Let's Play What If

Ok school is out again today and with it goes another possible day to get regular season games in the books.  Hunt, Southern Nash, Northern Nash and Nash Central all have two games left to play.  Let's be honest, if this storm brings ice as promised I doubt there will be any school for the rest of the week.  If the regular season spills into next week there is a good chance the Big East Tournament could be cancelled or shortened.

Rocky Mount and Fike only have one game left but if Friday night games are lost due to the weather you know that those extra games say Nash Central at Northern lost for tonight probably will be set for Saturday, if that happens that throws RM/NN is pushed to Monday.  What if the weather is so bad Saturday is out.  The NCHSAA hand book states that all tournament games must be completed by Friday before the Saturday Playoff seedings. If it takes to next Tuesday to finish the regular season that leaves three days to play ten tournament games and that is not likely.

In order to save some of the tournament only the top four seeds could play on Wednesday but here is another hand book issue.  The rule book states that a team can play four games in a week as long as one is one Saturday.  A tournament final on Saturday is out because the tournament must be finished by Friday.

Looks to me the only way to save the tournament this year is everyone with two games plays Saturday and everyone only has one left on Monday.  The weather forecast if it is true it would take a miracle to get back in school on Friday.

The biggest issue of all should the tournament gets canned is why try to play the final two games on Monday and Tuesday.  Any playoff team would go six days without playing so it would make since to me to say play the Rocky Mount-Northern next Wednesday.  All of this conjecture is of course base on school being shut down for rest of the week.  If they could get back in school Friday all the worlds problems will be solve and the tournament will go on.

Here Comes The Defense

Those of you that have been wondering about the Rocky Mount  High school basketball team and what is wrong with them losing seven games so far this year. I think I see one of the biggest problems that is finally getting better.  Defense.  Just think all teams have had this problem since the first of January, practice time.  Everyone played only once two weeks in a row first for exams and then a third week got caught for snow and only played one again.  All these multi game weeks doesn't give teams time to practice so there has been plenty of sloppy play the last month.

Ever since Rocky Mount was behind to Fike at the half Rocky Mount has now put together ten quarters of defensive basketball. They out scored Fike by 14 in the second half powered by defense.  Saturday the defense was quicker than the Nash Central Bulldogs and tonight the defense came to play.

The Gryphons forced 23 Firebirds turnovers mostly the second and third quarters. Sure looks to me like all of a sudden the Gryphons have a want to on defense that they have not shown all season.  Playing their last regular season home games Dante Battle and Emanual King took it upon themselves to try to get every rebound.  Battle had 12 boards and 24 points while King also had a double double getting 12 and 12.  The defense creating turnovers Isaiah Alston took advantage getting 17 points.

The end of the first quarter was 16-15 Gryphons but from that point on it was all Gryphons until the subs took over. they lead by 46-22 at the half, 70-29 after three and the final of 81-52.

We already know that if the Lady Gryphons can't do anything else you can count on the defense even when the offense  is struggling.  Tonight the D made the offense look good as the Lady Gryphons slowly pull away from the Lady Birds of Southern Nash 63-36.

Michelle Gainey lead the way for the Gryphons as she scored 14 during the Gryphon surge to pull away.  Carmen Richardson lead the scoring with 16.  Tyreka Nicholson lead the Lady Birds with11.  Rocky Mount won the rebound battle 53-30 lead by Keyanna Spivey with 11 but 12 Gryphons got at least one board.

Both Gryphons teams go to 7-2 in league play and by beating Southern tonight the boys clinch second and will get a bye in next weeks Big East Tournamnet which will be held at Rocky Mount starting Monday.  I haven't heard who won the Nash Central -Hunt game so I can't say the Lady Gryphons clinched second.  If the weather allows they finish the regular season Friday night at Northern.

Hunt clinched first in the Big East in boys basketball ripping Nash Central 75-47.  Northern girls clinched first in girls play beating Fike. Fike boys beat Northern 68-60.  Found out tonight this is the year only three teams from the Big East make the playoffs.  I talked with Robbie Kennedy AD at Southern and they plan to move Wenesday's Hunt game to Tuesday if they can make it through no early school dismissal on Tuesday. I would think Northern and Nash Central might do the same.

Weather Threatens Final Week

Senior night for Rocky Mount High has been moved to tonight due to possible snow or ice starting Tuesday!!!!


Hunt High has a game and a half game lead with one week to go and for them that means three games and the weather forecast doesn't look like this will be good week for many.  Cold weather is here and a couple of low pressure systems are coming from the south and if the temperature is right that is most of the time how we get big snows or ice.  Should weather prevent games this week what happens?

Hunt 7-0 has their last home game scheduled Tuesday hosting Nash Central 0-7.  If they win as they should then they win the regular season. Wednesday they travel to Southern Nash 5-2 who is still in the fight with Rocky Mount for second.  Hunt finishes up Friday at arch rival Fike 3-5.

