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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

In the first half of the Central Piedmont Conference opener against visiting Reynolds on Dec. 9, Davie’s JV basketball team discovered that the Demons were not chopped liver.

Awakened, the War Eagles were razor sharp in the third quarter and they sustained their perfect record with a 55-50 victory.

After winning the first three games by 41, 51 and 43 points, the War Eagles played a substandard first half and faced a 28-23 halftime deficit.

“At halftime, I told them we were getting outplayed,” coach Tracey Arnold said. “They weren’t a better team, but they wanted the game more than we did. They were playing a lot more aggressive. I told them we’re not going to put up 80 points every game. That’s just not realistic. Once we get in conference play, it’s going to be a whole lot tougher than what we’ve been playing, and they got a taste of it tonight.

“Reynolds came out to win and they kind of got us on our heels. It took us a half to realize we were in a dogfight.”

The War Eagles restored order with a 21-7 run in the third. The eventual win was plastered with Adam Brown’s and Elliott Erlandsson’s fingerprints.

Brown, who scored 23 points to go with six rebounds, four steals and two assists, can do a bit of everything. He hit 6 of 12 field goals and 8 of 14 free throws. He has gone from seven points in the opener to 11 to 13 to the highest total by a War Eagle this season.

“I moved Adam to point after the first game,” Arnold said. “He’s naturally a wing, but he’s been doing a good job at point even though I don’t think he’d ever played point before. He scores, he passes, he defends, he rebounds, he pushes it. He can also shoot on top of it. He can drive and shoot the floaters and runners and finish at the rim.”

Brown and Erlandsson accounted for 15 of Davie’s 21 points in the third. Erlandsson finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. He converted 5 of 6 free throws.

“I’ve been on Elliott about getting off the 3-point line,” Arnold said. “He’s a good 3-point shooter and that’s where he wants to make his living. I said: ‘You’re 6-4 and you’re built like I don’t know what. Play closer to the basket at times.’ He’s really a stretch four, but he’s really good around the basket. I told him you’re not going to get fouled on the 3-point line and you don’t get putbacks. (In the second half), he got inside and banged and grabbed rebounds. So he rally came alive in the second half.”

Davie got six points and three steals from David Patton. Cameron Owens had six points, Isaac Swisher four, Ethan Driver three and Wade Bomar one. Swisher was an unsung hero.

“Isaac’s knees were bothering him, so I didn’t know how much he was going to be able to play,” Arnold said. “But his length and his size was a presence when he got out there. They weren’t able to shoot and score over top of him.”

Davie 90, Atkins 56

After missing 12 of 14 3-point tries against Reynolds, the War Eagles regained their long-range touch in a road nonconference game on Dec. 10.

Showing off their substantial firepower, all 13 players cracked the scoring column in the 44-point thrashing.

Erlandsson had 14 points and seven rebounds. Driver had 14 points, four steals and two blocks. Owens had 11 points and three steals. Patton had nine points. Logan Vandeweerd had eight points, six rebounds and three blocks. Connor Hood had seven points. Brown had seven points, seven assists and three blocks. Jackson Sulecki had six points, Swisher five and Thomas Essic three. Bomar had two points, seven assists and three steals. Brady Vallance and George Sakai had two points each.

Davie (5-0 overall) made 13 of 16 free throws and 9 of 24 3s. The hottest shooters from the floor were Erlandsson (6 of 7), Patton (4-4) and Vandeweerd (3-3), who combined for 13-for-14 shooting.