Takin' control

Thirteen days saw a much different battle.

The winner of the war, however, remained the same.

Jerry Schenck's 19 points led four Hickory High players in double figures and the Red Tornadoes remained perfect in Northwestern 3A-4A Conference play, pulling away from St. Stephens in the late stages for an 84-77 victory Tuesday night at Hickory.

Hickory improved to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in league action, but staying atop the conference standings was a much more difficult task than when the teams met up late last month in the Catawba Valley Classic's championship contest.

Then, the Red Tornadoes rolled past the Indians 70-32, but less than two weeks later a much scrappier St. Stephens squad pushed Hickory for three quarters before the Red Tornadoes found some breathing room in the final stanza.

The fear of overconfidence was there, said Red Tornadoes head coach Shawn Johnson, but the Indians team that showed up Tuesday was the one he expected to see before.

"Every coach worries in that situation, and kids are going to be kids," Johnson said. "They might have kind of been looking ahead, but St. Stephens was the team tonight I thought they were.

"You have to give them credit. They made some adjustments on our pressure, and they came to play."
David Ramsey came off the bench and provided and long-distance spark for the Indians (12-4, 3-2).

The senior guard finished 4-for-5 from 3-point range en route to a game-high 26 points, and St. Stephens carried a 38-35 lead into the break after hitting on 15-of-26 floor attempts in the opening half.

The Indians cooled slightly in the second half, finishing 14-for-29, but failure to take advantage of their chances caught up with them down the stretch, said head coach Gary Bowne.

"Missed opportunities," said Bowne. "We missed free throws, second shots, loose ball pick-ups and getting stops on (Hickory's) dribble drives.

"We've come a long way in the last 13 days with better teamwork on and off the floor, the guys are willing to sacrifice and we're executing the game plan better. But (Hickory) turned (its defense) up a notch, and that's what good teams do."

St. Stephens committed nine turnovers in the first half and added 10 more in the second. Hickory also had nine giveaways in the opening half, but had only five after halftime.

The Red Tornadoes capitalized on their opportunities, finishing with 24 points off the Indians' miscues.

A pair of free throws by Hickory's Denzel Dillingham (12 points) tied the game 49-49 in the final three minutes of the third quarter, but that was the last time the game was knotted.

The Red Tornadoes took a 57-54 led into the final quarter and used a 16-9 surge over the first 5 1/2 minutes to stretch its advantage to 73-63 on a pair of Schenck foul shots.

Down 76-67 with just over two minutes left, St. Stephens had a chance to get back into things when Tyler Poole (12 points) was called for a foul and then whistled for a technical.

Morgan McLeod (11 points) and Ramsey, though, hit on just one of four charity tosses, and the Indians got no closer than six the rest of the way.

Fearious Anderson scored 15 points for Hickory, which ended 32-of-65 from the floor. Aaron Grier added 10 for St. Stephens.

HICKORY 62, ST. STEPHENS 24

The Red Tornadoes broke open a close game after the first quarter to rebound from their first loss of the season and run their win streak over greater Hickory opponents to 87.

Jada Payne returned to the Red Tornadoes' lineup to score 15 points after missing last Friday's loss to Charlotte Christian, and Hickory (13-1, 3-0) outscored the Indians 21-3 in the second period to turn a 14-8 lead at the close of the first quarter into a 35-11 bulge at the break.

Erica Troutman scored 13 points and Hillary Sigmon 12 for Hickory, which got 44 of its points off 38 St. Stephens turnovers. Emily Wiseman's eight points led the Indians (9-7, 3-2), who hit just two of 16 shots over the second and third quarters.