Kayla Surles reaches 1,000 points; Wake Forest sweeps Corinth Holders

By: Zack Adams

1/30/18

WAKE FOREST -- Tuesday evening inside Larry C. Lindsey Gymnasium, a points milestone was set. Wake Forest senior point guard Kayla Surles eclipsed 1,000 points for her career. Along with earning this achievement, her and her teammates earned their second NAC-6 victory of the season. Some of that “magic” rubbed off on the varsity boys team as they also earned their second NAC-6 victory over the season by edging the Pirates from Corinth Holders.

GBB: Corinth Holders vs Wake Forest:

Kayla Surles three from the far wing off Jalin Debnam’s assist, with 3:54 to play in the first quarter was the basket that put Surles at 1,000 points for her career. That would only spark Wake Forest (9-8, 2-4) to their 57-42 victory over Corinth Holders (5-14, 0-5) Tuesday. Kayla Surles would go on to finish with 17 points, five assists, and four rebounds while shooting 4/6 from three. If that’s not a performance you would want to have on your 1,000 career points night along with a win, then what is?

Fellow Lady Cougar senior Jada Miller also had herself a game. The Western Carolina commit went for 22 points. Miller would score 15 of those in the second half. Keenan Surles and Jalin Debnam would also add six points a piece to the Lady Cougars total.

Corinth Holders junior Gabby Miller once again paced the Lady Pirates, leading them with 14 points. Not only did she score 14 points, Miller also grabbed seven rebounds for a team-high. Fellow junior Mikayla Thompson bounced back from her 2/9 shooting night from three Friday against Heritage by scoring 13 on 50% shooting (3/6) from three. Freshman Crawford Ramsey added seven points as well, five of which came in the fourth.

The third quarter really "won" the game for the home Cougars. Corinth Holders went into the half up two, 22-20. Wake Forest outscored the Lady Pirates, 27-8 coming out of the locker rooms to put the game on ice. Shooting was a big factor in that as Wake Forest made five threes in that stretch.

Wake Forest now possesses two NAC-6 victories, both coming against Corinth Holders, who still remains winless in a tough NAC-6 conference.

MBB: Corinth Holders vs Wake Forest:

Oh so close, yet oh so far away for Corinth Holders (4-14, 0-5). The Pirates dropped yet another NAC-6 contest on the road, this time to Wake Forest (9-10, 2-4) by four, 48-44. 

Sophomore Xylan Gill was recently moved up from junior varsity and is already making his mark on Todd Seymour's varsity squad. The tenth grader went for 16 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday while also shooting 4/5 from the foul line. Not only did Gill get 16 points, the Cougars won this game by having a very balanced scoring attack. To go along with Gill's 16, Darrius Everett added 11 (6/6 free throw), Donald Hartsfield added nine points and six rebounds (six of those nine points came in the first half), and Quandre Bullock contributed eight points while grabbing eight boards in the win. 

Corinth Holders senior Warren Ramsey, a Guilford College commit, led Corinth Holders and all scorers with 19 points. Ramsey shot 44% from three (4/9) and 5/7 from the foul line. One of Ramsey's four threes was a near half court heave that was banked in at the halftime buzzer that trimmed the Wake Forest lead to just three, or 19-16 at halftime. Tanner Smith also scored in double-digits for the Pirates as he had 10.

The fourth quarter on this one was well, wild. After three, Wake Forest led 31-27. The Pirates started the quarter on an 8-2 run that was sparked by Ramsey, who scored all eight on Corinth's points in the run. The Cougars would counter, though. With 1:54 to play, Wake Forest led 40-37. Warren Ramsey, yet again, responded with a three to tie the game at 40 with 1:24 to play. Next possession, Darrius Everett countered with a three of his own with 1:08 to play to make it 43-40 'Coogs. Ensuing trip for the Pirates, Ramsey draws the fifth foul on DeMarcus Jones and hits two free throws to cut the Wake Forest lead to 43-42 with 58.8 to play.

Remember free throws? Well, they help you win basketball games. Wake Forest shot 71% (10/14) from the foul line in the fourth. Darrius Everett has ice in his veins, confirmed, as the senior went a perfect 4/4 from the stripe in his seven point fourth (11 on the game, again). Everett hit the game sealing free throws with 8.6 seconds to play that gave Wake Forest their second NAC-6 victory of the season.

As for Corinth Holders, a loss like this could definitely help them down the stretch. What that means is that the young Pirates definitely showed they have what it takes to win at the 4A level, especially in a conference of this caliber and also, how much a start to the second half can mean to a potential victory. For the first time in five games now, the Pirates took a lead in the second half. Three of the five games, Corinth Holders maintained a lead at intermission but came out flat. Tuesday, started the third on an 8-2 run. Three of the Pirates last four contest will be at home so very well an upset could be a brewing for one of the NAC-6 powers to possibly fall. 

