Apex Friendship rolls unbeaten Northwood to claim Charger Classic crown

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PITTSBORO — Jayden Beloti tallied 15 of his career-high 31 points in the second quarter to help Apex Friendship break an early stalemate as the Patriots surged to a 12-point halftime advantage, then withstood a furious third-period Northwood comeback before pulling away down the stretch to knock the Chargers from the ranks of the unbeaten and claim the championship trophy in the 2nd annual First Bank Charger Classic with a 79-63 victory last Monday night in Lewis Norwood Gymnasium.

While Northwood suffered its first loss in 12 outings, Apex Friendship climbed to 8-2 for the season.

N.C. State signee Nick Farrar registered a double-double with 20 points and 13 caroms while Kenny Noland came off the bench to chip in 13 points for the winners, who shot a phenomenal 62 percent (32-of-52) from the floor. The Patriots also held a 31-17 advantage on the glass while turning the ball over 11 times.

Aaron Ross topped the Chargers with 24 points, while Jalen McAfee-Marion contributed 14 and Deuce Powell added 13. Northwood connected on 46 percent (27-of-59) of its field goal attempts while only committing six turnovers.

“The two big keys for us were controlling the boards and Jayden’s offense in the second quarter that allowed us to open us a double-digit lead at the break,” said Apex Friendship coach P.J. Lowman. “We work hard in practice to make rebounding a point of emphasis, and both Jayden and Nick gave us a strong effort around the rim. On offense Jayden is clever with the ball and slides off defenders with his quickness while keeping the defense off-balance when he pivots and starts his drive to the basket.

“I knew Northwood was too good not to make a run at us the second half. They made a really good push in the third period but we managed to hold them off and never let them retake the lead. After failing to win the tournament title a year ago it feels great to carry the championship hardware home this time.”

Chargers coach Matt Brown stated it’s difficult to beat a team that shoots and rebounds as well as the Patriots did Monday evening.

“You’re going to have a hard time overcoming an opponent who shoots 62 percent from the field while also dominating the boards,” said Brown. “That coupled with the fact we weren’t hitting our shots in the second quarter let them build a sizable lead at halftime. But credit our guys for not giving up and battling back after intermission.

“I thought we were relentless in the third period and did a great job closing the gap to two before a combination of mental mistakes and not making shots down the stretch allowed Apex Friendship to put the game away.”

After a pair of early ties Northwood opened up a 12-6 advantage following Alex Snively’s three-pointer from behind the top of the key with 2:57 remaining in the initial stanza before the Patriots rallied to draw even at 14-all on Beloti’s put-back in the paint with 36.2 seconds left in the frame.

A Beloti free throw with 6:25 to go in the second period gave Apex Friendship the lead for good at 19-18 before back-to-back treys from the left wing by Noland and Beloti quickly extended the victors’ advantage to seven.

After Troy Arnold’s layup drew the Chargers within 32-27 with 2:39 remaining in the first half, consecutive baseline hoops by Beloti followed by Noland’s midcourt steal and layup increased the Patriots’ lead to 11 prior to Beloti answering a Ross layup with a three-pointer from the left side that put Apex Friendship ahead 41-29 at intermission.

With Ross accounting for 11 of his points in the third quarter, Northwood fought back to trim the difference to 55-53 on his free throw with 34.9 seconds left in the stanza before Jeremiah Baker’s layup gave the Patriots a four-point advantage entering the fourth period.

But any hopes the Chargers had of regaining the momentum were quickly dashed at the start of the final quarter when Apex Friendship ran off 10 unanswered points to boost its lead to 67-53 with 5:20 to go in the contest.

Following a 7-0 Northwood spurt capped by Snively’s trey from the left corner that cut the Chargers’ deficit in half with 2:54 remaining, the Patriots proceeded to close out the game with a 12-3 run and forged their biggest advantage of the evening at 77-60 on a pair of Farrar charity tosses with 55.2 seconds left.