Vallance catches fire for JV boys

Published 2:33 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2023

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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Davie’s JV boys basketball couldn’t do anything right in the first quarter against visiting North Davidson on Dec. 5, but it weathered the storm and rallied for a 55-42 victory.

In the sluggish first quarter, Brady Vallance had Davie’s only two points and the War Eagles were down by nine.

“We got some good lucks and could not make them,” coach Tracey Arnold said. “We took some shots that we probably should not have taken. I took my starting five out and put my second five in about halfway through the first half, and they could not do anything.”

Vallance’s impact on this game was immense. He had a seven-point second to trim Davie’s halftime deficit to 21-15. He hit all of Davie’s 3-pointers (three) and carried his team with 18 points. It was quite an outburst for a sophomore who came in averaging 3.3.

“He had been shooting the lights out before the season started,” Arnold said. “But then he lost confidence in his shot and was been struggling – maybe pressing. But he can shoot.”

The War Eagles increasingly regained their form as the game progressed, whipping North 40-21 in the second half. After scoring four in the first half, Ben Reid (13 points, three assists) had nine in the second half. CJ Coleman (10) went scoreless in the first half, but scored eight in the third. After going scoreless in the first half, Jake Runge put up nine in the second half.

George Sakai and Braxton Bowling had two each and Colson Sink had one.

“We went fullcourt and sped up the game,” Arnold said. “We started jump-trapping and eventually we wore them down. Our depth was the difference in the game.”

Davie 41, AC 36

The War Eagles pulled off another second-half rally against visiting Alexander Central on Dec. 8. After trailing 23-19 at halftime, they limited the Cougars to two points in the third and ran their record to 5-0.

Reid (12) hit double figures for the fifth time, but the biggest boost came from fellow freshman Cam Knox, who scored 11 after averaging two in the first four games. Knox had all six of Davie’s points in the second quarter. The 10-2 run in the third was fueled by Reid, Vallance and Knox.

Vallance finished with seven, Coleman four, Aiden Horton three, Ian Patton two and Jayden Warren two.