Wake Forest traveled to Wakefield tonight (Wednesday) and fell in both of those varsity contest. Next, a trip to rival, Rolesville on Friday night. Corinth Holders will return home after four straight road games to play host to Heritage on Thursday. All varsity girls games will tip at 6:30 followed by varsity boys at 8:00.

Heritage girls and boys run past Corinth Holders at home

By: Zack Adams

1/26/18

WAKE FOREST -- Yet another tough NAC-6 road test for Corinth Holders. Friday, the Pirates traveled to Wake Forest for a road tilt with Heritage. In this week's Preps Now Top 25 rankings, the Heritage girls come in ranked #2 and the guys at #7. Not only is this year Corinth Holders' first year in 4A, but what makes it even tougher is that almost every girls and boys varsity teams in the conference are locally ranked. Friday was not much easier than the previous three conference games for the lone Johnston County team in the NAC-6, as the scoreboard resulted at the end of 32 minutes for both teams.

GBB: Corinth Holders vs Heritage
#2 Heritage (16-2, 4-0) remains at the top of NAC-6 girls basketball standings following their 69-25 win over Corinth Holders (5-13, 0-4) at home Friday night.

The Lady Huskies only would trail once in the ball game. With 3:50 to play in the opening quarter, Corinth Holders junior Mikayla Thompson popped a three from the wing, in front of the Heritage bench to put the visitors on top, 7-6. Heritage coach Pat Kennedy I guess took offense to Thompson's three ball in front of his bench and fired up his team during the timeout that followed. As soon as the huddle broke, Heritage went right at the Lady Pirates and started forcing turnovers and converting them into easy points left and right.

Next thing you know, Heritage leads 28-8 with 4:50 to play in the opening half. Kennedy's ladies went on a 22-1 run following the three ball from Thompson.

Not only did the #2 Lady Huskies play great team basketball as they dished out 22 assists, but two ladies had stand out games. Juniors Demi Washington and Cydney Johnson each "shut down" their home gym Friday night. Washington led all scorers with 20, 12 of which coming in the second half. Johnson scored the ball and crashed the boards well Friday. She accounted for 10 points and seven rebounds in Heritage's route of Corinth Holders. Sophomore Malia Porrier added 13 and Morehead State commit, Alissa Smalls finished with 10 points and four assists.

The deficit at the conclusion of the contest (44 points) obviously spoke for itself, but a stat you probably do not want to leave the gym with is scoring just as many points as rebounds you hauled in as a team. Corinth Holders scored 25 points in the contest and also hauled in 25 rebounds on the same token.

Junior Mikayla Thompson led Corinth Holders with nine points. Not the junior's best shooting night as she just shot 22% (2/9) from three. Gabby Miller added five points and a team-high, six rebounds grabbed.

MBB: Corinth Holders vs Heritage
New semester, two games, no problem for the Preps Now #7 Heritage Huskies (13-4, 4-0). Tuesday, Heritage downed rival, Wake Forest 69-30 at home. Friday was another 30-point victory for Tilden Brill's men as they picked up their fourth NAC-6 victory over Corinth Holders (4-13, 0-4), 71-41 at home.

Jarren McAllister and Jayden Gardner heard the hype of former local college talent, Dennis Smith Jr. getting a 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest invite that they decided to have a contest of their own Friday, but in a game. The two combined for more than a half dozen dunks on the game and each and ever one of them brought the crowd to their feet.

With 6:33 to play in the opening quarter, Jarren McAllister stole a Tanner Smith pass in the open court and threw it down to jump start the contest. Those were the first two points of the Virginia Tech commits' 12 point on the night. McAllister did not only score "the rock". With 3:09 to play in the third, Corinth Holders' forward Tyler Wooten put up a floater and forgot the future ACC commit was lurking. The Huskies' senior pinned Wooten's shot to the backboard and started yet another Heritage fast break. If SportsCenter was in attendance, McAllister would've been getting a lot of "Top 10" looks and the "da-da-da, da-da-da's".

Not to be forgotten, East Carolina commit Jayden Gardner had himself yet again, another double-double. Gardner is closing in on 2,000 points for his career but fell short Friday against Corinth Holders as he finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Gardner had 11 points and nine rebounds after the opening eight minutes, as he indeed inserted himself into this contest immediately.

Tre Waller also had himself a game. The sophomore exploded for 16 earlier this year in a four point win over Millbrook but tonight, he filled the stat sheet. Waller finished with seven points, seven assists, and six rebounds. One of "Tre Baller's" six assists kicked off the third as he found Red Dunton (nine points) running the baseline for an alley-oop flush from the 6'5" freshman off a great find from Waller.

Heritage owned the glass. The Huskies out-rebounded the Pirates by 24, 46-22. Gardner grabbed 11 of those and fellow senior, Dow Dunton had nine rebounds of his own.

