Sanderson boys basketball
With Tuesday's win over East Chapel Hill, senior DJ Turner and the Sanderson boys basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Chatlee Shootout at Lee County High School. The finals are slated to tip off at 8 p.m. today (Wednesday, Dec. 30).
Spartans get revenge on Wildcats
Sanderson looks to swat Yellow Jackets in Chatlee Shootout championship game Wednesday
A year removed from falling to East Chapel Hill in the Chatlee Shootout championship game, the Sanderson boys basketball team got its revenge Tuesday night, knocking off the Wildcats 66-56 in this winter's tournament semifinals.
With the victory, the Spartans again advance to the finals, this time facing Lee County — and tournament host — today (Wednesday) at 8 p.m.
"It's nice to get a little payback," said Sanderson head coach Mike Shaw of Tuesday's win. "But we're not done yet. We came here to win three games, and we still have one more to go."
While the Spartans got revenge, it didn't come easy as the two squads played neck-and-neck through three quarters, with Sanderson holding a narrow 41-39 advantage heading into the final period.
Click here for highlights from the Sanderson/East Chapel Hill basketball game.
But thanks to Matt James and Chris Lampkins both converting three-point plays to start the final eight minutes, the Spartans jumped out to a double-digit advantage and held on by hitting their foul shots. Sanderson outscored the Wildcats 25-17 in the final quarter, sealing the semifinal match-up.
With James leading the way — the senior tallied 20 points and 11 boards — the Spartans used their athleticism and hustle to finally break the game open. After the game, Shaw praised James as well as fellow senior Chris Carter (17 points) for their leadership.
"Matt was just a beast out there tonight," the coach said. "He is just all over the place, creating deflections and he is just so strong, when he gets the ball inside, there is just no taking it away from him. He is hard to stop when he gets the ball at the block.
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As for Chris, he struggled yesterday, and didn't play as tough as he needs to. But I challenged him and he stepped up."
Although the Spartans got a handful of big plays from James, Carter and Kevin Black — who got his squad going early, scoring eight of his 11 points in the first quarter — Shaw explained he enjoys the tasks which go overlooked.
"Tonight, I saw Chris boxing out well, and Matt diving on the floor, and those are the things that get us going," the coach said. "It's not always the dunks and the three-pointers. It's those little things like diving on the floor."
Shaw appreciated seeing his Spartans show some life Tuesday after a lethargic opener against East Wake, which Sanderson won 63-59 Monday night.
Sanderson forward Matt James (2) cuts to the basketball Tuesday night.
"We slept through the whole first half, and we were fortunate to pull that one out," he said. "We knew that if we played like we did against East Wake, we were going to loss. We were a different team against East Chapel Hill. Hopefully see the same product on the floor in the championship game."
Franklin Wolfe finished with eight points, Lampkins added six and Montez Hedgepath and DJ
Turner had two points apiece. Turner corralled five boards from his point guard position as well.
Lee County advanced to the championship game having defeated Union Pines Tuesday and South Granville Monday.
When the Spartans return to action after the New Years break, they host Leesville Road Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m.
