Carver boys rout rival Spring Hill in middle school game

LAURINBURG — It doesn’t get much better than coming away with a win in a rivalry game — except when it comes dominantly.

After an eight-point halftime lead, the Carver Eagles boys basketball team outscored the Spring Hill Spartans 28-6 in the second half and prevailed 48-18 in Monday’s in-county rivalry matchup, hosted by Scotland High School.

“When we went into our press, that’s where the game turned,” said Carver second-year coach Michael Gilliland. “They’ve got a good team, great coach (Dan Hersey), two really terrific players and we were able to slow them down with our scheme. We came here last year, I didn’t understand this rivalry, and we got upset (35-31). I call it an upset; they had a great team. I got outcoached. And I’ve got a mixture of eighth and seventh graders, young guys and veterans, and they’ve come a really long way.”

Gilliland dedicated the win to Carver Principal Charlotte McMillan.

“She’s had some issues with her health,” Gilliland said on McMillan. “She’s come back, and all she’s been trying to do since she had to go home was come back and be at our school. And she’s a great leader for our school. We got this win for her tonight.”

Carver (5-2) had its lead propelled in the third quarter with the help of Briley Lewis, who scored seven of his team-high 10 points in the period.

“I’ve got to thank God, and I’ve got to thank my teammates for scoring and giving me the ball and passing the ball, making their shots, because if we didn’t have teammates, we wouldn’t win,” Lewis said.

Lewis scored the opening basket of the second half and made a layup about three minutes later to move the Eagles ahead 30-15; Lewis netted a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 33-17 before a free throw and a layup by Carver’s Mike McLean ended the third quarter with the score at 36-17.

“We had to just lock in and had to just go,” Lewis said. “We thought about it. We had to go.”

Spring Hill (4-3) scored just one point in the fourth on a free throw by Ahmad Stewart; Carver closed with 12 points in the period.

Gilliland credited his team’s “pressure” for slowing Spring Hill’s offense.

“I coached in Robeson County for a decade, and we won championships with our full-court press,” Gilliland said. “If it’s run correctly, the pressure ratchets up, and the guys become more locked in as the game goes along. And we forced them (the Spartans) to throw the ball into somebody besides their point guard to start off. And from there, we were able to get some good stuff.”

In addition to Lewis’ 10 points for Carver, Maddox McNickle scored nine, McLean had seven, Sheme Crosland finished with six on two 3s, Breon Taylor and Kamaury Williams scored four, Jayden McLean and Leonte Boatwright each had two and Josiah McIntyre, Jordan McLean and Bryson Crosland ended with one apiece.

“Offensively speaking, this team’s come farther than any team I’ve ever coached,” Gilliland said.

Dalyrie McQueen and Nazire Campbell finished with four points each for Spring Hill; Zazire Williams had three, Kamden Prince and Nasir Taylor scored two each and Ahamad Stewart finished with one.

While the Eagles finished with a lopsided victory, the first half told a different story.

McNickle put the game’s first points up, but the Spartans went on an ensuing 8-1 run; a runner from Williams helped Carver cut into its deficit and close the first quarter down 8-5.

“We’re still not where we want to go,” Gilliland said. “We’re not trapping in the hot zones the way that we should be, but they’re getting better at it.”

Momentum quickly went Carver’s way as the second quarter started with 14 consecutive points by the Eagles before Taylor ended Spring Hill’s dry spell with a layup in the eighth minute. After Campbell made another layup for Spring Hill, Jordan McLean connected on a free throw with 1:23 remaining in the half to put Carver in front by eight to finish the first half.

“We had to go to the inside, and then we had to score,” Lewis said.

Despite losing, Spring Hill is locked in for a spot, along with Carver, in the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference playoffs. The Spartans are the projected No. 5 seed, and the Eagles are expected to be the fourth seed, which would pair the teams together for a rematch in the first round.

But before that, each will have one more contest on Thursday before the regular season’s end; Spring Hill hosts Rockingham, while Carver heads to West Hoke.