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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Erwin upset the Ellis boys basketball team in the Tri-County Conference Tournament semifinals, handing the Jaguars their only loss of the season.
Unfortunately, that’s not a misprint.
The unexpected flameout was a bummer, but what a thrill ride it was for the Jaguars, who came within one win of tying the school record for victories in a season.
Ellis 52, Mooresville 42
After only managing a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter in the final regular-season game on Dec. 9, the Jaguars kicked into high gear in the second and rolled past the visiting Red Imps.
Mason Driver fueled the 18-6 run in the second that produced a comfortable halftime lead of 33-19.
“We came out flat,” coach Roger Blalock said. “We stood there and didn’t know what to do. We did not want to rebound. Then we started pressing and it started working.”
Driver finished with 19, meaning he averaged 18.2 over a five-game stretch. Bowman Blakley (nine) and Cam James (eight) helped Ellis (12-0) post its longest winning streak in 10 years; the 2014-15 team won 13 straight.
“We shot the ball better,” Blalock said. “We did not take a lot of silly shots.”
Ellis 53, C-L 26
The quarterfinal round of the conference tournament on Dec. 12 marked a continuation of Ellis’ dominance.
It began pulling away from visiting Corriher-Lipe in second quarter as Driver (15) and Peyton Fishel (14) combined for more points than the Yellow Jackets had as a team. James was third with nine as Ellis matched the longest winning streak (13) in the school’s 18-year history.
Erwin 64, Ellis 48
The Jaguars handled Erwin 58-44 on Oct. 28. They were crushing opponents 56-36 on average. They were two steps from running the table.
But the Eagles jumped to a 30-15 halftime lead and stunned the visiting Jaguars in the semifinals on Dec. 16. Ellis (13-1) had to settle for the second-most wins in its history; the 2014-15 team went 14-1.
Driver (10), Blakley (10) and James (eight) were the top scorers against Erwin. The top five scorers for the season were Driver (11.4), Fishel (8.7), Blakley (7.9), James (6.9) and Jordan Crowley (5.4).
North 55, Burke 54
North Davie was without Levi Morales, who missed the last three games while competing in a week-long football tournament. Jeremiah Hernandez pulled a hamstring during the game. Big man Glen Greene fouled out early in the fourth quarter.
But the Wildcats pulled out a gutsy win over visiting Selma Burke on Dec. 9 because Wade Ridenhour did a Superman impression in the first half, because Nolan Allen was his normal sensational self and because Tannyr Carrier hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute.
“We played the game without our leading rebounder and defensive enforcer (Morales), and I told the team before the game that someone was going to have to step up,” coach Caleb Davis said.
Ridenhour answered the call, drilling five 3-pointers in the first half and scoring 17 points in the first 14 minutes. His amazing double-double featured a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
“Wade started out on fire (to lift North to a 26-19 halftime lead),” Davis said. “He was playing with great confidence and allowing the game to come to him.”
The Bears caught North in the fourth. It was tied with under a minute to play when Carrier came to the rescue with his tiebreaking 3. North got a defensive stop and hit a free throw to make it 55-51. Selma Burke hit an inconsequential 3 at the buzzer.
“We came out with a tough win with a depleted squad,” Davis said. “I’m super proud of how everyone stepped up under adversity.”
Allen matched his average with 22 points and added six rebounds. Carrier (eight) came through with his most points in nine games.
“Jeremiah went down with a hamstring pull and Glen fouled out early in the fourth,” Davis said. “Lelan Small and Charlie Oliver game us significant minutes off the bench and both played great.”
South 49, North 38
After struggling mightily for over a month, South Davie prevailed at North Davie in the Tigers’ final game on Dec. 10.
Ty Cozart was a big reason why. He scored eight of his game-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, when South outscored the hosts 20-9 to bust open a game that was tied going into the fourth.
Dreighton Lunnerman (10) and James Martin (10) helped the Tigers avenge a 46-41 loss in November and end a four-game losing streak. After dropping seven of eight, the Tigers, who failed to qualify for the tournament, finished 5-8.
“It was almost a carbon copy of (the Selma Burke game), except we came out on the wrong side at the end this time,” Davis said.
Carrier led North with a season-high 12. Ridenhour had 10, but South held Allen to seven. Greene had four points and 10 rebounds.
“Jeremiah’s hamstring was still bothering him, so Lelan got the start and did a great job handling the responsibility,” Davis said. “Wade got his fifth foul about a minute into the fourth quarter, and the wheels fell off defensively with Levi still out.
“Tannyr did great in his second straight start. Glen did everything he could as our only true big, but South’s size and athleticism was too much for us in the fourth.”
Erwin 58, North 52 (OT)
The Wildcats played yet another barnburner in the tournament quarterfinals at Erwin on Dec. 12. They sent the game to overtime in dramatic fashion, erasing deficits of 32-22 at halftime and 40-33 at the end of the third.
They fought their hearts out, but had nothing left in the tank in OT.
“We came back out focused and regained our composure in the second half,” Davis said. “But we had a few costly turnovers (in OT) and couldn’t recover.”
Allen produced another gem for his sparkling resume, recording 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. It was his fourth game with 27-plus. Carrier had eight points. Hernandez had six. Greene had six points and nine boards. Ridenhour had five points.
The Wildcats, who lost twice in OT this season, finished 6-8 by riding Allen’s 20.7 average. It’s North’s highest average in eight years (James Wilkins scored 23.6 per game in 2016-17). Ridenhour was second at 8.3.
“Nolan had another standout performance, but the entire team played their hearts out,” Davis said. “This is a great group of kids who always gave their all and did anything we asked of them as coaches. We were depleted and had to play guys out of their natural positions and roles, and they took on the challenge and did their best. We’re gonna miss this group of young men.”
Ellis 52, Mooresville 42 – Mason Driver 19, Bowman Blakley 9, Cam James 8, Jordan Crowley 4, Peyton Fishel 4, Henry Migliarese 4, Ben Bost 2, Graham Weaver 2.
Ellis 53, Corriher-Lipe 26 – Mason Driver 15, Peyton Fishel 14, Cam James 9, Henry Migliarese 4, Graham Weaver 4, Jordan Crowley 4, Ben Bost 3.
Erwin 64, Ellis 48 – Mason Driver 10, Bowman Blakley 10, Cam James 8, Wade Hefner 5, Graham Weaver 4, Ryan Richardson 3, Peyton Fishel 2, Jordan Crowley 2.
N. Davie 55, Selma Burke 54 – Nolan Allen 22, Wade Ridenhour 21, Tannyr Carrier 8, Jeremiah Hernandez 2, Glen Greene 2.

S. Davie 49 – Ty Cozart 15, Dreighton Lunnerman 10, James Martin 10, Jared Vaughters 6, Anderson Branham 5, Wyatt Tucker 2, Colson Dulin 1.
N. Davie 38 – Tannyr Carrier 12, Wade Ridenhour 10, Nolan Allen 7, Glen Greene 4, Lelan Small 3, Silas Whittaker 2.

Erwin 58, N. Davie 52 – Nolan Allen 27, Tannyr Carrier 8, Jeremiah Hernandez 6, Glen Greene 6, Wade Ridenhour 5.