APA boys top Cary Christian while girls fall

By Scott Cole

The Arendell Parrott Academy Patriots boys basketball team ended a seven-game losing streak with their first conference win last week over St. David’s. On Tuesday night, they took on Cary Christian Academy, a team currently tied for the conference lead.

The Patriots avenged an earlier loss to the Knights as they dominated them in a 57-38 victory.

“They were great tonight and we were not,” Cary Christian coach Bill Thompson said. “They got off to a great start. We tried going man to man to stop their shooters and we couldn’t do it. When you combine that with the fact that we couldn’t hit free throws, and got into foul trouble, you are not going to win. They just flat out played better than us.”

APA jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Knights roared back with a part of three pointers. Neither team shot exceptionally well in the first quarter, as the Patriots would hold a 10-9 lead at the end of the period.

“We came out hot and the guys kept finding me for open shots,” Arendell Parrott's Nick Harrison said. “It feels good to help the team get off strong because I’ve been struggling lately. But we were shooting well tonight. The defense came out strong and helped generate points off of turnovers.”

The scoring troubles plagued the Knights throughout the end of the first quarter and continued into the second. Harrison led the way for the Patriots with 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, thanks in part to four threes. APA led 32-19 at halftime.

“We executed our game plan well tonight,” APA Coach Dory Hines said. “We didn’t turn the ball over too much. We didn’t give them easy shots. When they missed, we grabbed the rebounds to deny them second chances. We also found Nick early and he lifted us up pretty quick. It was a great start.”

The Patriots would continue to lead throughout the second half, never letting the Knights have any chance at coming back.

“We started off slow in the second half,” Hines said. “He we shook that off, found our shots again and took off. We took a lot threes tonight. We shot well from the free throw line, which is something we practice on every day. Now we have to keep this momentum going as we head into conference next week.”

CARY CHRISTIAN: Holmes 13, Grove 10, Edwards 4, Van Schalwyk 4, Evans 3, Holmes 2, Alford 2

ARENDELL PARROTT ACADEMY:  Harrison 20, Huntley 16, Jonesa 7, McLawhorn 7, Collins 5, Prado 2

In the girls' game, outsized by their rivals, the Patriots put up a strong fight but dropped the contest 38-22.

“This was a tough one for us,” Cary Christian coach Kelly Holmes said. “We turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. We weren’t shooting well. They showed up to play hard and they frustrated us for much of the first half.

APA began the game on a five point run, kicked off by a three pointer by Caroline Ouano, who led Arendell Parrott with 12 points. Cary’s Shelby Woods sank a pair of threes that brought the Knights back from their early deficit. The Patriots lost their early lead with less than a minute to play in the first and would trail the Knights 13-11 heading into the second.

“We played good defense in the first half. We handled their pressure a lot better than the first time we played them, “ APA coach Kelly Johnson said, referring to an earlier 44-25 loss to Cary Christian.  “We put more pressure on them and our defense played well, but we just can’t finish it off. We struggled scoring.”

The Patriots started the second quarter on a 4-0 run to retake the lead and kept the Knights from scoring for the first three minutes. Woods, who would score 10 of her game leading 17 points hit a three pointer to end the threat. Heading into halftime, APA was down 20-16.

While APA jumped out on a brief run to open up the second half, the Knights did not oblige them by going silent early on. APA fell behind 31-23 at the end of the period and, despite their best efforts, could not mount any comebacks in the fourth.

“I’m satisfied in how we’ve been playing in the last few games, even if they have been losses,” Johnson said. “We’ve executed well. We’ve fought every minute we played. We just need to attack the basket better. We need to do better from the free throw line. We need to get more consistent on that. And that will come with experience.”

CARY CHRISTIAN: Woods 17, Stopper 4, Grove 4, Edwards 4, Deuser 3, Churchill 3, Newcomb 2, Holmes 1

ARENDELL PARROTT ACADEMY: Ouano 12, Hood 6, Melk 5, Blair 4, Oknonkwo 3, Jones 2.