms.

That’s fast – and to the point.

“We practice fast,” senior Davonte Brooks said. “We come to the games just like practice. All fast, all fast. We all knew from the get-go what we were getting into, from Day 1.”

Turns out this means getting all sorts of victories under first-year coach Johnny Thomas.

The Wildcats are a rapid-paced, action-filled group all the way to a 16-1 record. That’s double of last season’s win total.

Prior to this week, the latest accomplishment came with a 97-77 romp past host Eastern Alamance in Friday night’s non-conference game.

Eastern Randolph has eight games of scoring more than 90 points, including four in a row. The Wildcats have eclipsed 80 points in three others.

Part of this stems from conditioning and an attitude.

“We start practice out with a 1½-mile run,” Thomas said. “With great sacrifice comes great things. We’ve understood so far what it’s going to take to get to that next level. Moving forward, we cannot be a team that just puts points on the board. We have to be a team that keeps points off the board as well.”

The scoring part, though, is probably the most noticeable. It’s certainly one of the enjoyable aspects for the Wildcats, who embrace the pace.

“I love it,” point guard Pierce Leonard said. “It gets us steals. Gets us 90 points. That’s all we go for.”

Leonard is a senior in his first season with the Wildcats after transferring from Uwharrie Charter Academy. He has fit right in with Thomas’ style.

Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard drives against Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Sam Hoskins during a game earlier this month. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record).

Thomas said Leonard probably doesn’t understand the impact he has made by being able to generate a brisk pace.

“We’re not planning on slowing down for anybody,” said Thomas, a former North Carolina State player. “If you get in front of us, with all due respect, our job is to roll over you and get to that next win. All these guys, they’ve never had this sort of environment when it comes to the basketball side of things.”

Brooks is averaging 25.3 points per game, bolstered by his 43 points and 15 rebounds at Eastern Alamance.

“His ability to get the ball off the rim and just push the ball,” Thomas said of one of Brooks’ strengths. “Davonte has always had that in him, it was just giving him the opportunity and freedom to do it.”

Thomas said Brooks was an accomplished scorer last season. Now, he’s in a system that allows him to flourish even more.

The approach works for Brooks.

“I just go out there and try to add to it,” he said.

The style has been endearing for the Wildcats.

“It was different getting out there the first couple of months and first couple of weeks,” senior guard Connor Carter said. “It’s just special. (Thomas) believes in us and takes us everywhere. It’s definitely sad that I’m a senior and have to leave.”

Carter made a stirring 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer Friday night. Leonard ended up with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Nicah Taylor posted 13 points and Jani Norwood came off the bench to grab 10 rebounds.

Eastern Randolph made it halfway through the Piedmont Athletic Conference portion of its schedule with a 6-0 mark.

The Wildcats don’t intend on slowing down.

“We play really intense,” Thomas said. “I try to tell a lot of people when we get out there, our goal is for you to stop us. We’re a very aggressive team, so time to time we get in foul trouble. That’s going to happen. … The pace is different. The expectation is different. People’s understanding about what we do is also different.”

Thomas said the Wildcats want to set the tone on all levels.

“We set our expectation,” he said. “We intend to take it. You don’t got to give it to us. We’re going to take it. There’s really nothing you can do about it. You can try. That may be a little cocky. But if you’re not cocky, you’re not confident.”

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