Jackets edge Central
Tue. February 07, 2012 at 11:22 p.m. | By Jason Queen
Central Davidson’s Forrest Reynolds tries to beat a full-court press as he dribbles ahead of Lexington’s Tirek Holloway during their game Tuesday night. (Photo by Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch)
Central Davidson kept creeping right up on Lexington’s bumper all night Tuesday.
But the Jackets always had a little speed burst to pull away.
Lexington, which missed 14 free throws on the night, hit five in a row in the final 1:04 to preserve a heart-pounding 62-59 victory over the Spartans to spoil Central’s senior night. C.J. Woodberry was Johnny-on-the-spot most of the night, and his final big play was a rebound and two free throws with 25 seconds left.
Robert Hairston, whose Jackets improved to 9-0 in the Central Carolina Conference, 12-9 overall, couldn’t rest easy until the final horn sounded. “I think we missed about 20 free throws,” Hairston said. “If I get 50 percent of those, it’d be a different game.
“But I think this was a good one for us, to get in this situation at this time because it tests your fortitude. They showed that they do have the fortitude, and they will hang in there.”
Central coach Brian Hege was singing a similar tune. “It was a game of missed opportunities for us,” Hege said. “The free throw line (Central finished 16-of-27 from the stripe), we had too many turnovers in the first half.
“But I told them before the game I wanted to see determination, pride and teamwork, and I thought we showed all three.”
Central’s zone defense gave the Jackets fits all night, but they put jut enough small runs together to keep a lead most of the way. Woodberry’s alley-oop dunk in transition highlighted a 10-2 Lexington run late in the first half that gave the Jackets a 27-18 lead.
But the Spartans closed the gap with a 6-0 run to get within 27-24 at the break.
Kristopher Bradley’s stickback on the first possession of the fourth quarter gave Lexington a 48-36 advantage, and it looked like Lexington would finally put the Spartans away. But Greg Mininni, who scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, ignited a 10-2 spurt to help Central claw back to 50-48. Woodberry’s three-point play helped Lexington forge back in front 57-50 with 2:12 to play, but the Spartans staged one final rally.
Mininni converted a three-point play on the heels of Josh Wright’s steal, and added two more buckets in a row as the Jackets missed three of four free throws. All of a sudden, with 1:04 to play, Central was within one at 58-57. Chris Pompey then came up with a steal and got the ball ahead to Forrest Reynolds, whose runner in the lane wouldn’t fall. Woodberry pulled down the rebound and knocked down both free throws, making it 60-57. Reynolds missed a 3-point attempt on the next possession, but Mininni rebounded and put it back in to make it a one-point game again with 11 seconds left. Raekwon Byrd was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and he calmly sank both shots, and Wright’s heave at the buzzer was off the mark.
Woodberry led the Jackets with 18 points, Lock McLean added 13 and Mikal Lewis 11. John Hanes added 12 points for the Spartans, who dipped to 5-4, 16-6.
Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220 or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.