Saturday’s Boys Basketball Rewind: No. 3 Chambers rallies, stops No. 2 Carmel Christian
No. 3 Julius Chambers Cougars defeated No. 2 Carmel Christian Cougars 67-60 behind star guard Jaylen Curry’s 22 point performance.
Carmel Christian came out shooting lights out from range hitting six three-point baskets in the first half. Chambers managed to fight their way back to tie the game at 33 apiece at the halftime break.
Coming out of halftime, Chambers head coach Brian Frasier knew he needed to switch some things around in order for his team to find success in the second half. “I just got a little bit more aggressive,” Frasier said. “I went smaller and picked up a little bit more on the full court aspect and just kind of applied a little bit more pressure.”
The full-court pressure that Frasier implemented in the second half paid dividends for his team as Chambers was able to force some turnovers that led to easy transition baskets and helped them fight their way back to take the lead late in the third quarter.
Carmel Christian kept applying pressure and forcing the ball out of Jaylen Curry’s hand to try and gain possession back, but Chambers did just enough to make sure Curry touched the ball when it mattered most.
Curry put his team on his back late in the game knocking down big free throws late in the game to put the game to rest. He was vocal on the floor about being aggravated that his shot was not falling the way he had hoped, but he did his job and facilitated and scored when called upon.
“He’s a point guard,” Frasier said. “Some things didn’t go his way from an offensive standpoint but he was able to put some free throws in and get to the basket for us.”
“We listened to our coaches from the jump,” Curry said. “He gave us the game plan and we went out there and executed. I knew my shot wasn’t falling, I hit a couple of threes, but it wasn’t falling like I wanted it to so I just drove past my man and used my speed to get to the basket.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Jaylen Curry, Chambers: Besides his 22 points, Curry also added seven assists. His dribble drive ability led to several key passes finding open shooters to knock down shots. He also only missed two shots from the free-throw line going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Nick Dorn, Chambers: Dorn was one of the guys that Curry was finding quite often in wide-open situations. Dorn knocked down three, three-point shots in the game, two of which came in the fourth quarter.
Cade Tyson, Carmel Christian: The leading scorer for Carmel Christian, Tyson had 17 points in the game, nine of which came from beyond the three-point line. He was a big part of the reason Carmel Christian was in control of the game early.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ This is the second time in the past week that Chambers has beaten a team in the Observer’s top 10 rankings.
▪ Chambers guard Kendall Smith added in 11 points. He had a very emphatic and-one play in the fourth quarter to help extend Chambers’ lead.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Carmel Christian falls to 17-3 and will face Wesleyan Christian Academy on Jan. 18 while Chambers improves to 13-5 and will square off with West Mecklenburg on Jan. 21.
PHOTOS: Cannon School vs. Weddington
PHOTOS: Chambers vs. Carmel Christian
Saturday’s Boxscores
ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN 53, ROCKY RIVER 49
Asheville Christian 10 16 14 13 -- 53
Rocky River 10 19 17 8 -- 49
ASHEVILLE CHRISTIAN 53 - J. Wilkas 10, D. Green 24, Oliver 4, Joyner 6, Banwell 4, Bakley 2
ROCKY RIVER 49 -- Johnson 7, Franchi 3, Javares Green 11, Price 5, Graham 2, Brantley 3, Jaden Lyles 18
ASHEVILLE SCHOOL 62, CONCORD ACADEMY 58
Asheville School 16 8 21 17 -- 62
Concord Academy 12 17 9 20 -- 58
ASHEVILLE SCHOOL 62 -- Mora 6, Yalden 19, HOldbrook 16, Kocaman 5, Saran 14, Metin 2
CONCORD ACADEMY 58 -- Munson 7, Johnson 2, Cvetkovic 7, DJ Cuttino 17, Diarea 2, Crossland 3, Kany Tchanda 20
CHAMBERS 67, CARMEL CHRISTIAN 60
Chambers 18 15 8 26 -- 67
Carmel Christian 13 20 14 15 -- 60
CHAMBERS 67 -- Jaylen Curry 22, Piper 4, Dorn 9, Kendall Smith 11, Ashemore 8, Hanson 5, Sanford 8
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 60 -- Arias 2, Bean 5, Smith 8, Cade Tyson 17, Howard 1, Logan Threatt 11, Krawczk 6, Kaleb Siler 10
COVENANT DAY 67, LAKE NORMAN 45
Covenant Day 16 19 22 10 -- 67
Lake Norman 8 11 15 11 -- 45
COVENANT DAY 67 -- Jah Brown 10, Rivens 6, M. Brown 6, Boya 5, Anderson 6, Daniel Nelson 14, Iffi Ufochukwu 10, Michael Marcus 10
LAKE NORMAN 45 -- Gruber 6, C. Callaway 13, McKinnon 7, D. Wagner 16, Steinour 3
GASTON CHRISTIAN 73, CARDINAL NEWMAN 65
Cardinal Newman 16 12 17 23 -- 73
Gaston Christian 19 15 21 21 -- 65
GASTON CHRISTIAN 73 -- Isaiah Tate 12, Gaines 8, Joe Rhyne 15, Jahseem Felton 22, Petty 5, Hank 2, Karampournius 3
CARDINAL NEWMAN 65 -- Martin 6, Peoples 2, White 7, Shelby 3, Frazier 9, Gerald Gary 26, Evan Carter 12
WEST CHARLOTTE 73, EE SMITH 54
West Charlotte 20 19 16 18 73
E. E. Smith 9 17 9 19 54
West Charlotte: Landon King 17 Ollie Alford 16 Chadlyn Traylor 10 Chancelor Morrow 10 Mahatta 8 Daye 6 Raymond 4 Kone 2
Smith: Tristan Richards 17 Travis Scott 10 Malik B 6 Aaron M 6 Darius R 4 Jamie C 4 Joshua S 3 John W 3
WEDDINGTON 76, CANNON SCHOOL 72
The Cannon School 17 15 16 24 72
Weddington 18 22 15 21 76
The Cannon School - 72 Henry 21, Swartz 17, Boyd 15, Nix 13, Claggett 6
Weddington– 76 Chase Lowe 20, Evan Morton 18, Kyle Frazier 13, AJ Cook 13, Jack Ellyson 9, Peter Bombardier 3
Notable: Chase Lowe posted 20 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks as the Warriors had 4 players in double figures in the win over The Cannon School in the Phenom MLK Showcase. Weddington will resume conference play vs Porter Ridge Tuesday night at Warrior Gymnasium.
Records: Weddington 16-0 (3-0), The Cannon School 8-11 (1-1)
