Cody, Sell, Dillard Share Spotlight

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 19, 2012

By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

SALISBURY – Nate Jones couldn’t play while serving a suspension, but everyone knew the Davie boys basketball team would be without its top scorer. Seven minutes into the game, Davie suffered an unexpected loss as Caleb Martin, Davie’s No. 2 scorer, limped off the court with a foot injury.
That meant there were 41 points per game sitting on the Davie bench (Jones averages 25.8, Caleb 15.2).
The War Eagles needed something big to happen to overcome the personnel losses and West Rowan in the semifinals of the Sam Moir Christmas Classic at Catawba College on Dec. 28. Several big things indeed happened. The War Eagles put on their hard hats, grabbed their lunch pails, circled the wagons and came together for a thrilling 70-66 victory.
• Center Shannon Dillard came through for a season-high 26 points and recorded his seventh double-double in 11 games.
• Sophomore forward Cody Martin poured in a career-high 23 points.
• Sophomore guard Peyton Sell came off the bench to replace Caleb and delivered a season-high 14 points.
• And sophomore forward Kenyon Tatum pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds while starting in place of Jones.
Top-seeded Davie, which received a first-round bye on Dec. 27, improved to 10-1 with its eighth straight win. No. 4 West fell to 6-5 and lost to Davie for …