Rocky Mount 6-2 right now on schedule with two games Southern  Nash Tonight and at Northern on Friday. Looks as if tonight will determine second as the worse Rocky Mount  could finish is four losses and the worse for them is third place.  Southern with three games this week could fall to fourth should they not win any of their three games. If they win them all they will finish in second.

Fike 3-5 at this point could still get third but they would have to win both their games if Southern loses all three of theirs.  Northern 1-6 could still finish 4th and make the playoffs with a trifecter  win week and two Fike losses.  Nash Central is left to play out the schedule as they still look for their first win in conference but if they could get win all three of their games and Fike and Northern lose all theirs there is still playoff hope

Don't be surprised if all Tuesday games aren't moved to tonight as after the snow from two weeks ago has force everyone into multi three games or more weeks and both Rocky Mount and Fike having moved their game to Monday two weeks ago are the only two team with a normal week scheduled this week. Everyone else should have learned a lesson from them that when the weatherman warns the best deal is play ahead of schedule.

All Northern 7-0  girls need to do is win Tuesday to clinch first but Rocky Mount 6-2, Hunt 4-3 Nash Central 3-4 and Southern Nash 3-4 could all finish in second at 6-4.  If that happens the second place bye is up for grabs for anybody.

Will certainly be an interesting week to see what might happen to next weeks Big East Tournament should schools windup out for a couple of days this week with all the games still left on the regular season schedule.

Dominant All Day

Gryphons moved Tuesday night's Big East basketball game with Southern Nash to Monday night in  order to beat impending possible bad weather coming in Tuesday.  JV girls will start  at 3:45 followed by the  JV  boys and varsity girls about 6:30 andvarsity boys to follow.

Rocky Mount High caught up with the basketball schedule Saturday playing their third game of the week.  Only Fike and Rocky Mount will play the regular Tuesday-Friday next week as everyone else in of the Big East have three left to play.

Nash Central came to RMHS with both their varsity teams looking for the girls a victory over one of the top Big East teams while the boys just wanted a victory.  What happened was a total mismatch in both games.  Rocky Mount girls scored 37 in the first half which is more than Lady Bulldogs scored for the game.  Final Rocky Mount 60 Nash Central 33.  The   Boys game wasn't much better as the winless Bulldogs in conference play stay that way as The Gryphon  boys roll 73-39.

Carmen Richardson lead the Lady Gryphons with 19 and she lead in rebounding getting 9 of the Gryphons 48.  The Lady Bulldogs could grab only 20 as a team.  Rocky Mount jumped to a  19-5 first quarter lead but they caused 9 turnover in the opening sprint.  By games end NC had 30 turnovers but Rocky Mount using the bench at will had 32 by games end but were never threatened.  Kathryn Wilkins scored  12 for the Lady Bulldogs.

I don't believe Nash Central has any player over six feet three so you know they are in for a long night trying to get to the basket against the taller Gryphons.  What made this and even longer night is the Gryphons were even faster than the Bulldogs.

The Gryphons caused 26 turnovers while only misplacing the ball 13 times.  They out rebounded Nash Central 39-24 and anytime the turnovers and rebounds is that much of a mismatch then unless you make every shot the score is going to be lopsided.

Immanuel King lead the Gryphon scoring with 18.  Dante Battle got the most rebounds with 9 but the Gryphons had a total of 11 players to score and 11 got a rebound or more. Aaron Spivey  scored 23 for the winless Bulldogs.

Over at Northern the Lady Knights remain unbeaten beating Hunt 52-44 while the Hunt boys stay on top and unbeaten in conference beating Northern 74-59.  Next Friday night ends the regular season for the Big East and the conference Tournament starts Monday Feb. 17th.

A big shout out tonight for  Nash Central's Damien Silver as today he is a state champion. As he has won the 3-A 55 meters hurdles at the state indoor track championships.

Shift In The Standings

The big game of the night in the Big East was the top team in the league Hunt 5-0  going up against the upstart of the league Southern Nash 4-1.  Most of us in the business who are suppose to be  die hard know it all's have been whispering that the 4-1 start Southern has had has come at the hands of the bottom tier of the league. As soon as Hunt gets hold of them they will get put in their place. It is of course no fault at all that every time a game that snowed out it came to a team in the upper  crest of the league.

Well Hunt put them their place alright beating the Firebirds 62-50.  I would say that is a pretty good account of themselves considering no one else in the league has played the Warriors at Hunt as close. Hunt heads to Northern Nash Saturday at 6-0. Southern 4-2 will travel to Fike Saturday  Hunt girls beat Southern  62-52.

Something had to give tonight as Northern Nash traveled to Nash Central where both teams were seeking their first conference win.  Both at the halfway point stand at 0-5.  The Bulldogs lead late but The Knights pull out their first conference win winning 46-45.  Nash Central gets their chance at revenge as they travel to Northern Tuesday. Saturday Northern host Hunt while Nash Central will be at Rocky Mount.

