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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The first half at Alexander Central on Nov. 30 was unsightly. Davie’s JV boys basketball team trailed 16-14 at intermission.
Then everything changed as coach Tracey Arnold, who employed man to man and zone defenses in the first half, ordered a halfcourt trap. Also, Carter Helton suddenly flipped the switch and went from zero to hero.
Add it up and Davie romped 49-29.
“We came out flat,” Arnold said. “I don’t know where we were at (in the first quarter). We passed up shots. We took terrible shots when we did take them. We were trying to throw long passes across the court. The second quarter was pretty much the same.
“I got onto them at halftime. I challenged them to take it to them. (The traps) changed the game. We got the pace where we wanted it.”
Helton was invisible in a scoreless first half. He was sensational in a 19-point second half.
“He got hot,” Arnold said. “He bumped heads in the first quarter and had a bloody nose, so he had to come out for most of the first quarter. At halftime I got onto him. I said: ‘If you’re the shooter on the team, you need to start shooting.’ He responded in the second half. He lit it up, so I guess he did show me he is the shooter.”
Gavin Williams and Helton scored all 16 Davie points in the third, which ended with the visitors in control 32-25. Helton had 12 of Davie’s 17 in the fourth.
Helton and Williams both hit three 3s. Williams finished with 12 points and – get ready for it – 11 blocked shots.
“Gavin was everywhere on the defensive end in the paint,” he said. “He got hot in the second half, but he did most of his work on the defensive end. And he threw a lot of those passes to get the transition started.”
Ian Koontz (six), Sebastian Bellomo (five), Elijah Dillard (three), Cam Ball (two) and Braddock Coleman (two) also scored for Davie.
Davie 62, South Iredell 46
Williams and Ball dominated in a decisive first half, 38-24, and Davie coasted to a road win on Dec. 1.
At halftime, that Davie duo had matched South’s scoring output. The 6-2 Williams scored 20 while hitting 6 of 7 foul shots and added three assists.
“When we need him to score, he can go get you a bucket,” Arnold said. “He definitely can fill it up. He’s always been able to score.”
It was a brilliant coming-out party for Ball, who produced 18 points and nine rebounds after scoring nine across two games.
Koontz had eight points to go with seven boards. Helton and Bellomo had seven points each and Coleman two.
“Cam’s really our X factor because he can play inside and outside,” Arnold said. “He’s 6-4, so he brings another dimension. And he likes to come off the bench and fill in where he needs to. He’s very unselfish. He’s a rare kid that doesn’t worry about starting.”
Davie 58, C. Davidson 49
Davie was missing Helton, the No. 2 scorer who rolled his ankle at S. Iredell, against visiting Central Davidson on Dec. 3 – but it did not matter as Williams continued his dominance with 19 points.
While Williams bumped his average to 18, Ball, Ethan Ratledge and Koontz were vital as unbeaten Davie (4-0) won by its closest margin of the season.
Ball had 10 points. Ratledge, a sophomore who spent the early part of the season on varsity, flourished in his first JV game, scoring 10 points and yanking down 17 boards. Koontz had a season-high nine points and 12 boards.
“Ethan was big on the boards,” Arnold said. “His leadership is going to be a big help. Ian played tough inside.”
Bellomo and Coleman had six and four points, respectively. With Helton on the shelf, Coleman assumed most of the ball-handling duties.
“Braddock stepped up and played big with us not having Carter,” he said. “He ran the team a lot at point guard.”