Girls
In a Mid-Carolina 1A/2A showdown between the first-place Seaforth girls and second-place Southeast Alamance, the Hawks put on a lockdown defensive performance Thursday to pull out a gritty 44-29 win.
Both teams started the game with strong defensive efforts, forcing each other into tough shots throughout the first quarter. While Seaforth closed driving lanes, forcing the Southeast Alamance to find offense on the perimeter, the Stallions also successfully contested many of the Hawks’ shots from close range.
Southeast Alamance hit two threes, and Seaforth senior Hannah Ajayi got going early with five points in the first quarter, which ended with both teams knotted at 8.
In the second quarter, the Hawks turned up their defensive intensity by using half court traps to create turnovers and points in transition. A few turnovers leading to quick baskets on the other end helped supplement Seaforth’s offense, which continued to struggle against the Stallions’ defense in half court sets.
Ajayi continued to make plays on both ends of the court to keep the Hawks ahead, finishing the half with nine points and a steal. Up 20-14 at the break, Seaforth still needed better offensive production from the rest of the team, prompting head coach Charles Byrd’s message of “patience” at halftime.
“I think early in the game, we allowed them to speed us up,” Seaforth head coach Charles Byrd said. “We told them to be patient, slow down and just let the game come to them.”
With Seaforth’s defense still holding strong, the Hawks found their usual selves on offense in the second half.
Junior Gabby White led the way, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the second half, and after holding the Stallions to just two points in the third quarter, Seaforth began to pull away.
“I realized that I was getting too deep on some plays, and I was trying to attack too early,” White said about her play in the first half. “(It was) just really swinging the ball and trusting my teammates to get it back to me so I can make the right play.”
Down 29-44 entering the fourth quarter, Southeast Alamance tried to climb back into the game with some late buckets, but it was too little, too late. Seaforth picked up its seventh straight win and claimed the head-to-head battle to remain the top team in the conference standings.
“I loved how the girls played together,” Byrd said. “Even though we struggled a little bit on offense, we still found a way to squeak out a win tonight.”
Boys
However, the night didn’t go quite as well for the Seaforth boys who struggled to defend the three-ball in a 52-70 loss to Southeast Alamance.
With some attempts going uncontested, the Stallions made four threes in the opening quarter. Coupled with Seaforth’s early shooting struggles and an inability to find consistent offensive success, the Hawks found themselves in a 6-17 hole going into the second quarter.
“We missed a couple of assignments,” Seaforth head coach Leo Brunelli said. “It’s going to happen. Against a well-oiled machine and the way we’re flying and pressing and trapping, you’re going to get some. We’ve got to cut (uncontested shots) down.”
Seaforth flipped the momentum of the game in the second quarter behind a combined 10 points from junior Nate Emerson and sophomore Declan Lindquist. The Hawks outscored Southeast Alamance, 14-10, and cut the deficit to single digits, but they still trailed, 20-27 at the break.
Unforced turnovers, especially the multiple travelling violations called on the Hawks throughout the night, halted Seaforth’s ability to string together enough baskets to climb all the way back into the game.
Seaforth continued to hang within striking distance in some parts of the third quarter, but the Stallions maintained and grew their lead with the help of three more three-pointers and a few dry spells from the Hawks’ offense.
Starting the final quarter down 40-53, Seaforth’s final efforts weren’t enough to pull off a comeback. While the Hawks only made four field goals in the final eight minutes, Southeast Alamance pulled away by converting transition opportunities created from the Hawks’ high-paced rally attempt.
Despite Seaforth dropping its 10th game of the season and slipping out of the playoff picture, the Hawks still had a reason to smile and keep high spirits. Brunelli coached his first home game Thursday since being hospitalized with a medical emergency on Dec. 31.
He missed five games and returned on Jan. 23 in Seaforth’s 72-61 win at Graham. The Hawks picked up two wins against North Moore and Bartlett Yancey in Brunelli’s absence.
“The way the kids and coaches handled me not being here, it’s a credit to the championship mentality they have,” Brunelli said. “I’m just so proud of them.”