I have not had much time since the Super Bowl to speak about the rout.  It seemed almost from the kickoff that Seattle had taken a five hour energy drink while Denver had on a pair of cement boots.  By the half time kickoff the game had become unwatchable.  I stuck to the end to just see how bad it was going to be.

On the way home work today as I rode by Wesleyan and there was a baseball game going on at Bower field.  Didn't it snow last night.

Victim Of Past Success

The 2013/14 Rocky Mount Gryphons are victims of all of the recent great success of Gryphon basketball. People in the stands expect them to perform as others have. I even think that this years players think that they should be just as good as the others. Where this team has missed out is they have had spells when their ability to handle the ball looks jv-ish.  Tonight's game with Fike They miss handled  to ball 16 times in the first half and found themselves down 31-27.

Then there was the second half when this team looked capable of beating anybody turned the ball over only  5 times  and their up and down the court game when they missed shots number 43 was there for the put back.  I don't keep up with offensive or defensive rebounds just the overall total and Emmanual King had a night tonight.  29 points 18 rebounds and most of his points were put backs.

Fike stayed close with the three point shots making ten but their inability to stop the Gryphons in the second half lead to a Gryphon 80-70 win.  Isaiah Alston scored 23 most in the second half.  Broderick Caudle added 12.  Rocky Mount secured 47 rebounds to 24 for the Golden Demons.  The Gryphons had 21 turn overs while Fike had just 11.

Myquan Gooding lead the Golden Demons with 23.  Trevon Virgil 19 and Anthony Evans 10.  Rocky Mount is now 5-2 in the Big East while Fike drops to 3-4 .  The Gryphons host Nash Central Saturday afternoon sometime near 5:30.

Fike girls won the opening tip and took a shot and their next 6  trips down the court were turnovers and by their next shot the Lady Gryphons were ahead 12-0 .  From that point on it was what is the final score going to be.

Rocky Mount girls win their fifth conference game with two losses.  The Fike girls are winless on the conference season as the Lady Gryphons win 71-47.  Fike finished with 32 turnovers but between coasting along  the Lady Gryphons finished with 25 themselves.

Carmen Richardson lead the Gryphons with 24 and Tarmara Harper added 15 points and 10 rebounds.  E J Proctor scored 24 for the Lady Demons.  Rocky Mount won the rebound battle 39-30.
The Gryphons jv girls play Nash Central starting at 1pm Saturday afternoon.  the varsity girls will begin about 4pm

Strangle Hold

Hunt High already with a conference football title under their belt are now on the verge of adding a basketball crown to their 2013/14 school year. Nine days remain until the dust will settle and a regular season champion will be crowned.  Hunt's comeback win at Rocky Mount on Tuesday all but put a bow on the regular season for the Warriors.

Hold the phone folks, there is one team who we normally expect to find in the second division of the Big East right now sits in second only one game behind Hunt and they will play Hunt twice in those final nine days.  Yes, the Firebirds of Southern Nash after routing Nash Central last night are 4-1 a single game behind Hunt.

The reshuffled Big East schedule due to all of this inclement weather we have had the last two Wednesdays  has bundled a load of games to be played these final days of the season.  One sprained ankle by a teams star player could mean that player could miss one half of conference play in the last nine days.

Hunt at 5-0 host Southern Nash Friday.  Should Hunt win they would surely be in the driver seat with a week to go.  But if Southern wins it is a sprint to the finish but a home game against Hunt again next Wednesday.  Southern's problem they have one extra game to play over Hunt and they played that game last night so both have five games to play.

Hunt travels to Northern Nash Saturday, host Nash Central Tuesday and finish next Friday at Fike.  Southern travels to Fike Saturday, at Rocky Mount Tuesday and finishes with Nash Central The final night.  Rocky Mount 4-2 host Fike tonight, Nash Central Saturday, Southern Tuesday and visit Northern for their annual last night

Fike 3-3 still has a game with Rocky  Mount tonight, Host Southern on Saturday and host Hunt on Valentines night.  They have a Tuesday trip to Northern.  Even at 3-3 and games against all three teams ahead of them in the standings this season is far from over.

Tuesday was the first two rounds of the state duel wrestling championships with the top two Big East teams Rocky Mount and Southern Nash being the only two on the road.  The wrestling is broken down into four teams playing two rounds in one day.  Southern Nash takes on the host team in their four team bracket West Brunswick and lose their opening match 40-28.

Rocky Mount has a four team bracket hosted by Havelock and guess who the Gryphons got to play first?  The Gryphons won their opening matching beating the host Rams 41-27.  While the Gryphons are winning Swansboro on another mat is winning their match to set up a second round match of Rocky Mount and Swansboro meeting in Havelock.  Swansboro takes down the Gryphons 46-27 to end the Gryphons season with a record of 31-7.  Boy J J Jones' boys have a heck of a season.