South boys topple Albemarle

Thu. February 16, 2012 at 10:44 p.m. | By Contributed Story

BISCOE | The winner of the rubber game between South Davidson and Albemarle would get its ticket punched for the Yadkin Valley Conference tournament championship game against defending state 1-A champion North Rowan. The semifinal showdown was played at East Montgomery Thursday night.

The Wildcats used a strong first quarter, racing to a 19-6 lead over the third-seeded Bulldogs, to pick up a 59-49 victory. Taylor Hatfield scored 15 of his game-high 24 points during the opening quarter and the Wildcats held off charge after charge from Albemarle. The final will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at East Montgomery.

“The quick start really helped us and I think it took Albemarle out of their game,” said South coach Jim Young, whose team is now 22-4. “We knew they would make a run at us, and the kids did a good job of holding them off. They’re a very good team with a good coach.

“This game took a lot out of us, but we have to be ready for North Rowan. They’re like a small college team with their height and their guard play. We’ll go after them and see what happens.”

During Taylor Hatfield’s first quarter blitz, he burned the nets with three 3-pointers and three more buckets from inside the arc. During the crucial fourth period, he hit four straight foul shots to help seal the victory.

“They’re (South Davidson) going to score, no matter what their shooting percentage is,” said Albemarle coach Al Andrew, whose team fell to 16-6 overall. “We weren’t attacking on offense in the first quarter. We were just standing around. But we showed a lot of heart and made a couple of runs at them, cutting the lead to eight points a couple of times. They’re a good and smart team.”

After the first period shellacking, the Bulldogs pecked their way back into the game, cutting the lead to eight points three times during the second quarter. But the Wildcats countered with three straight buckets in the final two minutes for a 37-21 halftime lead.

With both teams using combinations of zone defenses, the game slowed down in the second half with each team’s defense limiting the other team to only one shot.

The third quarter was slow when it came to scoring with Albemarle cutting into South’s lead, outscoring them 11-6, leaving the Wildcats on top 43-32 going into the fourth frame.

South started the final quarter fast, scoring the first six points and building a 17-point lead with less than six minutes left in the contest. Albemarle responded with an 11-2 run, trimming the lead to eight points at 51-43. But the Wildcats went on to outscore the Bulldogs 8-4 over the remainder of the game, hitting 6-of-9 foul shots.

Following Taylor Hatfield in the scoring column was senior Wil Collins with 12 points and Austin Hatfield with 11 points. Wesley Deese was the lone Bulldog in double figures with 15 points while Deon Christian added nine points.