For Corinth Holders, another disappointing outing but that comes with youth. Senior Warren Ramsey and junior Tyler Wooten each had eight points to lead the visitors. Shooting 16% (3/22) from three like Corinth did will not win you many games on the road, let alone any basketball game in general. One positive from this 30-point defeat would have to be that Corinth Holders score a conference high, 12 points coming out of intermission. The previous three NAC-6 games; ten, three, and seven points coming out of the half.

Both Corinth Holders and Heritage will have road tilts coming up this Tuesday. Corinth Holders will travel to Wake Forest (64-49 Wake Forest on Jan. 9). Heritage will make the trip to former Cap-8 rival, Wakefield on Tuesday. Heritage pounded the Wolverines in Wake Forest back on Jan. 9, 76-54. Will it be the same result this time in Raleigh? Both games are set to tip at 8:00 on Tuesday and of course, varsity girls will be prior to both of those at 6:30.

NC State ends the game on an 11-0 run that propels them past Wake Forest

By: Zack Adams

1/18/18

RALEIGH -- In the midst of the second winter storm of the year, Wake Forest (8-10, 1-5) traveled from Winston-Salem to Raleigh where they met NC State (13-6, 3-3) on Thursday night. The Wolfpack picked up their third straight home victory on Thursday as they took down the Demon Deacons, 72-63.

Wake Forest led NC State 63-61 with 4:29 to play in the ballgame. 7'1" junior center Doral Moore's dunk would be the final two points that Danny Manning's team would account for Thursday. NC State would exploded on an 11-0 run in the final 4:29 to lock up their third ACC victory on the season, all of which have came at home.

NC State would go 7/12 from the foul line in the final 4:29 that ended up icing the contest. Also in the run, Markell Johnson and Torin Dorn would knock down jumpers as well.

Torin Dorn also sunk a clutch three, plus the foul against then #2 Duke in the Pack's 96-85 home upset back on Jan. 6. Dorn must have "ice in his veins" because he knocked down the free throw to complete the four point play that put NC State up 91-80 with 1:06 to play in that one.

Omer Yurtseven had himself a second straight 20+ point performance at home. The sophomore scored a career high, 29 points (5/6 from three) last Thursday against then #19 Clemson in NC State's 78-77 victory. Tonight, Yurtseven scored a game high 22 points while grabbing eight rebounds. Markell Johnson added 13 off the bench in his first game at PNC Arena since Dec. 2. Torin Dorn finished with 11 and Braxton Beverly also had a stellar game with 10 points and nine assists.

Bryant Crawford came off his 21 point performance in Wake's 89-71 loss at Duke Saturday with an 18 point night in Raleigh. Crawford did not shoot the ball well from the floor as the junior shot 5/18 (27.7%) but he did go a perfect 8/8 from the foul line. Doral Moore added a double-double as he scored 15 points and grabbed ten rebounds.

Next up for NC State is another home date with yet another Top 25 opponent. #25 Miami (FL) travels to Raleigh for a Sunday tilt with the Pack. Tip-off for that one is set for high noon, or 12:00. It will not get any easier for Danny Manning and his Deacons as they will go through their own "ACC Gauntlet" over their next six games. It all will start Sunday night when they host #2 Virginia (6:00), who just downed Georgia Tech tonight in Atlanta, 64-48. #5 Duke, at Louisville, Florida State, #20 Clemson, and at #25 Miami (FL) will round out this six game stretch. Lucky for them, four of those six games will be at "The Joel" in Winston-Salem.

Wakefield girls and boys capitalize on Corinth Holders' second half collapses to pick up NAC-6 victories

By: Zack Adams

1/12/18

RALEIGH -- The second half has plagued both the Corinth Holders girls and boys varsity teams through three NAC-6 contest. Friday night, the Pirates traveled to Wakefield where once again the closing 16 minutes haunted the Pirates, leading both teams to 0-3 starts in conference play.

GBB: Corinth Holders vs Wakefield
Friday night was not a night to remember for Corinth Holders (5-12, 0-3 NAC-6) as they traveled to Raleigh to meet #8 Wakefield (11-3, 1-1 NAC-6). Wakefield started slow, but handled business Friday night to pick up their first conference victory but downing Corinth Holders, 61-29.

The Lady Pirates cut the Wakefield lead to 6-5 with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter behind junior Mikayla Thompson banking in a three from the wing and freshman Crawford Ramsey knocking down a deep two. One point would be as close as this game got as the Lady Wolverines closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, to lead 12-5. That suddenly became a 12-0 run until Corinth Holders junior Gabby Miller finished one of her two three point plays she converted on the evening to bring the Wakefield lead to 20-8.

Wakefield went into the half leading 29-10 and the third quarter, but this game on ice. The home side outscored the visiting Pirates 30-11 in the third. It was not raining at the time outside, but it sure was in the gym. Wakefield knocked down three triples and five deep two point baskets on this tremendous third quarter from the Lady Wolverines.

Jada Peebles led Wakefield with 13 points. Peebles scored the six consecutive points that extended Wakefield's 6-0 run to close the first half to a 12-0 run to open the second. Gabby Donaldson added eight points for Donald Williams' Wakefield side.

Gabby Miller led Corinth Holders and all scorers with 15 points. Seven of Miller's 15 came in the Lady Pirates 11 point third. Freshman Crawford Ramsey added eight points as well for Corinth Holders.

MBB: Corinth Holders vs Wakefield
Another great start to the ballgame but a not so good finish once again costs Corinth Holders (4-12, 0-3 NAC-6) another conference game. Wakefield (12-4, 1-1 NAC-6) became the third chapter in the Pirates "Second Half Collapse" as the Wolverines took this one 59-37 on Friday.

The Pirates brought the intensity to open up the contest and two threes by the Guilford College commit, Warren Ramsey put Corinth Holders on top 6-2 early.

The second quarter was a struggle on the offensive for both sides as each only scored seven points in the quarter. That gave the Pirates of Corinth Holders a 23-19 lead going into intermission.

Knowing that the third quarter had been Corinth's downfall in the two previous NAC-6 games, Pirates coach Chris Davis said he told the team at halftime to "Go out there, maintain control, and play your game; the third quarter is yours."

Corinth Holders panicked once again in the third. Wakefield outscored Corinth Holders 19-7 to go on top 38-30. The third was dominated by juniors Trae Smith and Elijah Shabazz. Wilson scored eight of his 22 in the quarter, while Shabazz had seven of his 11 out of the half. With that take over from the two junior forwards along with Wakefield's press getting to the Pirates and causing turnovers, another conference game was lost out of the half for Corinth Holders.

The Wolverine offensive and defensive "assault" did not stop in the final eight minutes, though. Wakefield scored 22 in the final quarter, led by Styles McClain scoring 7 (of his 13) and Trent Wilson scoring 6, on 6/6 shooting from the foul line.

Trent Wilson was shut down from three which really helped Corinth Holders stay in this ballgame for three quarters. Wilson was shooting 43% from downtown going into the contest and the Pirates held him to 1/7 (14%) from three.

Warren Ramsey led Corinth Holders with eight points, six of which came in the opening quarter. Tanner Smith and Cameron Walden each added six points as well for the Pirates.

Wakefield will host Rolesville next Thursday (Jan. 18) in what is a makeup game from the Jan. 5 cancellation. Rolesville sits at 3-0 in NAC-6 play following their 61-46 road win over Wake Forest on Friday. Corinth Holders returns home next Friday (Jan. 19) as they'll host Knightdale. The Knights will go into that contest at 1-2 in the NAC-6 after they fell at home to Heritage, 69-65 Friday.

Rolesville sweeps Corinth Holders in NAC-6 back-to-back

By: Zack Adams

1/10/18

ROLESVILLE -- It was night two of a NAC-6 back-to-back for both Corinth Holders and Rolesville. It was the same story, different day for Rolesville as another school came into "their house" and walked away with two varsity losses. Tuesday, Knightdale felt defeat at the hands of the Rams and Wednesday, Corinth Holders got the exact same treatment in two very rough games for the Pirates.

GBB: Corinth Holders vs Rolesville
From the opening tip, this one was all Rolesville (11-5, 2-0 NAC-6). The Lady Rams pounded the Lady Pirates from Corinth Holders (5-11, 0-2 NAC-6) by the final score of 56-29 on Wednesday. When I say put away from the opening tip, I mean from the get go because the Rams were up 35-8, which is 27 point lead, going to intermission. Clinton Williams' ladies can really shoot the three ball. Rolesville hit eight threes, to Corinth's one which also just shows where this game was won; behind the three point line. Abby King hit three of those eight triples in her 10 point night. But King did not lead the Lady Rams in scoring. Her teammate, Alisa Davenport finished with 13 points on 4/5 shooting from the foul line. On a porous shooting night from the Lady Pirates (from both two and three), nothing much can come as a "positive" by looking at the film or any field goal shooting statistics. But Gabby Miller did have herself a solid game as she lead the Lady Pirates with nine points. Miller scored all six of the Pirates first quarter points.

MBB: Corinth Holders vs Rolesville:
For the second night in a row, Corinth Holders (4-11, 0-2 NAC-6) leads at halftime, then crumbles in the second half leading them to a loss. Tonight, the Pirates were up 21-20 at the break on Rolesville (11-4, 2-0 NAC-6) but after the second 16 minutes, found themselves on the losing side of things as Rolesville took this one, 53-38. Tuesday night, Ricky Clemons welcomed himself and the Knightdale Knights to NAC-6 play as he exploded for 37 points (11/18 shooting) in the Rams 74-61 win. Tonight, Corinth Holders played great man-to-man defense on the senior guard, holding him to only two points at the half. Well, I do not know what went on in the Rams locker room at halftime but someone awoke the "sleeping giant" (can someone be a giant at 6'2"?) because he came out and scored nine in the third and just two in the fourth to finish the contest with a game high, 13 points. Clemons would get help. Forward Chris Maye had a quiet eight points and six rebounds, six of those eight came in the third. Like Maye, Dominique "Dom" Johnson finished with eight. The senior had 10 rebounds at the half but one grabbed one board in the second half as he finished the game with 11 rebounds. Dom Johnson probably had the "play of the game" when point guard Jaylin Parker tossed him an alley and Johnson threw it down with 3:06 to play in what was an eventful third.

