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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The Davie boys basketball team generated momentum for this week’s CPC Tournament by taking down Glenn and Reynolds in the final games of the regular season.
The three-point win at Reynolds was a dogfight that saw Davie overcome a pair of 10-point deficits. The hero was Jackson Powers, who scored the last seven points for the visitors.
“Reynolds was up 18 on Reagan and ended up beating them by 12 at Reagan,” coach Josh Pittman said. “I mean, that’s not a bad team. It was a big win and I think it was a big confidence booster, too.”
Davie 63, Glenn 42
Davie never let the Bobcats have any hope in Kernersville on Feb. 11. The freshmen, who seem to get better every game, led the way. Noah Dulin had 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four dunks and six rebounds. It was his third straight game in double figures.
“His defensive intensity is what gives him the opportunity to be really good,” Pittman said.
Draeton Nance came off the bench for 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. That gave him 23 points in two games.
“Point guard is one of the toughest positions to play, and he’s adjusting well,” Pittman said. “A point guard with my program, you’ve got to kind of know everything. You’ve got to know who’s supposed to be where and what they’re supposed to be doing because you’re an extension (of the coach) on the court.”
Ethan Driver put up a nice line: nine points, six rebounds, five assists. Elliott Erlandsson and Jackson Powers had eight points each. Seeing Powers back on the floor after sitting out one game with an injury was a big deal with the season heading toward the stretch drive.
“Jackson got back in the grind and got in some good minutes,” Pittman said of career 1,000-plus scorer/800-plus rebounder. “He’s starting to feel a little bit better, so I’m optimistic. I think we’ve got a chance to get ourselves right.”
Davie 62, Reynolds 59
The final regular-season game at Reynolds on Feb. 14 was a rollercoaster.
Dulin’s 3-ball provided an 11-6 lead, but the teams would have ties at 11-11, 14-14 and 16-16. Then the War Eagles looked shaky when they fell behind 26-16.
But Davie fought back at the end of the first half. Driver and Dulin sandwiched triples around an Isaac Swisher bucket. Dulin grabbed an offensive rebound and made a nice dish to a slashing Driver, who laid it in to cut the halftime deficit to 28-26.
“I can deal with mistakes,” Pittman said. “I don’t mind mistakes when you’re playing hard. You can shoot an air ball. If you’re playing hard and you’re being coachable, we’re going to have a chance to win the game.”
The Demons surged at the outset of the third and opened a 38-28 lead. But Davie came back again. Powers’ inside basket ignited a 14-2 run that was capped by Driver’s steal and lefthanded finger roll and Erlandsson’s close-range bucket that gave Davie a 42-40 lead.
When Bryson Mickey got a steal and passed to Nance for a 3-pointer, Davie was fired up with a 54-46 lead.
“(Nance’s energy) is refreshing and it’s contagious because I can see other kids buying into it,” said Pittman, who is 55-21 in three years at Davie.
Talk about showing some fight, the Demons responded with a 13-3 run of their own, and they held a 59-57 lead with 2:46 to go.
Powers rose to the occasion. The big guy tipped in his own miss to tie it at 59. Powers took a pass from Mickey and swished a 3 for a 62-59 lead at :51. Reynolds (7-17) was about to attempt a potential tying 3, but the Demon ball handler stepped out of bounds at :04 and Davie had its sixth win over Reynolds in seven tries.
“Jackson is starting to get his rhythm back,” Pittman said. “He had an excellent fourth quarter. He scored seven straight right there in the clutch.”
Powers (11 points, 4 assists) was the closer, but Driver (13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists), Mickey (13 points, 4 assists) and Dulin (9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) were equally crucial to the outcome. And then you had Nance (8 points) and Erlandsson (6 points, 5 rebounds).
Notes: Reynolds shot a better percentage, but Davie won the turnover (14-3) and rebound battles (30-24). … Davie finished fourth in the CPC. The standings: West Forsyth 13-1, Mt. Tabor 11-3, East Forsyth 10-4, Davie 9-5, Reagan 6-8, Reynolds 4-10, Parkland 3-11, Glenn 0-14. … Davie (16-7) entered the CPC Tournament on a three-game winning streak.