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For the second time in two days, the Bulldogs dispatched of an inferior playoff opponent with the North Carolina School of Science and Math taking the latest beating Wednesday night to the tune of a 80-42 Thomasville victory.
While Elkin put up some remnants of a fight Tuesday, the Unicorns offered the Bulldogs (19-2) no challenge in the second round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs. Thomasville scored 14 of the game’s first 16 points and were never threatened from there. The Bulldogs will face the winner of the East Montgomery/Mount Airy game on Friday night in the second half of a double-header with the Lady Bulldogs facing Bishop-McGuiness in the opener.
“I think we passed the ball real well the last couple of games,” said THS coach Woody Huneycutt. “That’s one of the things we talked about working on is making the right decision and the right passes. It’s going to get tougher, but a lot of that’s habit and we want to get into good habits going down the stretch.”
For the first time in what seems likes weeks, Thomasville’s senior tandem of E.J. Abrams-Ward and Donald Simms avoided foul trouble, and that spelled trouble for the under-sized and out-manned Unicorns. Abrams-Ward scored the Bulldogs’ first eight points with Simms controlling the show from the point. Abrams-Ward also treated the home folks to a trio of alley-oop dunks that energized an otherwise lackluster crowd that seemed happy just to be out of the cold.
“We always try to maintain and play as a team,” Abrams-Ward said. “Sometimes the game can get out of hand. As long as we stay together and stay level-headed we can come out with the win. It’s playoff time and it’s time to get serious. We come out early and try to make a statement that it’s not going to be easy out here. We’re here to win and keep our title.”
Having both of its stars on the court at the same time made a big difference in the flow of the THS offense. The Bulldogs’ passing attack was near flawless as players continually made the extra pass that found the wide open man underneath. More times than not early on it was D.J. McClendon that became the recipient of easy baskets. McClendon, a junior, scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half, catching passes from Dominique Pickett, Evander Davis, Abrams-Ward and Simms and converting them into easy scores.
“I just want to score points,” said McClendon. “I’m glad my teammates are passing me the ball. I do what I have to do to help my teammates out. I think we can go all the way as long as we keep our heads in the game and stay focused.”
By the time halftime rolled around, Thomasville had a commanding 45-21 lead, giving the bench some valuable playoff minutes in the final two quarters.
As far as playoff matchups go, the fact that NCSSM were in the second round leaves a little to be desired. The Unicorns (5-22) won only five games all year and had a 10-game losing streak in the middle of the season.
“What it says is that they [selection committee] are taking too many teams,” Huneycutt said. “A fifth place can beat you but if you have a losing record or finished real low in your conference, really and truly you don’t need to be playing. You need to let the kids go and do something else.”