Continuing on this monstrous third, Rolesville outscored Corinth Holders 20-3 out of the locker rooms. The Rams started the quarter on a 14-2 run. Against Wake Forest Tuesday, Corinth Holders got outscored 24-10 out of the half and that really put the ballgame away. Two straight nights on third quarter runs put the Pirates at the bottom of the NAC-6 standings. Compete out of the half and keep up the defense that was played in the opening 16 minutes, Corinth Holders could very well be sitting at 2-0 in conference, or at least 1-1.

Cameron Walden led the Pirates with nine points and eight rebounds. The junior picked up his fourth foul halfway through the third when he contested Ricky Clemons on a drive (that he made, plus the foul shot went down as well). Senior Warren Ramsey added eight points as he made the only Pirate three of the ballgame. Lavelle Gilchrist grabbed ten rebounds to go with his six points, all of which came on put backs. Marcus Bland (a guard) had his best rebounding performance of the season as he came down with seven.

Neither team shot the ball well from three. Combined, Corinth Holders and Rolesville went 2/31 from three. Those without a calculator, or just in pure disbelief of that stat; that is 0.06% from behind the arc. Rebounding was the strength tonight for both teams. Rolesville grabbed 42 boards and Corinth had 41; 83 combined. A big reason for that of course, poor shooting as proven by the three point stat.

Both Rolesville and Corinth Holders have conference road tilts scheduled for Friday (Jan. 12). Rolesville will travel to Wake Forest on Friday. Of course, Wake Forest-Rolesville used to be a high school until Rolesville was built and opened its doors back in 2013. That game will have a lot of bragging rights attached to it along with it being a conference game. Corinth Holders on the other hand, will meet Wakefield. The two met last year in Raleigh where the Wolverines took down the Pirates, 59-43. Wakefield opened NAC-6 play with a 76-54 loss on the road to Heritage.

Jiles scores 17 in the second half to lead Wake Forest past Corinth Holders

By: Zack Adams

1/9/18

WENDELL -- Wake Forest (8-5, 1-0 NAC-6) opened NAC-6 play with a bang as they hit the road and picked up a victory over Corinth Holders (4-10, 0-1 NAC-6), 64-49.

It all came down to the second half for Wake Forest coach Todd Seymour and his Cougars. They started the third quarter on a 20-6 run, which had them up 42-29 with three to play in the quarter. This second half outburst of points normally takes place on the football field but tonight, it was led by one of Reggie Lucas' men and that being senior forward, John Jiles. Jiles did not score in the opening 16 minutes but finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Nine of Jiles' 17 came in the third quarter. Darrius Everett shot 3/7 from three on the way to his 13 point night. Like Jiles, a majority of his 13 came in the third as he had seven out of intermission. Quandre Bullock also finished in double figures as he had 12.

I keep mentioning the Wake Forest football team. They are the 4AA State Champions after all. Well, the basketball team is also pretty athletic in their own right. In the first half, John Jiles just barely missed a left handed tomahawk poster slam, which would have set the fans in Wendell into a craze. In his nine point third, Jiles threw one down with 2:55 to go which brought the Purple Haze, the Corinth Holders Student Section to their feet; and Jiles plays for Wake Forest. The future Marshall Thundering Herd wide out just continues to show off how athletically gifted he is with these "whack" throw downs he's put on over the nine games he's played in. That was not all of the dunking for the Cougars, though. Darrius Everett threw an alley to a flying Quandre Bullock with two minutes to play in the game in what was really the icing on the cake for this one.

The Pirates led by one, 23-22, at the half. As previously stated, that lead came crumbling down as Wake Forest would outscore the Pirates by 16 in the second half, 42-26. In many games this season for Corinth, the game has been either won or lost coming out of the locker room. Definitely not the way Coach Davis and the Pirates wanted to start conference play. Cameron Walden led the home men with 15 points and six rebounds. The junior shot 7/13 from the foul line as he got the Cougar bigs, especially Jiles, in foul trouble early. Guilford College commit, Warren Ramsey added 11 to go along with four boards and three dimes.

With Jiles exploding for 17 in the post, the Pirates needed their bigs to step up and put points on the board. Junior Tyler Wooten and seniors Sam Carlson and Lavelle Gilchrist are the three bigs that rotate around in Corinth Holders' system. Between the three, they only combined for five points. Three of those were a triple in the final minute from Wooten.

