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Warriors stunned again by Northern Nash 59-55

Hunt still in first place despite loss


The 3-A Big East Conference reacted with slight dismay when the Hunt High varsity boys basketball team launched defense of its 2013-14 championship with a loss at Northern Nash some three weeks ago.

However, the upstart Knights proved that victory was no fluke. Northern Nash repeated the feat, knocking off the conference-leading Warriors, 59-55, in the Hunt High gym Friday night.



Northern Nash celebrated and, with the officials already having departed, the proceedings turned ugly. Hunt’s 6-foot-5, 240-pound senior Josh Wlllingham had to be restrained by coaches and Wilson County Sheriff’s deputies when, after being angered during the post-game handshakes between teams, turned and attempted to power his way in the direction of Northern Nash players.

Hunt Principal Ed
die Doll said no charges were filed, but that the school is investigating the incident.

The Knights dug their way out of a 12-2 hole, grabbed the lead with a sizzling second quarter and, in the second half, resorted to cat-and-mouse tactics that were designed to shorten the game and, said first-year head coach Henry Drake, limit Hunt possessions.

The Warriors (12-7) finally pulled even with 3 minutes, 1 second remaining and led briefly. However, Northern Nash refused to wilt and capitalized upon Hunt miscues and fouls.

Hunt, 12-7 overall, remained in the conference lead at 4-2, while Northern Nash, at 3-3, climbed into a four-way tie for second place.

“They’re a tough team,” Hunt head coach Dwight Taylor said of the Knights (6-11 overall). “They’re a tough team to stay in front of. Their guard play is good. They get every loose ball. Late in the game, we didn’t come up with a loose ball and they got a layup — that was big.”

Indeed, Northern Nash guards Darius Spragley, a sophomore, and Adam Renner, a 6-3 senior, wreaked havoc with 20 and 18 points, respectively. The Warriors couldn’t stop Spragley’s penetration and Renner knocked down four shots from 3-point land as fans chanted “automatic.”

“This one is definitely better,” exclaimed the exuberant Renner. “We played man on them and that’s their weakness. They can’t handle man defense. Every game, we come into it expecting to win. And every one gets better.”

The Knights seemed to wobble when, up 51-46, they missed four shots under the basket after coming up with a steal. Chris Felts’ three-point play pulled the Warriors to within 51-4
9. Willingham, who had struggled at the foul line, drained two free throws for a 51-51 standoff with 3:01 showing.

From a 53-53 tie, the Knights secured the lead for keeps at 57-53 on two free throws each from senior Paul Cherry and Spragley. Hunt junior guard Shemar Hudson’s runner cut the defict to 57-55 but Spragley nailed two more foul tosses for the final margin with 22 seconds showing.

Northern Nash hit 17-of-25 free throws as compared to 11 of 15 for Hunt.

“Hunt is a great team,” Drake assured. “We knew it was going to be a battle all the way to the end. But I told our guys that, if we could sustain our composure, we would be OK. We did. We wanted to limit their number of possessions and the kids did everything asked of them.

“This puts us ahead of some folks in the conference and makes us stronger. It makes us believe how good we are.”

The outcome negated a sizzling start from 6-foot-4 Hunt senior Jaylen Gilliam, who swished his first five shots, scored 12 points in the first quarter, 17 in the first half and wound up with a game-high 21.

Northern Nash retaliated by tearing to a 36-29 margin by knocking down eight of its first nine shots in the second quarter. The Knights clung to the lead until the three-minute mark in the last quarter.

Willingham complemented Gilliam with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

hammer@wilsontimes.com | 265-7819

NORTHERN NASH (59)

Spragley 20, Major 10, P. Cherry 4, Renner 18, Johnson 5, Clarke, Bobbitt, Bullock 2.

HUNT (55)

Gilliam 21, Hudson 9, Felts 3, Dic
kens 5, Shipman 2, Whitfield 2, Willingham 13.

Score by quarters:

Northern Nash 13 25 7 14 — 59

Hunt 18 13 9 15 — 55

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