The Community Christian School boys basketball team used a lengthy third quarter run to pull away from host Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf for a 73-55 victory Monday night.
The Cyclones found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-0 run early in the second half at Barney Williamson Gym to face their first deficit since early in the first quarter at 34-33.
Over the next 2:55 of gametime, the visiting side went on a 17-1 run to retake the lead for good on the way to the 18-point win.
With the win, the Cyclones extended their winning streak to five games, as they moved to 6-1 on the season.
Freshman Evan Gattis started the run with a bucket on the inside to put the visiting side back on top at the 4:20 mark, giving CCS the lead for good.
Jack Beamon added a score in the paint on the Cyclones’ next possession, before Ajaye Foote went 1-of-2 at the foul line for the hosts on the other end.
Community Christian School would then score the next 13 points of the game to expand its lead to 15 points. Seven of those points came from Gattis behind a 3-pointer, while Chason Bryant added the other six points. The Cyclones, who often rely heavily on their 3-point shooting, finished the night with a 12-2 edge in 3-pointers.
“We emphasize that if you get a good shot, take it, and I don’t mind the 3-pointers as long as they are good shots,” Community Christian School head coach Derrick Atkinson said. “That’s pretty normal for us, but we also missed a lot of 3-pointers even though we were getting open looks.”
Gattis accounted for four of those 3-pointers on his way to a team-leading 18 points, as he was one of three CCS players to finish the night in double figures.
Adding 14 points was Bryant, while Jared Kovach finished the game with 12 points, as Beamon was just one point shy of double figures.
“When we have success on the 3-pointers, it just opens up the paint for me and my friend Jack (Beamon),” Community Christian School captain Tavares Williams said. “When we shoot well, it just opens up everything else.”
Kovach capped the third quarter scoring with a tip-in in the closing seconds to send the Cyclones into the final quarter of play with a 52-37 lead.
A 7-0 run to open the fourth quarter gave CCS its largest lead of the night at 59-37 on buckets from Bryant and Kovach around a Gattis 3-pointer. Foote responded with a seven-point run on his own, finishing it off with a 3-point play to pull the Fighting Hornets back within 15 with 5:24 remaining.
Later in the quarter, ENCSD used an 11-3 run to cut the deficit to 12 minutes with just inside of two minutes left before the Cyclones scored the final six points of the game.
“We kind of lost the intensity a little bit, so I called a timeout and had to get on them a little bit,” Atkinson said of his team’s struggles early in the third quarter. “They picked up the intensity and responded well after the timeout and started hitting some shots and forcing turnovers.”
The teams went back-and-forth in the opening quarter, but CCS was able to connect on five 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead late in the frame. Anderson responded with a 3-pointer for the home side just before the buzzer, as the Cyclones still maintained a 21-14 lead after eight minutes of play.
A 3-point play by Beamon opened the scoring in the second quarter before the visitors went more than six minutes without a point. During that stretch, ENCSD was able to score nine points of its own to pull within one. Free throws keyed the run for the home side, as they went 5-for-8 during the stretch and finished the game with 12 free throws.
Clinging to a one-point lead, the Cyclones got five points from Cameron Harris in the final minute of the first half to take a 29-25 lead into the half.
Community Christian School will look to extend its winning streak when it hosts Ahoskie Christian on Thursday, Dec. 7.
COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL (73)
Beamon 9, Gattis 18, Bryant 14, Kovach 12, Harris 5, Williams 2, Spivey 5, McFarland 3, Harold 3.
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (55)
Foote 27, Doriscar 14, Anderson 9, Brinson 5.
Score by quarters:
CCS 21 8 23 21 — 73
ENCSD 14 11 12 18 — 55