|
Enka pulls away late for MAC victory over Smoky Mountain
Enka took control in the final two minutes on the way to a 63-58 Mountain Athletic Conference victory at Smoky Mountain on Jan. 11.
Zack Wilkins scored 24 points for the Jets, and Brandon Harmon had 12.
John Salzano paced the Mustangs with 23 points, and Deron Fowler netted 17.
Smoky Mountain's Cory Siler puts up a shot in last week's 63-58 loss to Enka. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
"The first half we played as good as we have all year," Coach Scott Hartbarger said. "The second half we had a breakdown defensively that led to some easy baskets for them toward the end of the game."
The Mustangs led most of the first quarter and were up 53-52 when Salzano made one of two foul shots with 2:21 to play.
Richard Beall put the Jets ahead for good, 54-53, when he scored inside at the 2:09 mark. That started a 9-2 run, including four by Wilkins, for a 61-55 advantage with 24.6 seconds left.
Smoky Mountain's Kristine Webb scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in last week's 54-46 overtime victory over Enka. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
The lead went back and forth in the first quarter, which ended with SM on top 13-11 after Fowler's basket with 40 seconds left.
The Mustangs surged toward the end of the half to build a 28-21 lead when Matt Gibson scored with 20 seconds to go.
However, the Jets went to the locker room with momentum after Wilkins was fouled while shooting a three-pointer with less than a second to play. He hit all three foul shots cutting the gap to 28-24.
Enka's momentum carried over into the second half with a 13-2 run, including five by Wilkins, as the Jets moved in front 37-30 when Harmon capped the spurt with two foul shots with 4:27 left in the third period.
The Mustangs regained the lead with 11 straight points, including seven by Salzano, to go up 41-37 with 1:51 on the clock.
SM led 42-40 entering the fourth quarter.
Salzano made seven field goals and nine of 10 free throws. Half of Fowler's six field goals were three-pointers, and he was two of two from the line.
Cody Maney finished with five points, Gibson and Tyson Crawford followed with four apiece, Bryan Panther scored three and Matt Hawkins had two.
Hartbarger singled out Salzano and Fowler for their play. He also cited Gibson and Martin Davis for their defense on Wilkins, who the coach said scored most of his points on foul shots.
The Mustang JVs won 44-33. They led at quarter breaks by scores of 14-7, 22-18 and 33-26.
Kalin Haskett scored 12 points.
"It was good for them to get a win," Hartbarger said. "I was proud of the way they took care of the basketball. They hit their free throws and didn't panic."
|
