Do you Know The Way To Fayetteville?

Three Nash County teams entered tonight with a shot at the regional next week in Fayetteville and two are going. The Lady Knights of Northern Nash and the boys of Rocky Mount have won their second straight sectional and will return to the regional for the second year in a row.

The Eagles of West Craven took advantage of two Gryphon turnovers the first minute and a half of the boys game causing Mike Gainey to use a quick time out trailing 7-0. Fresh from the time out Tevin Taylor and Kenyatta Bullock made five straight three pointers in about two minutes and all together scored 19 points in a row for the Gryphons. Their rain of threes sent the crowd into a tizzy and the Gryphon defense smothered the Eagles and before the they could blink trailed 19-9. From that point on the Gryphons controlled the game hitting 100 points before it was all over. Rocky Mount 101-West Craven 85.

Once the three point barrage was over the Gryphons relied on defense and fast breaks to score at will as the Eagles could never stop Rocky Mount long enough to get any closer than 14 in the second half.

Terrell Hilliard led the Gryphon scoring with 22, Tecoby Hines followed with 17. The double digit scoring was not over as Kenyatta Bullock added 16, Exzavier Cooper 14 and Tevin Taylor 13. The biggest cheer of the night was when Tabias Hilliard drilled a three with over a minute to play which gave the Gryphons triple points with 100.

Rocky Mount won the rebound battle 30-25 and the Eagles committed 21 turnovers to 18 for the Gryphons. Aaron Pate lead the Eagles with 22 while teammate Tony Cox had 21. Gryphons have too much team speed for the Eagles and advance to the Eastern Regional this year having moved from Greenville to Fayetteville.

Rocky Mount heads to the Regional winners of nine straight playoff games over two years. Monday there will a regional meeting where the seedings will be announced.

Rocky Mount 101 West Craven 85

Northern Nash girls jumped all over Havelock Rams girls from the get go tonight leading early 16-2. Northern never let Havelock get much closer and have advanced to the girls regional in Fayetteville whipping Havelock 60-48. Grover Battle will join Mike Gainey in the regional meeting Monday to learn what the girls bracket will be.

Northern Nash 60 Havelock 48

Ever since the last regular season game of the year when Northern whipped the Lady Gryphons at home the Gryphon ball handling has been suspect at best. Tonight against a South Central team with two of their players heading to Division 1 basketball the Lady Gryphons needed ball handling. The December meetings between South Central and Rocky Mount the Falcons had proven to be taller and quicker than the Lady Gryphons . Two months later South Central was just as tall and had not lost one bit of speed either. When you throw in the Gryphon lack of confidence handling the ball and in the end South Central will return to the Regional slamming Rocky Mount 72-52.

Carolina bound Danielle Butts lead the way with 25 for the Falcons. Amber Clark and Janesha Ebron each added 15. Timisha Walker playing her last game for Rocky Mount single handedly kept the Gryphons in the game in the first half scored 16 but there was too much Falcons in the end. J'Kyra Brown lead the Gryphons with 19. Rocky Mount committed 29 turnovers while the Falcons had just ten. Rocky Mount had a 38- 17 advantage in rebound but the turnovers were just too much to overcome.

Sectional Finals Tonight!

I understand WNCT channel 9 in Greenville has a story on line about Terry Pittman the Red Oak Middle school student who had the severe spinal injury in September. Their story which ran on the news last night shows Terry walking the halls at Red Oak. It is a blessing for Terry and Colt Brake. There have been times in the past injuries like they had meant permanent disability for the remainder of their lives.

Improvements in medicine plays a part but I think in both of these cases the power of prayer has had an extreme part in people being united in helping both get well. Their journeys are not over in recovery.

Tonight it is the Big East against the Coastal for sectional championships and the right to move on the East Regional. The Big East has a higher seeding priority this year and all four games are being played at Big East Gyms.

Northern Nash girls take on #2 seed Havelock at Northern while in Rocky Mount the #1 seeded Lady Gryphons take on South Central. These two have had a home and home series in December and South Central won both close games. There is the old saying it is hard to beat a team three times in a season and we hope that holds true tonight.

Hunt the #1 seed in the Big East boys is hosting #1 Coastal South Central while as the second game of a double header in Rocky Mount the Gryphons the #2 in the Big East host Coastal #2 West Craven. These two met in the second round last year in Rocky Mount. Winning the State Championship last year and surviving the first two rounds this year Rocky Mount has won eight straight playoff games.

The way the brackets are set up winning the sectionals will send each winner against each other next week in Fayetteville. If Rocky Mount and Hunt both win tonight they will square off against each other in the regional. If Northern Nash and Rocky Mount girls win then they have to travel all the way to Fayetteville to meet each other for a fifth time this year. I think we all are pulling for it to happen. Charles Alston has reminded me that Regional reseed so we will have to wait to see if all four of our teams make it and whether reseeding will matter to us either way.

Tonight if you are going to be in the gym at Rocky Mount then you get to hear me on PA. Wayne Wallace the PA Voice of The Gryphons is doing PA at Wesleyan tonight in the semi finals of their conference tournament. I know Wayne wants to do both. Did you see the “Telegram” this Morning as they have an article on Wayne retiring after this weekend from Wesleyan PA announcing?

