Slow start dooms Pioneers
by Steve Behr Sports Editor
MOUNT HOLLY — By the time Watauga's boys' basketball team was ready to truly compete in its playoff showdown with East Gaston, it was too late.
After a lackluster first half performance, Watauga rallied in the second half against the host Warriors. Outscoring East Gaston by 12 in the second half was not enough for the Pioneers, who lost their first-round 4-A state playoff game to the Warriors 58-50 Monday.
Watauga, which looked flat the entire first half, fell behind 41-21 by halftime after putting up little resistance to East Gaston's crisp passing game. East Gaston took a 16-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to a 22-7 lead before Ben Howser broke the streak with a bucket off an Ethan Poulos pass with 5:32 left.
“The first quarter was ugly,” Pioneers coach Rob Sanders said. “We didn't do much better in the second quarter We let them stretch their lead out. We said at the half that we've got to have this going our direction by the end of the third quarter. If it's not, they're going to run us out of the gym.”
East Gaston closed out the first half with back-to-back baskets from DeSean Murray and Jaren Hopkins-Benton, which he scored just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
Murray scored 17 points in the first half, but was called for a technical foul in the first quarter for hanging on the rim after dunking the ball. He picked up a second technical foul in the third quarter for taunting after pointing to the scoreboard.
Murray was disqualified from the game, but will play at Olympic.
“The momentum kind of moved out,” East Gaston coach Ken Howell said. “We took a couple of quick shots in transition and they started not going in. They're a good team. They're in the playoffs and they got a little momentum and that's the way high school games go sometimes.”
That seemed to invigorate Watauga, which was trailing 43-26 at the time. The Pioneers closed out the third quarter with two 3-point baskets from Jake Pifer and a steal and jump shot from Poulos just before the buzzer that brought the Pioneers to 47-37.
Pifer, who twisted his ankle on his first shot of the game, finished with a game-high 25 points. Poulos was next with six points.
“We generally picked up our defense and got a lot more rebounds than in the first half,” Pifer said. “We shut down their drive when we went to the zone.”
Pifer added a jump shot and Poulos got a stickback at the start of the fourth quarter to bring Watauga to 47-41, but it would be as close as the Pioneers would get. Pifer scored off his own steal with 2:15 to close the gap to 55-48, but Watauga got no closer.
Pifer ended the Pioneers' season with a two-handed dunk just before time expired.
“We were able to cut into the lead and get it going our direction,” Sanders said. “You never know. If we had a couple of more minutes there, you never know. ”
East Gaston 58, Watauga 50
Watauga (10-14)
Pifer 9 3-4 25, Poulos 3 0-0 6, Proffitt 2 0-0 4, Howser 2 1-2 5, Chasteen 1 0-1 2, Koppenhaver 1 2-6 4, Baker 1 0-0 2, Mackey 1 0-0 2, Gailes 0 0-0 0, Sturgill 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-14 50.
East Gaston (11-14)
Crone 2 0-0 4, Persinger 3 1-2 8, Hopkins-Benton 4 3-4 12, Murray 6 5-5 17, Olds 3 0-3 8, Sterling 2 3-5 7, Nash 1 0-0 2 Gore 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0, Hopkins 0 0-0 0, B. Crone 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 12-20 58.
Watauga 7 14 16 13 — 50
East Gaston 16 25 6 11 — 58
3-point goals—Watauga 4 (Pifer 4), East Gaston 4 (Olds 2, Hopkins-Benton, Persinger). REbounds—Watauga 32 (Proffitt, Howser, Poulos 7), East Gaston 31 (Sterling 12. Turnovers—Watauga 12, East Gaston 14. Total fouls—Watauga 17, East Gaston 13. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—East Gaston, Murray 2.
After a lackluster first half performance, Watauga rallied in the second half against the host Warriors. Outscoring East Gaston by 12 in the second half was not enough for the Pioneers, who lost their first-round 4-A state playoff game to the Warriors 58-50 Monday.
Watauga, which looked flat the entire first half, fell behind 41-21 by halftime after putting up little resistance to East Gaston's crisp passing game. East Gaston took a 16-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to a 22-7 lead before Ben Howser broke the streak with a bucket off an Ethan Poulos pass with 5:32 left.
“The first quarter was ugly,” Pioneers coach Rob Sanders said. “We didn't do much better in the second quarter We let them stretch their lead out. We said at the half that we've got to have this going our direction by the end of the third quarter. If it's not, they're going to run us out of the gym.”
East Gaston closed out the first half with back-to-back baskets from DeSean Murray and Jaren Hopkins-Benton, which he scored just before the halftime buzzer sounded.
Murray scored 17 points in the first half, but was called for a technical foul in the first quarter for hanging on the rim after dunking the ball. He picked up a second technical foul in the third quarter for taunting after pointing to the scoreboard.
Murray was disqualified from the game, but will play at Olympic.
“The momentum kind of moved out,” East Gaston coach Ken Howell said. “We took a couple of quick shots in transition and they started not going in. They're a good team. They're in the playoffs and they got a little momentum and that's the way high school games go sometimes.”
That seemed to invigorate Watauga, which was trailing 43-26 at the time. The Pioneers closed out the third quarter with two 3-point baskets from Jake Pifer and a steal and jump shot from Poulos just before the buzzer that brought the Pioneers to 47-37.
Pifer, who twisted his ankle on his first shot of the game, finished with a game-high 25 points. Poulos was next with six points.
“We generally picked up our defense and got a lot more rebounds than in the first half,” Pifer said. “We shut down their drive when we went to the zone.”
Pifer added a jump shot and Poulos got a stickback at the start of the fourth quarter to bring Watauga to 47-41, but it would be as close as the Pioneers would get. Pifer scored off his own steal with 2:15 to close the gap to 55-48, but Watauga got no closer.
Pifer ended the Pioneers' season with a two-handed dunk just before time expired.
“We were able to cut into the lead and get it going our direction,” Sanders said. “You never know. If we had a couple of more minutes there, you never know. ”
East Gaston 58, Watauga 50
Watauga (10-14)
Pifer 9 3-4 25, Poulos 3 0-0 6, Proffitt 2 0-0 4, Howser 2 1-2 5, Chasteen 1 0-1 2, Koppenhaver 1 2-6 4, Baker 1 0-0 2, Mackey 1 0-0 2, Gailes 0 0-0 0, Sturgill 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-14 50.
East Gaston (11-14)
Crone 2 0-0 4, Persinger 3 1-2 8, Hopkins-Benton 4 3-4 12, Murray 6 5-5 17, Olds 3 0-3 8, Sterling 2 3-5 7, Nash 1 0-0 2 Gore 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0, Hopkins 0 0-0 0, B. Crone 0 0-0 0, Price 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 12-20 58.
Watauga 7 14 16 13 — 50
East Gaston 16 25 6 11 — 58
3-point goals—Watauga 4 (Pifer 4), East Gaston 4 (Olds 2, Hopkins-Benton, Persinger). REbounds—Watauga 32 (Proffitt, Howser, Poulos 7), East Gaston 31 (Sterling 12. Turnovers—Watauga 12, East Gaston 14. Total fouls—Watauga 17, East Gaston 13. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—East Gaston, Murray 2.