Clarksville, TN – For the West Creek Coyotes, the District 10-AAA Boys Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal match up against the Northeast Eagles Friday Night at home was a tale of two halves.
After scoring only 15 points in the first half, the West Creek Coyotes exploded for a 20-point third period, and went on to outscore the Eagles 45 to 29 in the second half to get the win, 60-50.
By halftime they had made only three baskets from the field and trailed the Eagles 21-15.
“We weren’t playing well the first half. You have to give a lot of credit to Northeast. They really took us out of our rhythm,” Coyotes head coach Douglas Worsley said.
A different Coyote team emerged in the second half. Coyote guard Jachin Almon was fouled while trying to shoot a 3-pointer.
He converted 2-of-3 from the line. They were the first two points of a Coyote 10-2 run.
Suddenly moving the ball better and using screens to get open, the Coyotes shot 7-of-12 from the field in the third period and outscored the Eagles 20-4.
“We talked about it at halftime,” coach Worsley said. “I felt like in the first half we were standing around watching to much. I said everybody has got to do their job. You’ve got to screen; you’ve got to roll; you’ve got to get yourselves open and be ready to shoot when you get the ball. Sure enough guys caught the ball ready to shoot, ready to attack the basket and got people open.“
The Coyotes offensive momentum carried into the fourth period. Even in the face of a defensive press by the Eagles, the Coyotes continued to produce open looks and knock down the shots. They committed only two turnovers and when fouled made 11-of-14 from the free throw line.
“They know how to beat a press. They shouldn’t get rattled. They should be very calm,” Worsley said. “There are times we will spaz, but for the most part they were ready tonight. We kind of felt like it was coming. We just had to take care of it. Go slow, be strong, take care of the ball. We felt we could get that win.”
While most of the Coyote team was scoring, the Eagles offense came primarily from Nick Green. Green had a monstrous night. He scored a double-double with 30 points and 17 rebounds.
The win advances the Coyotes to the semifinals where they will play Henry County Saturday, February 15th at 5:30pm.
Photo Gallery
Box Score
West Creek 60, Northeast 50
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| West Creek High Coyotes | 6 | 9 | 20 | 25 | 60 |
| Northeast High Eagles | 8 | 13 | 4 | 25 | 50 |
West Creek
Aaron Hardison 11, Stephon Jackson 9, James Johnson 4, Jachin Almon 12, Michael Hardison 3, Marcus Martin 7, Mo Pressley 8, Davon Jones 3.
Northeast
Dre Felton 8, Nick Green 30, Vincent Johnson 5, Montrell Pardue 2, D.J. Wright 4, Jontae Brown 1.