Gryphon baseball finished up their scrimmages yesterday traveling to Bunn. The e-mail that I got said the Gryphons won 29-8 give or take a run or two. Season opener is Tuesday at Rose.

The state wrestling tournament got underway last night and last until Saturday afternoon. Ten Nash County wrestlers are vying for state championships. I hope we have some winners, that way we can do a live wrestling show on WHIG-TV like we just did last weekend for indoor track. If it happens it would be on TV next weekend.

Whether it is at Northern or Rocky Mount, go cheer for our local teams in their quest to make the eastern regional in basketball. GO Gryphons –Gryphons- and Knights!

Computers Are Changing The world

My only son Brooks ran cross country during the fall in high school because his mother would not let him play football. He was a baseball players so cross country kept him in shape for spring time. He didn’t want to run cross country but he knew he had to, to play baseball.

Two weeks into training he loved running. He graduated Rocky Mount High in 2000 and went off to yell for the Wolfpack. He joined a mountain bike team at State and rode all over the South on weekends racing.

He graduated as a scientist from N C State in 2004 and hit the job market being a contractor for NOAA. He has spent the last six plus years protecting the fishing industry by riding on fishing boats from Massachusetts to Texas. His free time he has spent running and biking and a hobby has become his passion. He loves to coach others. This fall and winter he helped Coach Dee Davis with Cross Country and indoor track whenever he has been home.

During his time since college he has been working toward becoming an Olympic training coach. He has been off to New York to get certified to be able to coach Olympic athletes. Wednesday Brooks was notified by the U S Olympic team that he is now one of three coaches in the country that can work with long distance runners.

What does that mean? We live in a different world today from what us old fogies who didn’t have a bathroom in our house growing up know. This approval to coach Olympic Athletes brings to him two hopeful runners wanting to make the Olympics. He will help train them but at this late date we are probably talking about the 2016 Olympics.

Brooks this summer will probably go into the full time business of training athletes but in the mean time will he have to move to Colorado Springs to the Olympic training center? No,Why Not? This modern world we live in called the computer. His two athletes can train where ever they want to. Brooks will install a device that looks like a watch and when the runners get through with their workout they send the info to Brook’s computer and he will analyze the data and make suggestion on what the readout says.

He will periodically have to go to the Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs but he can pretty much live anywhere he wants. Whenever there is a big race in this world that his runners are in he will go there to be with them.

If you noticed in the paper on Monday in the court news there was a corporation incorporated in Nash County last week called All Out Multi Sport. That’s Brooks going in the coaching business.

I bet that you didn’t know that there are more Triathletes in the Triangle area than any other area in the country. Wilson also is home to one of the biggest bike clubs in North Carolina. If you happen to ride down any road in Eastern North Carolina you just might see bike riders with flags flying who are part of that club.

You see all the time advertisements about work at home on your computer. I in my wildest dreams never thought of such a thing. If you have any interest in training whether to stay in shape or to be a world class runner you can now get that done right here in Rocky Mount. Just call Brooks Doughtie U S A Olympic Coach!

Big East Dominating Playoffs

The Lady Gryphons of Rocky Mount took control of their game against Triton tonight and poured out to a 20 point lead and had complete control until a made dash by the Hawks trimmed the lead to a final score of Rocky Mount 45- Triton 42. The Lady Gryphons will host their sectional finals Friday Night against South Central a 69-35 winner over Hertford County

The victory was #25 for the season for Pam Gainey ladies they have three losses on the season and all three have come at the hands of South Central Twice and Northern Nash. They of course play South Central Friday and Northern is still alive in sectional play also.

You know some of the luck of any playoff bracket is teams losing which allow you to have a home game instead of having to travel and play on another home court. That happen to the boy Gryphon team last year which allowed them to play all three sectional games at home.

Could the same thing be happening for the Lady Knights of Northern Nash? The opening playoff victory earned them another home game tonight when the higher seed lost and they were able to play West Carteret at home. Northern will host their sectional final Friday night after beating West Carteret 53-43. Not only is victory good to advance to the finals but the Lady Knights will be able to stay home after Havelock won their game tonight. Havelock is the #2 seed from the Coastal and this year's seeding the Big East is higher up the seeding ladder over the Coastal.

There must be something in the water in Nash County. Tonight the Rocky Mount boys have gone on the road and won at Southern Wayne. The Gryphons came off the bus running and spurted out to a 38-21 lead over Southern Wayne. The half the Saints had trimmed the Gryphon lead to ten at 43-33.

A sloppy third quarter by the Gryphons allowed the Saints to crawl even closer with six minutes to play the lead had been trimmed to 60-56. Southern Wayne took the lead with less two minutes to play 71-70 but Tecoby Hines drilled a three point shot from the corner with 1.36 to play to give the Gryphons the lead they would never give back. Rocky Mount 77-Southern Wayne 73. Terrell Hilliard and Exzavier Cooper both scored 16 for the Gryphons and Bellfawn Worrell led the Saints with 19.

Tonight's victory will provide a double header at the gym Friday as the Boys will face West Craven the #2 from the Coastal will head to Rocky Mount 23-5.

Hunt the #1 boys seed from the Big East took care of business winning on the home floor beating Triton 61-56. Both the #1 seeds and #2 seeds from the Big East have won both of their playoffs games and all four have had the luck of the brackets and all four will play home Friday.