–Chase boys barely gets by Madison in NCHSAA 1st Round
27 February 2008By Kevin Carver
HARRIS - Tuesday, February 26 - In the playoffs, teams just have to survive to play another day and the Chase Trojans used that concept in a tough 71-70 win over the Madison Patriots on Tuesday night in the first round of the 2A NCHSAA basketball playoffs, Tuesday.
Chase found a solid fourth quarter performance from Jordan Wright and Bryant Hill hit key free throws down the stretch to escape by the slimmest of margin’s in the win.
"We maintained our composure down the stretch and made big baskets when we had to,"”Chase coach Ken Hines said. "They (Madison) were a tough team to beat tonight and this playoff win is big for our program.”
Both teams started in zone defenses on the night, but Thomas McCoy of Chase found an opening bucket for Chase to grant the home team a 2-0 lead. Ramsey Elsayed countered for Madison with a two along the inside, teammate Cody Coates sunk a 3-ball from the corner and then Elsayed again unleashed in the paint for two, thus giving Madison an early 7-2 lead.
Madison extended the lead to 10 at 16-6 after Elsayed got the bucket and a free throw, with an added scoop shot by Brennan Eggleston.
Chase wasn’t going away though as Jordan Wright’s short baseline two pointer ended the quarter on a Trojan 9-2 run, reeling the Madison lead back to 18-15.
The Trojans’ Hill used two jumpers versus one free throw from Zach Sawyer of Madison to tie the game at 19-19.
Elsayed, who scored a game-high 26 points on the night for Madison, led the Patriots on a 9-7 run with seven straight to close out the half in a 28-26 Madison lead.
McCoy hit a turnaround in the lane to tie the score up at 28-28 to start the third period and then Chase’s Josh Harris nailed a 3-pointer to go up 31-30. The game went back and forth for a little while as the Trojans lead grew to 40-36 following Harris’ second three of the quarter. Harris drove the baseline for a kiss off the glass to give Chase a 42-36 lead.
However, the Patriots, who had led at the end of the first and second quarter would come back to do the same by the end of the third period.
Madison went on a 16-6 run in the final four minutes of the third period scoring the last ten points of the quarter. Coates baseline drive then tied the game at 48-48. Ryan Henderson’s free throws gave them the lead at 50-48 and Anthony Swann beat the buzzer with a deuce along the baseline to allow Madison a 52-48 lead as the teams went into the final frame.
Kyle Schneider’s 15-foot jumper gave the Patriots a 54-48 lead to begin the fourth quarter, but Chase wasn’t giving up on the home crowd.
Harris put up a deuce in the lane to answer, then Hill swished a right corner three for Chase. Jordan Wright, who had 9 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter posted back a strong two in the paint to forge the Trojans back ahead with the 55-54 advantage.
Wright came back moments later and went strong to the hole after a Madison turnover for two more off the window. Following another steal by Harris, the Trojans ran the floor with Wright receiving the pass along the baseline. With no defender in sight, Wright got the crowd noisy again by viciously dunking the ball and that play forced Madison to call for time with 4:05 left in the game and viewed a Chase lead of 59-54.
Chase continued to hold a five point lead until 1:12 left in the contest. Elsayed posted up again for two points along the inside to cut the lead to 67-64, Chase.
Coates was fouled after Chase missed on their next opportunity on offense. Coates drained both free throws to make things interesting once more at 67-66.
Chase hit four of their last six freebies which all came from Bryant Hill. HillÂ’s last attempt came with only 12.2 seconds left in the contest to make the score 71-68. Following the Hill free throws, Henderson shifted up court and launched a three-pointer in the left corner, but it fell short for Madison (12-14). The PatriotsÂ’ Elsayed connected on the rebound for two with under 2 seconds remaining and Chase inbounded the ball without being fouled as time elapsed to give the Trojans the win.
Harris led the way for the Trojans in scoring with 20, McCoy had 18, and Hill added 17. Coates scored the second most points for Madison with 18 on the night and Henderson ended up with 14.
Chase (9-15) will now head to Canton for a second round showdown with Pisgah (21-4) on Thursday night.
Team Scoring:
CH: 15 11 22 23 71
MA: 18 10 24 18 70
Field Goals:
Chase 27-64 or 42.18% Madison 26-67 or 38.8%
Free Throws:
Chase 8-21 or 38% Madison 16-21 or 76.1%
Three’s:
Chase 6 Madison 2
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