Wake Forest outscored Corinth Holders in the post (forwards), 28-5. Not only did the Cougars outscore the Pirates 24-10 in the third to pull away to win this one, but when you get outscored by 23 points in the post, it will be hard to win basketball games not only for Corinth Holders but any team.

Wake Forest will host #11 Knightdale tomorrow night at 8:00. Knightdale fell Tuesday to #21 Rolesville, 74-61. Speaking of Rolesville, Corinth Holders will travel to Rolesville to meet the Rams Wednesday at 8:00 as well. Ricky Clemons scored 35 points for the Rams in their 13 point victory Tuesday night.

*Wake Forest Girls won the varsity opener, 53-31... no stats were provided from that one but just know, the Lady Cougars' Jada Miller lit it up from three*

NAC-6 Basketball: Where do all six schools stand headed into conference play?

By: Zack Adams

1/5/17

The brand new, NAC-6 will open conference play beginning this coming Tuesday, January 9th. NAC-6 play was supposed to begin Friday, Jan. 5 but with the recent snow and ice keeping the students/athletes out of the classroom, games that were set for the 5th have been rescheduled. Nonetheless, the season is already over a month into existence and the teams are ready to battle it out for what really counts, a conference championship and a playoff berth. With that being said, let's hit some key points of the six teams season's thus far and give you all some players to watch for.

Knightdale

(5 -- Cole Johnson -- Photo Courtesy of HighSchoolOT)

Knightdale (9-3) has started the season really well. The Knights come in being ranked #11 in the Preps Now rankings because their only losses are to Cary (NR), Broughton (#9), and Ravenscroft (#7). But Knightdale just avenged that loss to Cary this past week when they knocked off the Imps (78-58) in one of two semifinals of the South Granville Holiday Tournament. The Knights fell to Chris Barnette and Ravenscroft, as mentioned before, 64-54 in the Navy Bracket Championship. Senior forward Shayne Saigo scored 15 points in the Knights ten point defeat. Saigo is a six foot junior forward who does the most of his damage in the post, which is a little rare for someone of his size to be playing down low as oppose to the wing. Coach Anthony Byrd does have himself an impressive back court. Seniors Xavier Fennell and Cole Johnson. In last week's 20 point victory over the Cary Imps, Johnson scored 21 points and he knocked down six threes. Knightdale also took down Riverside (93-75) last week and Johnson scored 22 while also hitting six triples. Fennell added 16 and 13 points in those to games respectively. Knightdale also has Andrew Tuazama down low. He is a 6'5", 225 pound senior that obviously can take up a lot of space in the post. Knightdale could open a lot of eyes in January and February, especially with a back court that can score at a high level and a solid post game. Knightdale will also have a big test within conference play as they had a game scheduled against Leesville Road earlier on in the season and it was moved to Jan. 11. The Pride are ranked #3 by Preps Now so that is another huge test, or another wedge thrown in for the Knights for this two months stretch. The Knights open conference play on Tuesday (Jan. 9) with a road tilt at #21 Rolesville. The two school's used to be Greater Neuse River foes so it will be interesting to see how they do battle in a new conference at least twice this year.

Heritage

(40 - Jayden Gardner -- Photo Courtesy of The John Wall)

Heritage (8-4) is not undefeated like they were at this time last year prior to Cap-8 play. They've lost two tough games to Preps Now #1 Garner, 84-79 defeat at South Garner High and 91-79 defeat at home. The two other losses came at this past week's John Wall Holiday Invitational where they fell to Hillcrest Prep (AZ -- 70-60) and Cannon School (64-55). Heritage have been in each and every one of their defeats this season. The Cannon School loss came without starting point guard, Dyson Pender for a majority of the game due to an ankle injury. He returned the following day in the Huskies blowout win over Panther Creek (74-32) but still, losing your ball handler, or "steady eddie" as Coach Brill called him called him last week, can really turn the tide of a ballgame in which it did against Cannon last Friday. Jayden Gardner and Jarren McAllister are continuing to prove why the two are some of the best players in the Triangle. Gardner, an ECU commit, is coming into NAC-6 play averaging a double-double with 25.4 points per game and he is grabbing 13 rebounds per contest. McAllister will be attending Virginia Tech next fall and the senior guard is having yet another stellar season as he's averaging 18.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. You can absolutely not double team either one of these guys because they other one will be the focal point of Brill's offense and you'll have to somehow contain them and the Huskies have more than just two options on offense. 6'5" freshman Redford "Red" Dunton is a shooter. The kid can shoot the long ball and has some mad crazy flow to go along with it. Red has four double digit games on the season, one of which came at the Holiday Invitational where he had 14 against Panther Creek. Dunton is shooting 52% from three so he is definitely another weapon for Heritage on offense. Sophomore Tre Waller and freshman Lucas Taylor are also capable three point shooters. Waller hit five threes in a 16 point performance earlier this season in the Heritage's 69-65 home win over Millbrook where on Twitter he earned the nickname, "Tre Baller". Taylor is only shooting 34% from three but has exploded for 2-3 triples in a couple of games including the night he scored his career high of 16 points against Middle Creek, the frosh shot three of five from long distance. Heritage comes into conference ranked #12 in the Preps Now Top 25 and will open NAC-6 play at home Tuesday (Jan. 9) against former Cap-8 rival, #15 Wakefield.

