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Saturday, January 12, 2008 3:00 AM Fike boys take OT thriller at SouthWest By Brad Howell | Times Staff Writer PINETOPS -- Maybe two isn't always better than one. Fike star Jeremy Atkinson outshined the spectacular SouthWest Edgecombe siblings Eugene and Detrail Jenkins Friday night in the NEW 6 opener for both teams, scoring seven of his team-high 22 points in overtime to lift the Golden Demons to a 72-67 win. "It was time to step up," said Atkinson about going into the overtime period. "I decided that, when it was crunch time, I had to take over the game." The Golden Demons (13-2, 1-0) were fortunate to still be alive after the final frantic seconds of regulation. SouthWest Edgecombe (8-5, 0-1) sophomore William Young came up with a steal and was fouled with just six-tenths of a second remaining and with a one-and-one opportunity awaiting at the foul line. The left-handed guard toed the line with nothing but Golden Demons surrounding him. One dribble, one spin, shot. The ball fell short and wide left to send the game into overtime. "It's tough," said SouthWest head coach Dudley Etheridge of the pressure facing Young in that situation. "Unfortunately he didn't make it, but we played good against a good team and we lost. We had a shot to beat them. When you go into a game like this, that's all you want -- a chance to win." Once into overtime, Atkinson took over. With the game tied 65-65, the 6-foot-4 junior drove through traffic on the baseline to hit a driving layup with 1:21 left. Teammate Corey Autry missed a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left, but Atkinson grabbed the offensive rebound and drew the foul. He sank both shots to make it a two-possesion game. Atkinson made 1-of-2 on his next trip before Eugene Jenkins answered with an inside bucket on the other end to make it 70-67 Fike with 10.7 seconds remaining. The Golden Demons got the ball to Atkinson in the corner on the inbounds, but he had a toe on the line to give the Cougars the ball back. Young and Delano Jackson each got a look from beyond the arc, but neither shot would fall. Fike's Joshua Foster grabbed the rebound and dished to Atkinson who was fouled with six-tenths of a second left. The Jenkins brothers shined, but Detrail, a sophomore, said it didn't matter in the end. "We have to step up our game," said Detrail, who finished with 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. "We played our hearts out but it just didn't amount to anything tonight. We've just got to come back stronger next time." Eugene, a senior guard, poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He scored 16 of his points in the first half to help the Cougars to a 32-30 lead. Turnovers and shooting percentages were nearly identical, except at the free-throw line. Fike connected on 17-of-25 foul shots (68 percent) while SouthWest made just 11-of-20. The edge-of-your-seat thriller was just was of no surprise to Fike head coach George Drawhorn. "It doesn't get any better than this," said Drawhorn, sweat still dripping from his brow. "Coming into conference play, everyone's so equal and everybody's got one or two players who can step up and get the job done at the end of games. "It came down to who was going to make the last turnover, who was going to make the last free throw and who was going to grab the last rebound. Fortunately for us, the ball just bounced in our favor tonight." Both teams will break for exams before returning to conference play on Friday. Fike hosts Northern Nash, while SouthWest travels to Nash Central. bhowell@wilsontimes.com | 265-7879 |
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