Benson, Dragons overcome Thomasville

Fri. February 03, 2012 at 11:00 p.m. | By Mike Duprez

TYRO | Something about Thomasville just seems to bring out the best in West Davidson.

Three nights after scoring two points in the first half against Lexington, the Green Dragons rallied for a scintillating 74-71 victory over the Bulldogs behind 31 points from freshman sensation Nolan Benson on Friday in Tyro.

The Dragons are 0-6 against the rest of the Central Carolina Conference but 2-0 against the Bulldogs, who had won four straight.
“I think it’s because we know we can beat this team,” Benson said.

Benson did all night. The 6-foot-1 forward was virtually unstoppable in the post, where he made all 12 of his baskets. He was also 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

“I thought I was playing really quick,” Benson said. “I was finishing strong at the hole and they kept making really good bounce passes where they needed to be.”

The Dragons, reeling under a withering Thomasville press in the fourth quarter, trailed 70-64 with 2:42 left. But 3-pointers from Austin Teague and Zach Queen helped close that gap quickly and Benson got the game-winner on a backdoor layup with 48 seconds left. Taylor Beck hit two free throws with 19 seconds left to supply the final margin. Thomasville’s Quanny Johnson had an open look but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

All told, West outscored Thomasville 10-1 down the stretch.

“We were disappointed at the way we played at Lexington, to say the least,” said West coach Russ Snyder, whose team is now 4-14 overall. “We were frustrated but I think we came out ready to play tonight from the get-go.”

Teague scored 11 points for the Dragons while David Monk had 10.

It was a disappointing loss for the Bulldogs, who fell to 4-12 overall and 4-4 in the conference.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with them as much as it is us,” said Thomasville coach Tony Clark. “We had probably our worst practice last night. I didn’t think it would have anything to do with this game. Right now, we’re battling being young and a lot of selfishness going on.”

Latrele Skeen led Thomasville with 17 points while Frank Ingram had 14, Johnson 13 and Desmond Wilson 10.

The Bulldogs led by seven late in the first half and again in the fourth quarter but the Dragons kept charging.

Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or mike.duprez@the-dispatch.com.