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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The Davie JV boys basketball team won a game of insane runs against visiting Mt. Tabor on Jan. 4.
The War Eagles were up 11 at the end of the first quarter. Then they found themselves down by eight. Davie weathered the storm and ultimately won going away, 63-52.
“It was a game of spurts,” coach Tracey Arnold said. “They came at us hard (in the third) and then we got on our heels. We just haven’t developed that killer instinct yet. When we get teams down, we don’t put them away.”
Ethan Ratledge and Gavin Williams got Davie rolling toward a 16-5 lead. Davie led comfortably at halftime, 34-25, but Tabor turned the tide in the third, taking a 44-36 lead. A key to the win was Davie’s 6-0 run at the end of the third to pull the hosts within 44-42.
“We started pressing and we clawed our way back,” Arnold said.
Davie took a sledgehammer to Tabor in the fourth. Braddock Coleman’s five points were well-timed, all of them coming in the final period. Six War Eagles scored during Davie’s 21-8 dominance in the fourth, including Cam Ball, Williams, Ian Koontz, Ratledge and Carter Helton.
“We kept applying the pressure and had them on their heels,” Arnold said.
One of the standouts was Ratledge, who had 16 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Another was Koontz (13 points, eight boards, five blocked shots).
“Ethan is starting to play like I envisioned when he came down from varsity,” he said. “He’s taking control inside. Ian has been strong on the boards. He’s been a beast.”
It was the best all-around offensive performance for the War Eagles, who produced four double-figure scorers. Williams and Helton had 12 and 11, respectively. Ball had six and Coleman five.
“Because of his length, Cam got five or six steals,” he said. “He helps us rebounding, too.”
Davie 71, WF 38
In Clemmons on Jan. 7, the Davie engine was oiled by a freshman guard. Coleman was a one-man wrecking crew in the first quarter and had an unforgettable night as Davie extended its winning streak to four.
Coleman scored 12 of Davie’s 24 in the first quarter and finished with 20 on 9-of-17 shooting. He added three steals. His previous scoring high was nine.
“Braddock came out hot,” Arnold said. “He had been telling me he was due to have a big game, and he had one and it was good to see. Hopefully the game is slowing down for him. He did a good job running the team. He hit some shots early, and that opened it up for everybody else.”
After taking a 39-25 lead at halftime, Davie (9-2, 3-2 Central Piedmont Conference) utterly destroyed the Titans in the second half.
Helton had 11 points and five assists as Dave matched its season high in points. Williams had nine points, six rebounds and three steals. Ratledge had seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Koontz had six points and three steals. Elijah Dillard (five points), Sebastian Bellomo (four points), Trey’von Doulin (four points, five rebounds), Luke Clark (three points) and CJ Phelps (two points) contributed as Davie placed 10 in the scoring column.
“CJ gets on the boards and hustles,” Arnold said. “He played real good.”