The Granite Bear’s took a 35-27 lead into the locker room after outscoring Forbush 19-8 in the second quarter.
But in the second half the Bears went cold offensively while Forbush kept pace, allowing the Falcons back into the game and putting Mount Airy in a position to fall behind.
“We had a nice run at the end of the second and really did a great job defensively,” Mount Airy coach Kevin Spainhour said of his team’s first half success. “But in the third quarter we struggled from the get-go. We traded baskets with them for the first three minutes of the quarter and then we stopped scoring and they kept scoring.”
The Bears still held a slim lead into the fourth, but a Forbush 3-pointer with just more than two minutes to play gave the Falcons a 61-60 lead they would not lose.
Wade Moody led Mount Airy with 22 points while Michael Scott led Forbush with 22 of his own.
Forbush 74, Mount Airy 68
Mount Airy — 16 19 16 17 — 68
Forbush — 19 8 23 24 — 74
Mount Airy — Wade Moody 22, Torrance Hamilton 11, Parries 3, Joyce 6, Smith 2, Phillip Gwyn 10, Andy Miller 14
Forbush — Edwards 2, Hutchens 4, Cain 13, Scott 22, Butner 13, Matthews 2, Ravitt 8, Eller 10
Pressure defense keys Bears win
Staff report
EAST BEND — The Lady Granite Bears rode a pressure defense Wednesday night to a 79-43 season-opening victory.
Five players recorded double-figure scoring for Mount Airy, led by Ellie Case’s 18 and Danielle Williams’ 17. Overall eight players scored as coach Howard Mayo’s squad was able to go deep in its bench.
“That’s one of the strengths of our team,” Mayo said. “We’re able to play multiple people and not lose anything. A lot of teams, when they sub in, the quality of play may not be as good. In our case, it is as good.”
He also said the fact that so many players can hit for double figures makes defending his squad difficult.
“That’s what makes us a hard match-up. You can’t say ‘We’re going to take a way this particular player’ because we have other players who are capable of stepping up and scoring.”
Mayo said his team takes advantage of the deep bench and balanced play with its pressure defense. Wednesday night he said the Bears started the game in a three-quarter man-to-man defense, then extended their play to a full-court man-to-man.
“That pressure bothered them and created some good scoring opportunities for us,” he said. “We like to pressure the other team, we like to play at a very fast pace. That’s a style we have to play. We have to play an up-tempo style and score a lot of points. That’s what we expect from them.”
The Bears used that defensive pressure to jump to a 17-9 first-quarter advantage, and extended their lead to 38-15 by the half. In the second half Mayo’s squad stayed focused despite the big lead and continued pulling away.
“That’s a credit to the players coming in off the bench, that they were able to remain focused coming in,” he said.
With the win, the Bears start the season 1-0. Their next game is Tuesday against conference foe North Surry.
Forbush — William’s 7, Lineberry 2, Caudle 3, