Avery Sports Schedule Update

Avery basketball returns to the floor on Friday afternoon with conference games against the Mitchell Mountaineers. Action will begin with the junior varsity girls contest at 2 p.m., with JV boys, varsity girls and varsity boys games to follow.

On Saturday, Jan. 15, the Viking wrestling team will be traveling to Robbinsville for the James Orr Invitational, while the basketball teams will be venturing to Marshall to make up games against Madison which were postponed back on Jan. 7th.

Avery’s Gonzalez, Mitchell’s Styles Named to 1A All-State Football Team

Avery Vikings wide receiver/defensive back Andy Gonzalez was named to the 1A All-State football team for the second consecutive season, North Carolina Prep Football News officials announced last week through its website, www.ncpreps.com.

Gonzalez caught 51 passes, tops in the Western Highlands Conference and fifth-highest among all Western North Carolina receivers, for 864 yards (6th best in WNC) this past football season. The senior played in all 14 Avery football games this past season and hauled in 12 touchdowns, the second-highest mark among all WNC receivers.

The six-foot tall wideout had three 100-yard receiving games in 2010, including a season-high 134-yard effort and two touchdowns in Avery’s win at Cloudland on Sept. 10.

“I’m extremely proud of Andy and I’m really proud for him,” Avery head football coach Darrell Brewer said of his player’s honor. “It was my pleasure to be his coach. He will be truly missed by the coaching staff.”

Gonzalez amassed 1,016 all-purpose yards in helping Avery advance to the third round of the state football playoffs in 2010, and registered 44 tackles and an interception on defense. Gonzalez also punted twice for the Vikings for a 33-yard average in its win over Madison on Oct. 22nd.

In addition to Gonzalez, Mitchell Mountaineers punter Michael Styles was also named to the 1A All-State squad. Styles punted 39 times for a total of 1,542 yards, an average of 39.5 yards per kick. Styles gained 532 yards rushing on 79 carries as a running back for the Mountaineers, scoring seven touchdowns. As a two-way player on defense, the junior amassed 101 tackles in 15 games, helping Mitchell advance to the 1A state semifinals.

Junior Varsity Hoops Roundup

Last Tuesday, Jan. 4, the Avery junior varsity basketball teams were a perfect 2-for-2 to start the new year, picking up a pair of conference victories over visiting Polk County.

JV Girls Behind a game- and career-high 29 points from Bre Heaton, the Lady Vikings held off a late charge by Polk County to win 45-42.

Avery trailed 13-10 after one quarter, but Heaton scored 10 of Avery's 13 points in the second quarter, while the Lady Viking defense held Polk to only two points in the second quarter, helping Avery to a 23-15 lead at half-time.

The Lady Vikings also found offense hard to come by in the third quarter, connecting for only four points in the frame to allow Polk to draw to within 27-23 after three quarters.

Between quarters Avery head coach Pat Daniels challenged his team to focus and pick up the effort in order to emerge victorious.
“I told the girls to take care of the ball and run our plays and keep the ball in the middle of the floor. When we kept the ball in the middle we did a better job of not committing turnovers,” Daniels said. “The girls responded and got the job done.”

In the final period, Avery made a run to start the quarter to open as large as an 11-point margin, as Heaton and guard Katie Rigdon combined to score 13 of Avery's 18 points in the final stanza. Polk didn't quit, however, drawing to within three points as time expired.

Heaton's 29 points were complemented by seven from Rigdon and three points from Shannon Smith.

“Bre had a good game,” Daniels said. “She shoots the ball well and that’s something I expect from her. We have a good pair of guards in she and Katie who can score the basketball.”

Avery forced 19 steals in the game, but committed 25 turnovers themselves, helping to keep the game closer than perhaps it should have been.

“We made some dumb turnovers during the game. We did some things we didn’t need to do here and there, especially when we had the lead,” Daniels said. “I really was ill about the turnovers because we can handle 10 or 12 turnovers, but 25 were just too many. They were a tall team and got a lot of second-chance points on rebounds. I feel like we helped Polk out an awful lot tonight, but I think we did a good job at key times to force turnovers. All our guards are working well. When we had trouble getting the ball inside tonight, the guards did a good job to pick up the pace and scoring.”

JV Boys
Avery sophomore guard Lane Smith torched Polk County for 25 points as Avery picked up its second conference win of the season by the final score of 61-55.

Avery led 14-12 after one quarter as Smith and teammate Luke Wotell scored six points apiece in the frame. Chance Watson and Stetson Stafford combined for nine points off the Viking bench as Avery and Polk were knotted at 27 at half-time.

Avery seized control of the game in the third quarter, holding the Wolverines to only eight points in the frame while doubling that total with 16 in the same span. Bryce Pittman scored five points in the frame as he and Watson each netted 3-pointers during the quarter to help the Vikings to a 43-35 lead after three periods.
In the final stanza, Avery maintained its lead at the free throw line. Smith scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter from the charity stripe, while Watson added three field goals to hold off a late Polk charge and earn the six-point win.

Watson scored 13 points as the only other Avery player in double-figures. Pittman and Wotell each scored eight for Avery in the win.

Avery’s JV games scheduled for last Friday, Jan. 7 at Madison were postponed due to snow. The games have been rescheduled with JV girls action tipping off at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Jan. 15, followed by the JV boys game. JV games slated for Tuesday, Jan. 11, were also postponed. 

Varsity Basketball Wipes Out Wolverines

On Jan. 4, the Avery High School varsity basketball teams rang in 2011 in style by pummeling the Polk County Wolverines in the Viking Octagon.

The Lady Vikings kicked off the night by grabbing an early lead en route to a 72-39 blowout win. The men’s varsity squad did its part to make the evening perfect, defeating Polk by the final score of 76-65.

The Lady Vikings showed little rust from not having played in almost a week by trouncing the Polk Lady Wolverines. The front-court duo of Megan Tennant (19) and Katelynn Eudy (17) combined for exactly half of Avery's points for the game as the Lady Vikings won its eighth game of the season and remained unbeaten in conference play.

AHS jumped out to a 23-6 lead after one quarter, shooting 10 of 20 from the field in the quarter and forcing 14 Polk turnovers in the period. Polk scored six of the first eight points in the second quarter to cut the margin to 25-12, but the Big Red ended the quarter with a 14-2 scoring run to put the game out of reach, leading 39-14 at halftime.

Tennant tallied 17 of her 19 points in the first half, while senior Mercedes Bentley scored seven points and Savannah Dellinger added six points by intermission. AHS substituted liberally throughout the second half and the entire roster saw significant minutes of action. The changes did little to hurt the Lady Viking margin as AHS continued to maintain and even lengthen its lead, carrying a 56-26 margin after three quarters and earning the eventual 33-point win.

Tennant added five rebounds, three steals and two blocks to her team-high 19 points, while Eudy scored 17 and added nine rebounds, six blocked shots, three steals and an assist. Dellinger scored 10 markers to go with eight assists, with eight points and five assists from Kelsie Clarke in the win. Kailey Russell led Polk with nine points, with eight points from Brittany Phipps. The Lady Vikings shot 42 percent from the floor for the game, and was an impressive 10-for-13 from the free throw line in the win.

Following the Lady Viking victory, AHS and Polk’s varsity boys squads met on the hardwood in the evening’s final matchup. The game pitted a pair of talented clubs was a back-and-forth affair for much of the night. The home club eventually used clutch free throws in the final minutes from the free throw line to clinch the win.

AHS led 21-19 after one quarter behind seven points from senior guard Dustin Clarke and five points from senior center Colton Blackburn. The Vikings seized control in the second period to take a 40-30 advantage at halftime, as Benji Stewart chipped in with a pair of field goals and Spencer Blackburn netted five points off the bench.

AHS maintained its working margin in the third quarter, as a 7-2 Viking run to open the second half inflate The Big Red’s lead to as many as 15 points at 47-32. Polk outscored Avery 17-10 for the remainder of the period to cut the Viking advantage in half, as AHS led 57-49 going into the final stanza.

Polk cut the Avery lead to as little as six points on three different occasions during the final eight minutes. A Benji Stewart three-pointer early in the quarter pushed Avery ahead by nine, and free throws from Clarke in the waning minutes staved off any hope for a Wolverine rally.

The win was the sixth of the season for the Vikings and improved AHS to 3-1 in Western Highlands Conference play. Clarke netted a game-high 28 points, nine of which came from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of the contest on only 11 attempts. He added six rebounds and three assists in the win, with nine points from Joey Potter, eight points and eight rebounds from Colton Blackburn, seven points, four rebounds and three steals from Timmy Stewart, and six points each from Kody Hughes and Alex Villanueva. Andre Overholt led the Wolverines with 15 points, with 14 points from Stephen Staley and eight points, six assists and four rebounds from Shawn Gary.

Avery was scheduled to travel to Madison on Friday, Jan. 7 for another conference clash, but snow forced the postponement of the games. The contests have been rescheduled to Saturday, Jan. 15. The Tuesday, Jan. 11, games at Mountain Heritage were also postponed. The Vikings are next scheduled to take the floor this Friday, Jan. 14, for a conference matchup against neighboring Mitchell.

'Landers, Lady Landers Open Conference with Wins

The Cloudland Highlanders and Lady ‘Landers opened conference play with wins over University High on Tuesday, Jan. 4, as the ‘Landers ran to a 64-30 victory and the Lady ‘Landers cruised to a 74-24 win.


The Cloudland boys came out of the gate firing as they opened up on a 7-0 run and ended the first quarter with a 13-8 lead. The start of the second quarter saw Zac Potter score six points in an 8-0 run to give CHS a 21-8 lead midway through the frame. Michael Hyden tossed in six more points before half to help the ‘Landers run to a 29-17 lead at the break.


The second half was much of the same for Cloudland, as it outscored UH 18-7 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.


“We told the kids all week that is was going to be a grind it out game,” ‘Lander head coach Brandon Carpenter said. “We thought it would come down to the last shot. University High is a dangerous team, and we were worried about them. The kids stepped up for us.”


Hyden led the way for Cloudland with 17 points. Matthew Potter added in 16 points.


For the ‘Landers, it was also the way they felt they needed to open up conference play.


“I told the kids before we started that this was a must win,” Carpenter said. “We had to get this game if we want to have anything to do in the conference championship.”


In the night’s opening varsity contest, the Lady ‘Landers opened on the game with a 14-2 run and never looked back.


“It was important to come out on that run,” Lady ‘Landers head coach Matt Birchfield said. “I thought it was the turning point in the game. We talked about having to get a run and get after them, and I thought it just turned the game. It started with our defense.”


From that point, CHS raced out to a 23-10 lead at the end of the first and a 48-15 margin at half-time. The Lady ‘Landers put an exclamation point on the victory with an 18-0 run to close the third quarter.


“I thought our effort was real well tonight, and I thought we sit it with our defense,” Birchfield said. “I thought our team defense was real well tonight. We forced them into some turnovers and got some easy baskets.”


Courtney Clarke led CHS with 19 points, while Sydney Miller and Summer Hughes scored 11 points apiece.


Cloudland’s schedule also played victim to the weather, but not with a postponement. The threat of weather moved games last Friday, Jan. 7, at North Greene to Thursday afternoon, Jan. 6. The ‘Landers came away with a 78-37 victory while the Lady ‘Landers saw a late rally fall short 49-45.


Cloudland was scheduled to host county rival Unaka this past Tuesday, Jan. 11.

ASU Hoops Roundup

Men’s Basketball: Mountaineers Down Davidson, Defense Vaults ASU Past Georgia Southern

Charlotte native Omar Carter put on a second-half show with 19 points after the intermission to lead Appalachian State University men’s basketball to a 74-66 win at Davidson on Jan. 5.

Carter finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds and a pair of assists, while Donald Sims added 14 points, four assists and two rebounds to help the Mountaineers (6-7, 2-1 SoCon) to a third-straight win against the Wildcats (7-7, 1-2).

ASU opened its largest lead of the game at 62-51 with just under four minutes to play in the contest when DC’s Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman drained back-to-back triples to pull within five points with two minutes on the clock.

Davidson then played 34 seconds of tough defense and forced Carter to launch a three-pointer from the left corner as the shot clock expired, which kissed the glass and put ASU back up by eight points.

Carter and Jeremi Booth then drained 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch and Mitch Woods broke free from a full-court trap for a layup with 22 seconds to play to keep the ‘Cats from pulling any closer than six points in the final minutes.

Booth scored nine points off the bench with a pair of rebounds in 21 minutes while Woods, who returned from injury after three games on the sideline, added five points, four rebounds and an assist. Petey Hausley scored seven points with five rebounds in the paint while Nathan Healy added eight points and six boards in 18 minutes off the bench before fouling out late in the contest. Andre Williamson was also plagued by foul trouble and added five points and three assists before collecting five fouls in just 15 minutes.

For Davidson, Jake Cohen was solid with 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and was complemented by McKillop’s 12 points and three assists.

The contest got off to a slow, rough start, as both squads racked up fouls at the same rate as points before Davidson strung together a 9-2 run to open a five-point lead late in the period. ASU rallied to tie the score at 29-29 at the intermission behind a pair of three-pointers from Healy.

Neither team shot well in the first half as the ASU made just 39.3 percent from the field and were 3-of-10 from downtown, while Davidson shot 44.4 percent but missed all five 3-point attempts.

ASU sank 55.2 percent in the second half to finish the game at 47.4 percent, compared to 43.1 percent for the home team. ASU was 4-of-13 from downtown compared to 6-of-21 for DC.

The ‘Cats owned a 38-33 advantage on the boards but committed 16 turnovers to ASU’s 12. Davidson converted 16 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds on the night.

On a snowy weekend for hoops, an early scoring burst allowed ASU to take a large first-half lead against Georgia Southern (GSU) and a solid defensive stand in the second half carried the Mountaineers to a 79-51 win last Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Holmes Center.

Carter had the hot hand early with 15 first-half points to help the Mountaineers to an early 28-14 advantage. Carter added 10 more after the intermission to lead all scorers with 25 on the afternoon. The junior guard was 8-of-15 on the day with five 3-pointers to accompany five rebounds and three steals.

GSU (4-13, 0-4 SoCon) cut its 14-point deficit to as close as five points before the break, before ASU stopped the rally to hold a 40-31 lead after 20 minutes of play.

ASU’s shooting touch cooled over half-time as the Mountaineers converted just one of their first eight shots to open the second half. GSU took advantage and climbed back within four points at 42-38. ASU then regained a double-figure cushion when GSU’s Cameron Baskerville converted a layup to cut ASU’s lead to 56-49 with eight minutes to play.

With the game in the balance, ASU then took off on a 20-0 run spanning the next five and a half minutes to lock down the victory. GSU scored just two points in the game’s final eight minutes.

ASU (7-7, 3-1) shot 46.9 percent from the field in the game and, after allowing GSU to make 13-of-24 shots in the first period, the Mountaineers locked down to keep the Eagles to 7-of-27 shooting in the second half.

Sims was 7-of-15 from the field for 19 points in addition to five rebounds and a team-high five assists. Sims was one of five players with at least five rebounds for the Black and Gold as the team held a 43-29 advantage on the glass.

Booth came off the bench to score 17 points with three rebounds and a pair of steals in 23 minutes for ASU. Williamson led ASU with seven rebounds, in addition to four assists, three points and a block. Healy scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting with five rebounds in 19 minutes.

GSU was led by 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting by Ben Drayton. The guard added four assists and four of the squad’s nine steals.

Rory Spencer added 15 points and seven rebounds but committed four of GSU’s 18 turnovers. The Eagles added nine assists and three blocks in the game. GSU’s 51 points are easily the fewest allowed by ASU this season, as Robert Morris and Davidson previously held the distinction with 66 points each against ASU.

ASU’s quick homestead wraps up at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 13, as the Mountaineers welcome North Division rival UNC Greensboro (0-14, 0-4) to the Holmes Center.

Women’s Basketball: Lady Mountaineers Cage Cougars, Roll Past Wofford
ASU women’s basketball rallied from a two-point half-time deficit and won its 13th straight home game last Wednesday, Nov. 5, notching a 78-62 win over College of Charleston, its fourth straight in the series.

Suffering a 37-35 deficit at the break, the Black and Gold posted a 13-4 spurt in the opening minutes of second-half play to take the lead and never looked back.

After Cathryn Hardy connected on two free throws to begin the second period, the Lady Mountaineers answered with ten straight points to grab a six-point advantage. The scoring came from all over from ASU as Sam Ramirez, Anna Freeman, Courtney Freeman and Ashlen Dewart all contributed on the offensive front.

Continuing to fire on all cylinders, ASU extended its lead to 10 points off a Kelsey Sharkey free layup, making the score 58-48 in the Mountaineers’ favor.

Despite some late buckets by College of Charleston, ASU never led by less than 10 points and final jumpers by Canesha Edwards pushed ASU to the 16-point win. The impressive second-half by ASU proved to be the difference-maker in the contest, as ASU outscored its counterpart 43-25.

The stingy Mountaineer defense also stepped up in second half action, holding C of C to a dismal 20.6 field goal percentage, not allowing the Cougars to connect on a single three-pointer.

Sluggish and non-energetic play to start the game saw the Mountaineers fall behind by as many as nine-points, facing a 16-7 deficit just seven minutes into the game. Dewart and Ramirez stepped up however, and a Ramirez trey put ASU on top for the first time, taking a narrow 24-22 advantage with a little under eight minutes remaining until half-time.

The Cougars would not go away quietly, going on a 5-0 run in the waning minutes of first half play to lead by five, but fortunately for the Mountaineers, Ramirez drilled yet another trey and ASU went into the half down just two.

Appalachian picked up its pace in the second half and defensive domination coupled with offensive execution enabled ASU  to earn their third conference win of the season.

Four Mountaineers ended the game in double-figures with Dewart scoring a game-best 19 points. Tallying her third double-double of the season, she also hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds. In addition to Dewart, Ramirez chipped in 17 points, Freeman 15 and Edwards scored 14.

On Saturday, Jan. 8, ASU rolled to its fourth-straight victory in routing Wofford 81-60 last Saturday, Jan. 8, on the Terriers’ home floor. The victory is ASU’s seventh straight over Wofford and improves ASU to 10-3 on the season and 4-1 in league play, while WC falls to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in SoCon action.

After ASU took a comfortable 44-28 lead into the half, Wofford began the second-half with a spark, outscoring ASU 7-2 to pull within 11 points a little under five minutes into the period. ASU responded however, countering with a 10-2 streak of its own, paced by Sam Ramirez, pushing the ASU lead back out to 56-37 with 9:37 remaining.

Ramirez had five points during the Mountaineer spurt, and ended the contest with a game-high 24, two shy of her career-high on 10-19 shooting, including drilling four treys. The lone senior cluttered the stat line, playing perhaps her best all-around game of the season thus far as she recorded a career-high eight steals, hauled in seven rebounds and dished out four assists.

Never allowing Wofford to come closer than 17 points, ASU cruised to the dominating 21-point victory.

The Mountaineers started the game on fire, jumping out to a commanding 19-5 lead, thanks in part to impressive play by Spartanburg, S.C. native Ashlen Dewart. The sophomore scored eight of ASU’s first 19 points. Dewart was also stellar in the game, tallying her second straight double-double, scoring 21 points, while grabbing 16 rebounds.

Not shy offensively either, Ramirez and Courtney Freeman were also able to ignite the Black and Gold on the offensive front, and ASU made the score 24-9 in their favor with a little under 12 minutes to go until the break.

Wofford tried to get something going, posting an 8-2 run, with points coming from April Moorhouse and Mahagony Williams, and the Terriers were able to pull within nine.

Nine points however would be the narrowest of margins, as the Mountaineer offense was unstoppable. Ramirez drilled two treys in the waning minutes of first period play and ASU took a 14-point cushion into the half.

Despite Wofford trying to rally to begin the second half, ASU picked up its pace and maintained its double-digit lead.

Freshman Michelle Taylor helped enable ASU keep up their strong play, as she scored a career-high nine points, all coming in the second half, while grabbing six rebounds as well, and the Black and Gold went on to the 81-60 win.

Presley Finishes Third in Payton Award Voting

Appalachian State University quarterback DeAndre Presley placed third in voting for the 2010 Walter Payton Award, The Sports Network announced during its 24th-annual NCAA Division I FCS awards banquet at the Dallas-Frisco Embassy Suites.

Presley, the only underclassmen among the three players invited to the unveiling of the FCS player-of-the-year award, received 13 first-place votes and 182 total points in balloting among national media and sports information directors.

Stephen F. Austin's Jeremy Moses received the honor in a landslide, tallying 37 first-place votes and 372 total points. Western Illinois' Matt Barr placed second with 17 first-place votes and 262 total points.

With Presley's third-place finish, ASU has had four representatives among the top three in Payton Award balloting in the past seven years — DaVon Fowlkes also placed third in voting in 2004 and Presley's predecessor as ASU's starting quarterback, Armanti Edwards, became the first two-time winner of the award by taking home the trophy each of the last two years.

Presley became only the fourth player in FCS history to pass for 2,000 yards (2,631 — 20th nationally) and rush for 1,000 yards (1,039 — 28th nationally and second among QBs) in a season last fall and ranked second nationally with 35 touchdowns accounted for (21 passing, 13 rushing and one receiving) and fourth with 3,670 yards of total offense.

