BEAR CREEK — South Davidson coach Chad Ellington stated Tuesday night’s encounter with Chatham Central in Gerald L. Binkley Gymnasium was like running into a buzz saw, while Bears’ mentor Robert Burke explained it was just a case of his team playing fundamental basketball.
Lucas Skertich fired in 14 of his game-high 18 points in the first half as Chatham Central raced to a 23-point advantage at intermission and placed a dozen players in the scoring column while frolicking to an 81-42 triumph over the Wildcats in quarterfinal round play of the Yadkin Valley 1A Conference Tournament.
Posting their highest point total of the year besides collecting their fourth win in a row, the top-seed Bears improved to 20-5 overall, giving Chatham Central its first 20-win season since the 2002-03 team went 22-5. The victory also set up a tourney semifinal showdown with fourth-seed North Stanly (14-10) Wednesday night in Denton, while eighth-seed South Davidson finished 3-21.
Michael Moore added 11 points for the winners, while Riley Lagenor and Nic Wilson contributed nine points apiece. The Bears connected on 53 percent (31-of-58) of their field goal attempts in addition to holding a 40-33 advantage in rebounds while turning the ball over a dozen times.
“Tonight our starters as well as the reserves performed the way they’re capable of playing, giving us a solid inside/outside attack while capitalizing on our transition game,” noted Burke.
“Not only did we execute on offense,” Burke said, “but I thought we showed a lot of aggressiveness on defense with our boxing out on the boards and containing South Davidson’s outside shooters, limiting them to only a pair of three-pointers.”
Thomas Ellington finished with nine points and Dayton Adkins tallied eight to lead the Wildcats, who shot 31 percent (18-of-58) from the floor while committing 14 turnovers.
“Chatham Central has so many weapons with their strong inside/out game that you’ve got to shoot at least 45 percent to be competitive with them,” remarked coach Ellington.
“Not only did they shoot well from the perimeter,” Ellington noted, “but their big guys hurt us in the paint with their rebounding that gave them a lot of second-chance opportunities, while on the defensive end they limited us to one-and-done while we could never get into any kind of offensive rhythm.”
Following a jumper in the lane by South Davidson’s Jackson Ellington that forged the only tie of the evening at 4-4 with 4:54 left in the initial period, the Bears closed out the opening stanza with a 12-4 run, capped by Lagenor’s three-pointer from the left corner, to seize a 16-8 advantage after one quarter.
Chatham Central then began the second period with a 12-0 burst to increase its lead to 20 three minutes into the frame before Adkins finally snapped the string with a pair of free throws. But the Bears would go on to outscore the visitors from Denton 13-10 over the remainder of the quarter to carry a 41-18 advantage into halftime.
With Moore and Skertich combining for 13 points in the third stanza, Chatham Central continued to expand its lead throughout the frame and entered the fourth period up 64-28.
The closest the Wildcats got over the last eight minutes was 69-36 following Hayden Smith’s trey from the left wing with 5:12 to go in the contest prior to the Bears finishing the rout with a 12-6 spurt, with Brady Cunnup’s jumper off the right baseline with 36 seconds remaining accounting for the final margin while giving Chatham Central its biggest advantage of the night.