South boys hold off Bishop McGuinness
Mon. February 20, 2012 at 10:00 p.m. | By James W. Houston
DENTON | When you think of the South Davidson boys basketball team, you think of long-range shooters, especially the Hatfield twins, Austin and Taylor. But in the Wildcats’ 1-A state playoff opener against Bishop McGuinness, South ran into a team just as deadly from behind the arc.
South held on for a 67-62 win in a game that featured 15 treys
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The key play came late in the game with the Wildcats holding on to a 63-62 lead and the Villains in possession of the ball. The visitors went to the basket, missed a short jumper and Austin Hatfield was there to gather in the rebound with 20 seconds left in the contest. While Hatfield is known for his shooting, it was his rebound that helped secure the victory. David Whitaker hit a basket at the buzzer for the final margin.
“They’re a tough team to have to play in the first round,” said South coach Jim Young, whose team improved to 23-5. “They’re a much better team than their record shows. They’re a talented team, well-coached. They were a lot taller than us, but we were able to hold our own on the boards. We’ve got some kids with big hearts that refuse to quit. That was one of the keys, keeping them off the boards and playing good defense.”
In the Wildcats’ previous outing, a 62-60 loss to North Rowan in the finals of the Yadkin Valley Conference tournament, South connected on only 7-of-21 foul shots. In this game, they vastly improved their free throw shooting, hitting on 17-of-21 from the line, with Taylor Hatfield going 12-of-13.
The first quarter was very fast-paced with the Villains going up 24-17 at the end of the frame. Bishop’s all-conference performer, Kevin Weekworth, scored nine points during the period. Taylor Hatfield paced the Wildcats with nine points.
The Villains went up 29-20 midway through the second quarter, but South mounted a charge, outscoring Bishop 10-2 over the remainder of the half to get within 31-30 at the break.
To start the second half, South got its first lead since the game’s first bucket when Whitaker hit a 3-pointer from the corner on the Wildcats’ first possession. South continued to hold Bishop scoreless until the Villains sunk a pair of foul shots. Bishop went scoreless for more than six minutes, stretching from the final 3:28 of the first half picking up the foul shots with 4:31 left in the third quarter.
The pair of free throws brought the Villains to within 36-33 and then on back-to-back treys, they regained the lead 39-36. The game went back-and-forth with Bishop holding a 50-49 lead going into the final frame.
During the fourth quarter, neither team could muster more than a three-point lead until the Wildcats scored a bucket at the buzzer. Each time it appeared one of the teams could gain an edge, the other team responded with a bucket.
Bishops’ final lead came at 62-61 with 1:47 left in the game. After Austin Hatfield’s key rebound, Taylor Hatfield was fouled and he converted both ends of the one-and-one. “They played good defense and were able to negate our size,” said Bishop McGuinness coach Josh Thompson, whose team ends the season with a 12-14 record. “They didn’t get rattled when we were up nine points, they’re a scrappy team that refused to quit. They play very tough.”
Taylor Hatfield paced the Wildcats with 19 points followed by brother Austin Hatfield with 18 points. Whitaker had 12 points and Wil Collins added 11.
Trey Tatum led the Villains with 21 points, including three 3-pointers during the third quarter. Christian Sexton added 19 points and Weekworth had 12.