In balloting for the other major FCS awards handed out by The Sports Network last Thursday, Jan. 6, ASU defensive end Jabari Fletcher, linebacker D.J. Smith and defensive back Mark LeGree placed seventh, eighth and 17th, respectively for the Buck Buchanan Award (defensive player of the year) and head coach Jerry Moore placed 11th for the Eddie Robinson Award (coach of the year).

Eastern Washington linebacker J.C. Sherritt took home the Buchanan Award and Southeast Missouri's State's Tony Samuel, who played under Moore when ASU's 22-year head coach was an assistant at Nebraska, won the Robinson Award.

Bobcats Hoops Roundup

Women’s Basketball: Royals Outlast Bobcats

Melissa Thomas poured in a game-high 26 points, and the Queens University of Charlotte women's basketball team won the battle on the glass by a 48-20 margin en route to a 70-57 victory over Lees-McRae College (LMC) last Thursday, Jan. 6, in Conference Carolinas play.

Queens (5-5, 4-0 CC) connected on 44.4 percent of its attempts from the floor on the night, including a 48.5 percent clip in the second half, while holding the Bobcats (1-8, 1-3 CC) to a 41.1 percent mark overall and a 37.9 percent showing in the first 20 minutes. The Royals also went a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line, while outscoring the Bobcats by a 16-4 margin in second chance points.

Janina Thurau paced a trio of Bobcats in double figures with 14 points, while Chloe Parker and Icey Patterson recorded 12 and 11 markers, respectively. Patterson notched a game-high five assists and four steals, while Parker pulled down a team-best seven rebounds.

Thomas connected on 8-of-13 attempts from the field, and went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe to post a game-high 26 points while also notching a contest-best four steals. Marissa Hudley posted a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, knocking down 7-of-15 shots from the floor. Shakaria Hamlin chipped in seven points and seven rebounds, while Erin Goldner recorded eight points, three steals, and a team-high three assists.

Queens got off to a strong start, scoring 10 of the game's first 16 points to open a four-point lead on a Hamlin jumper at the 12:59 mark of the first half. LMC responded with a 5-0 spurt to claim a narrow 11-10 advantage on a Parker layup with 11:41 to play in the period.

After a quick basket by the Royals' Sarah Myatt, Flowers and Zukye Smith combined for a trio of three-pointers to propel the Bobcats to a 20-14 lead with 8:22 remaining in the first half. Queens answered with a run of its own, launching a 17-0 run to take a 31-20 advantage on a pair of free throws by Goldner at the 4:05 mark. The Royals then closed out the half with a 10-7 spurt to take a 41-27 lead into the intermission.

LMC opened the second half with two quick baskets by Parker and Patterson to cut the lead to 41-33, and stayed within single-digits for much of the next 12 minutes. With the scoreboard reading 60-53 in favor of Queens with just over five minutes remaining, the Royals took control, closing out the win with a 10-4 run to equal the final margin of 70-57 and remain perfect in conference play.

Men’s Basketball: Queens and Mount Olive Top LMC

The Queens University men's basketball team turned in a solid defensive effort en route to a 70-44 win over LMC on Thursday, Jan. 6, in Conference Carolinas action.

Queens (7-4, 3-0 CC) knocked down an even 50 percent of its field attempts on the night, including a 52 percent clip in the first half, while limiting LMC (3-7, 0-3 CC) to a 30.6 percent mark from the floor. The Royals won the battle on the glass by a 38-30 margin, including a 27-18 advantage on the defensive boards, while converting 18 Bobcats miscues into 18 points.

Adam McFerran led the way for the Bobcats with a double-double, recording game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds while knocking down 6-of-13 attempts from the floor. Tevin Friday and Daniel Sepokas chipped in seven and six points, respectively, while Matt Eller recorded a game-high three steals.

Queens' Daniel Bailey equaled McFerran's game-high of 16 points, connecting on 7-of-10 attempts from the floor and grabbing five rebounds to pace the Royals. Reggie Hopkins joined Bailey in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while David Mason and Sean Eads chipped in with nine and eight markers, respectively. Brent Evans grabbed a team-high nine rebounds for the Royals, while Joshua Twitty, familiar to Avery Vikings fans from his days as a high school standout for the Polk Wolverines, dished out a game-best three assists.