Wakefield

(Photo Courtesy of HighSchoolOT)

Wakefield (11-3) comes in with one of the teams' best starts in recent memory. The Wolverines have already matched last year's win total (11-14, 4-10 Cap-8), going into conference play this season. Also, Wakefield is ranked #15 in the area in the most recent Preps Now Top 25 rankings. This is a tremendous start for HC Garrett Stevens and his Wolverines. Two of his three leading scorers from a year ago, Tyler Wilson (14.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG) and Antonio Patterson (12.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG) both graduated so it left a huge void offensively as they headed into a new conference where they will face once again, good competition like they did for many years in the Cap-8. Trae Smith was the team's second leading scorer a season ago. The then sophomore averaged 13.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest last season. This season as a junior, Smith now averages 16.7 points and 6.6 boards. Fellow junior Elijah Shabazz is also doing work for Wakefield as he averages 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Senior Trent Wilson is also having himself a solid  season. He averages 9.5 points per game and has knocked down a team high, 31 threes this year. Wilson is shooting 44% from long distance. Two of Wakefield's losses are the #13 Green Hope. The two met on Dec. 2 at the Millbrook Showcase where the Falcons took that match up, 62-53. They also met this past week at the South Granville Invitational, in the Columbia Bracket championship as Green Hope also won that meeting, 75-63. Wakefield has shown some grit so far this season. The Wolverines downed Clayton by three, 75-72 also at the South Granville Invitational in overtime. Wakefield beat Northwood in double overtime on Dec. 5, 84-78 as well. Coach Stevens as his men could not forget about the Cap-8 as they beat down two former conference foes in Millbrook (69-54) and Sanderson (72-54) earlier on in the season. Wakefield opens up NAC-6 play this upcoming Tuesday, Jan. 9 at Heritage in what should be a great Preps Now Top 25 matchup.

Rolesville

(11 - Ricky Clemons -- Photo Courtesy of News and Observer)

From the Greater Neuse River 4A conference, now to the NAC-6, Rolesville (9-4) looks to continue to make their mark and open some eyes at the 4A level in the upcoming months. The Rams are led by senior Ricky Clemons, who is averaging 20.8 points per game. Clemons has accounted for at least 15 points in his last five ballgames. If it wasn't for Jayden Gardner and Jarren McAllister from Heritage, this kid could very well be the NAC-6 Player of the Year with all of the talent he possesses. Fellow senior Dominique Johnson also gets in on the scoring as he averages 12.1 points and 6.4 boards per game. You can see the perks of having two scoring threats as Rolesville, the #21 team in the Preps Now Top 25, took the #1 Garner Trojans to overtime in their second meeting of the season. The final of that one ended up being 88-76 in the Trojans favor but Ricky Clemons once again put on a show as he finished with 21. Jaylin Parker (7.8 PPG) and Johnson stepped up as well and they scored 18 and 17 respectively. Rolesville also met Broughton at home earlier this season where they lost by ten, 68-58, but it was a great "early season lesson" like the two Garner games were just to get the ready for a tough conference slate where four of six teams are ranked locally. Rolesville will play host to #11 Knightdale this coming Tuesday evening (Jan. 9) at 8:00.

Corinth Holders

(11 - Warren Ramsey and 24- Cameron Walden -- Photo Courtesy of News and Observer)

Definitely not the start Corinth Holders (4-9) wanted as they move up classifications from 3A a year ago to 4A this year. Seven of the Pirates nine losses this season have came by ten points or less, so they have been in every game this season. The Pirates opened the season with a road gauntlet. Corinth Holders' first five games came on the road, four of which were lost by ten points or less. Leading the Pirates in scoring are senior Warren Ramsey (13.5 PPG) and junior Cameron Walden (10.9 PPG). Ramsey put up a career and season high back on Dec. 6 in Corinth's 56-26 win over Princeton. He finished with 25 points on 5/9 (55%) shooting from three. Both Ramsey and Walden each scored 20+ points in the Smithfield-Selma, 81-71 defeat. Ramsey had 22 as Walden added 21. Walden has three double-doubles on the season, one of which was nearly a triple-double in the Pirates' 64-62 victory over Cleveland back on Dec. 15. 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists was the juniors' stat line against the Rams. It's not just Ramsey and Walden that have been scoring "the rock" for Coach Davis' Pirates. Sophomore Tanner Smith is nearly averaging in double figures for the season with 9.3 points per game. Smith went through some "varsity growing pains" to begin his tenth grade season as he scored less that ten points in his first six outings. In Smith's last five, he is averaging 13.2 a game, including a 17 point performance over Holiday break against North Raleigh Christian. Speaking of Holiday break, Corinth Holders finished 2-3 over break with wins over Triton (55-53) and North Raleigh Christian (51-29). The five game stretch was concluded by a tough overtime loss to Fuquay-Varina, where the Bengals took that one by five, 51-46. Corinth Holders will play their first 4A conference game this coming Tuesday (Jan. 9) when Wake Forest comes to Wendell.

Wake Forest

(15 -- John Jiles -- now wears #1 -- Photo Courtesy of News and Observer)

This fall, Wake Forest took home the 4AA East football State Championship when they beat Mallard Creek, 21-0. This winter, Wake Forest (7-5) will look to make some noise of their own in the gym. Coach Todd Seymour was pleased to finally gain his four football players (three juniors and one senior) back and put them in his rotation. In those four games, Wake Forest went 3-1 but that one loss was a blowout defeat to former Cap-8 conference foe, Millbrook. The Wildcats embarrassed the Cougars, 74-40 on the "Coogs" home floor in the season opener. Following that 34 point defeat, Wake Forest won five of six. In that stretch, Wake Forest downed Franklinton by three in overtime, 59-56. Of those four football players that returned the Seymour's rotation after missing the first four games, John Jiles was probably the "biggest name". Jiles is a pure athlete. He stands 6'4" and his athletic ability earned him a scholarship offer from Marshall for football. In his second game of the season against Franklinton, Jiles exploded for 23 points. How about that for a return to the hardwood? Jiles is not the only Cougar capable of scoring in mass. On Dec. 19, Wake Forest downed Holly Springs at home, 78-66. John Jiles showed his athleticism when he put a Golden Hawk in a poster with a right handed tomahawk flush. Jiles might have stole the show with that poster but junior Quandre Bullock made a statement on the stat sheet. Bullock led all scorers with 28 points in the 12 point victory. Wake Forest will hit the road and head to Wendell on Tuesday (Jan. 9) as they'll battle Corinth Holders. Tip for that one is set for 8:00.

GIRLS "PREVIEW":

Not only does the boys conference slate tip-off Tuesday, but so does the girls. Like the boys, the NAC-6 girls hold four spots in the Preps Now Top 25 rankings. Heritage (11-3) heads that list at #3. Pat Kennedy's Lady Huskies are led by three veterans. First, two juniors, Cydney Johnson and Demi Washington. Johnson (15.6) and Washington (15.1) both average over 15 a game to lead the team in scoring. Also, Morehead State commit and senior point guard, Alissa Smalls. Smalls averages 6.9 points per game and she is also dishing out 5.5 assists per game. Leading the conference in scoring is #18 Wake Forest (7-4) senior guard Kayla Surles. Surles comes into conference play averaging 15.9 points and 5.1 assists per contest. She is also shooting 38% from three thus far on the season. In her third game of the season against DH Conley (65-63 win), Surles finished with 37 points on 9/16 shooting from three (56%). Definitely going to be two interesting duels at point guard between Smalls and Surles when Heritage and Wake Forest do battle in the next couple of months. #8 Wakefield (10-2) comes in with some young fire power of their own. After a rough 12-13 finish last season, Wakefield is off to a hot start as they have won four of their last six. Juniors Jada Peebles and Gabby Donaldson both are back for the Lady Wolverines after last season, the two combined to average 25.8 points per game. #14 Rolesville (9-5) is probably the most "pesky" team in this conference. After finishing third is last year's deep Greater Neuse, HC Clinton Williams returns senior forward Valencia Carroll, who averages 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Carroll will be a huge post presence this winter and could be a huge part in a couple of Lady Ram upsets. The other two teams in the NAC-6 are not ranked by Preps Now but they both could very well make some noise of their own. Knightdale (8-3) comes into conference play having won two straight. Coach Faison's Lady Knights are led by a senior and a freshman. Senior Akira Wiggins comes into conference averaging 12.3 per game while freshman Diamond Thomas comes in averaging just over 12 a game as well, at 12.1. A veteran and a young talent "on the come up" could spell for some upsets for the Lady Knights this winter. Corinth Holders (5-9) comes up to 4A with a young team. But don't let it fool you, Corinth Holders has been able to squeak out some close wins this season and take Preps Now Top 25 ranked teams like Franklinton and Clayton to their limits. The Lady Pirates are led by junior point guard Mikayla Thompson and freshman forward Crawford Ramsey. Both have had their share of double figure games thus far. They'll need a lot more and help from the supporting cast to find success in this year's deep NAC-6.

Complete coverage of all of Corinth Holders' girls and boys varsity games from January, February, and beyond will be coming on my Twitter (@xzadamsx) where I'll be live tweeting all of our games along with stories/recaps following those games right here on my Blog. Good luck to all six teams in the NAC-6 this coming winter!