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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Although Davie’s JV boys basketball team let one slip away at Mt. Tabor, the War Eagles took down Reagan and West Forsyth.
The loss at Tabor on Feb. 1 was 61-57, as the teams traded baskets all night. But Davie did assume control in the fourth quarter. Carter Helton’s 3-pointer, Cam Ball’s two free throws, Ian Koontz’s contested bank shot and Koontz’s free throws put Davie ahead 55-49 with 5:17 to go.
Nothing, though, went right the rest of the game. In the final five minutes, the War Eagles missed six of seven shots in a span of nine possessions. The Spartans only shot 4 of 13 during that time, but they went 4 for 4 at the line and closed the game on a 12-2 run.
Davie’s lone bucket during the meltdown was a Ball layup in transition that gave Davie a 57-55 lead. The Spartans played volleyball on a possession that resulted in the clinching points. They missed a 3 but got the offensive rebound. They missed another 3 but got the rebound. They missed a two but got the rebound. They missed a fourth shot but got the rebound. Then they drew a shooting foul. Both foul shots fell through as Tabor took a 59-57 lead at 1:14.
Then Davie committed two turnovers and watched Tabor get revenge for a 63-52 decision in the first meeting.
Koontz (19 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, 6-7 foul shooting) was superb in defeat. Ball had 15 points and six rebounds. Ethan Ratledge (nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks, three assists) did a little of everything. Sebastian Bellomo and Helton had six points each. CJ Phelps had two points and Braddock Coleman had five assists.
Davie 60, Reagan 59
The next day against visiting Reagan, Davie got a nice bounce-back win.
The War Eagles grabbed the lead late in the third quarter and never relinquished it – although things did get hairy as Reagan chopped Davie’s six-point lead to 58-57. Bellomo and Ratledge hit one free throw apiece to give Davie a little breathing room, 60-57.
The Raiders had the ball with 13 seconds to go. They missed a contested 3, got the rebound and were fouled with only 1.4 seconds left. That was that as Davie avenged a 60-49 loss in December.
After scoring six against Tabor, Helton returned to form with 19 points that matched his season high. He added four rebounds and three assists.
“I told him he was going to have to drive more and he got to the line a bunch,” coach Tracey Arnold said.
Ball did what he’s done since Jan. 21 at Reynolds, scoring 17 points while hitting 7 of 8 free throws and grabbing six rebounds. It was his fifth straight game with 15 or more points.
“Cam played another good game,” Arnold said. “He’s been on a tear. He’s been doing it all. Once I put him in the starting lineup, he took off.”
Koontz (12 points, five rebounds, four blocks), Coleman (eight points, five rebounds), Bellomo (three points) and Ratledge (one point, six rebounds, six assists, four blocks) made contributions.
Davie 71, WF 47
Helton turned in his finest offensive performance, and Koontz and Ratledge compiled double-doubles as Davie shredded visiting West Forsyth on Feb. 4.
Helton went for 25 points to pace Davie’s scoring for the second straight game. Koontz had 12 points and 10 rebounds, extending his streak of scoring 12-plus points to five games. Ratledge filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. All nine players scored – including Bellomo and Ball with seven each, Elijah Dillard with three, and Luke Clark, Trey’von Doulin and Phelps with two apiece – as Davie improved to 14-4 overall and 8-4 in the Central Piedmont Conference.
Davie’s top five scorers for the season are Helton (12.7), Gavin Williams (10.3), Koontz (10.2), Ball (10) and Ratledge (7.9). Williams has missed the last three games with an injury.