The Royals took command early, opening a 17-5 lead on an Eads triple at the 13:35 mark of the first half. Eads added another three-pointer 30 seconds later to push the lead to 21-5 before Bailey knocked down a jumper with 9:09 left in the period to widen the margin to 25-8. Queens pushed the lead to 33-13 with an 8-5 spurt over the next six and a half minutes, taking a 39-18 lead into the intermission.

Queens carried the momentum into the second half, opening the period with an 8-2 run to push the margin to 47-20 on a Preston Newlin layup at the 17:17 mark. The Royals maintained at least a 20-point lead for the remainder of the game, pushing the margin to as much as 34 points at 64-30 with six minutes left on the clock. The Bobcats finished strong, outscoring the Royals by a 14-6 margin over the final six minutes.

LMC’s scheduled home games and special “Take a Kid to the Game” day promotion scheduled for last Saturday, Jan. 8, against Mount Olive College were postponed a day due to inclement weather. The Mount Olive College men's basketball team shot a blistering 64 percent from the field in the second half en route to an 85-77 come-from-behind victory over LMC last Sunday, Jan. 9,in Conference Carolinas action.

Mount Olive (7-5, 2-2 CC) edged the Bobcats (3-8, 0-4 CC) by a 35-34 margin on the glass, including a 12-10 advantage on the offensive boards, while outscoring LMC by a 17-9 spread in second chance points. Both teams shot well from the field and the free throw line, as Mount Olive posted a 45.6 percent clip from the floor after knocking down 16-of-25 field goal attempts in the second half.

LMC connected on 43.6 percent of its attempts on the afternoon, including 44.4 percent of its shots from beyond the arc. Each team converted at least 80 percent of its attempts at the free throw line, as Mount Olive posted an 81.3 percent mark from the stripe while LMC connected on 84 percent of its chances at the line.

The Bobcats placed five players in double figures for the first time this season, led by senior McFerran, who poured in 20 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Dairl Scott, Jr. and Sepokas joined McFerran in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Sam Youse and Friday each tallied 10 markers.

Scott also paced the Bobcats with a contest-best eight rebounds, while tying DeAndre Tillman for the game-high with two blocked shots. Reshon Benjamin dished out a game-high six assists, while Tillman recorded a contest-best three steals.

Mount Olive also placed five players in double figures, and was paced by Ewon Wright's game-high 23 points, as the freshman knocked down 5-of-10 attempts from downtown and went 6-for-8 at the charity stripe. Dory Hines joined Wright in double figures with 16 points, connecting on 6-of-8 attempts from the field while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Brandon Allen and Derek Stanton each recorded 15 points on the day, while Mahamed Ibrahim chipped in 10 markers.

The Trojans opened the first half strong, taking an early 9-5 lead on a Hines layup at the 15:47 mark before the Bobcats responded, launching a 13-2 run to claim an 18-11 advantage on a jumper by Friday with 9:19 to play in the period.

Mount Olive trimmed the margin to 20-19 on a pair of Staton free throws at the 7:22 mark before LMC answered once again, pushing the lead to 33-23 with a 13-4 spurt that was capped by a Tillman free throw with 3:28 left on the clock. Mount Olive closed out the first half on a strong note, outscoring the Bobcats by a 6-2 margin over the final three minutes to cut the lead to 37-31 at the intermission.

LMC maintained the lead in the early moments of the second half, stretching the advantage to 42-33 on a Scott layup with 18:44 to play. Mount Olive stayed within striking distance for much of the next six minutes until the Trojans caught fire, launching a 7-0 run to take a 60-58 lead on a layup by Aleks Mitrovic at the 9:33 mark.

The Bobcats quickly evened the score on a pair of McFerran free throws before Mount Olive took control, launching a 14-6 run over the next three minutes to take a 74-66 lead on a Wright triple with 4:11 to play. Mount Olive continued its hot shooting over the next several possessions, opening an 81-72 lead on a Wright layup with just over a minute and a half to go.

Stanton converted a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to give Mount Olive its largest lead of the game at 83-72 before the Bobcats began to rally, forcing two turnovers on back-to-back inbound plays and cutting the lead to 83-77 on a Sepokas triple with 20 ticks remaining. Mount Olive regained control from there, converting a pair of last-second free throws to equal the final margin of 85-77.

LMC returns home to take on St. Andrews this Saturday, Jan. 15, with the women’s contest slated to tip off at 2 p.m. and the men’s game immediately following.