Ray's 19 points leads South Johnston past Corinth Holders for 5th straight win

By: Zachary Adams

1/15/19

ARCHER LODGE, NC — South Johnston (14-1) picked up their fifth straight victory on Tuesday by knocking off Corinth Holders (5-10), 68-54. With this victory, South Johnston moved to a perfect 7-0 on the road this season.

The three point shot was the name of the game in the opening quarter. South’s Jaquan Smith set the tone with a three ball on the game’s opening possession. To counter, Corinth’s Justin Stephens would hit a three of his own to tie the game up at 3-3. After the Pirates went on top 5-3, Thomas Dees would go on a mini 5-0 run to give the Trojans the 8-5 advantage with 4:37 to play in the quarter. Sophomore Jacob Poole would lift the home faithful to their feet after getting a basket to drop through contact and sinking the free throw to follow. Poole’s three point play evened the score at 8-8. A few possessions later, Jaquan Smith would sink a step-back three with Marcus Bland all over him to give the Trojans the 11-8 advantage. The benches would then get involved in the fray. South’s David Honeycutt and Corinth’s Sam Tilton would both hit contested threes just after checking in. Tilton’s trey gave Corinth Holders the 15-14 lead with 1:23 to play in the opening frame. South Johnston closed the opening stanza on a 5-0 run, including a second three by Thomas Dees, to go up 19-15 after a wild eight minutes of play.

Carel “CJ” Ray. Remember the name. After just registering two points in the first quarter, the South Johnston junior came alive late in the second to give total control to the visitor's. The Trojans started the frame on an 8-2 run. Five points from senior two guard Jacob Thornton, including a three pointer, highlighted that spurt. Corinth Holders sophomore Matt Cozart would attempt to reel the home side back in it. Cozart would hit a hook shot off the glass, get corner three to fall, and dish out an assist to Kimar Kornegay. Besides, Cozart is Corinth’s starting quarterback on the gridiron, so distributing the ball is kinda his thing. After Cozart’s flurry, CJ Ray would takeover and assert himself in the post. Ray would then tally seven points in the final six minutes of the quarter to help give South Johnston a 39-28 lead at intermission. In the first half alone, the Trojans would hit six threes.

CJ Ray would continue to dominate for the Trojans after halftime. The Pirates had no answer for Ray or fellow junior forward Colby Norris. Ray and Norris combined for 16 of South’s 24 third quarter points. South Johnston led by 13 with 2:15 to play in the third quarter. After struggling with foul trouble in the first half, Justin Stephens would sink a three from the wing to cut Corinth Holders’ deficit to 10, 53-43. South Johnston would go on yet another run to close the quarter. The Trojans finished the final 2:03 on a 7-0 run to head to the final quarter up 60-43.

Both the Trojans and Pirates would be careless with the rock in the fourth. Many turnovers and sloppy offensive play plagued the final frame. Austin Denning came off the bench for South Johnston in the fourth and recorded five points. Corinth Holders saw six different players score in the final stanza. Despite being outscored 11-8 in the fourth, South Johnston still won by double figures (14), 68-54.

Carel “CJ” Ray led the way for South Johnston with 19 points. Back on Jan. 8 when the teams met in Four Oaks, Ray dropped 20. Jaquan Smith and Thomas Dees each added 11 for the Trojans. Justin Stephens led Corinth Holders with 11 points. Jacob Poole would also reach double figures for the Pirates, contributing 10 points.

Both the Trojans and Pirates will return to conference play later on this week. South Johnston will hit the road once more to face GNRC rival, West Johnston on Friday night. Corinth Holders will also be on the road Friday against NAC-6 foe, Wake Forest.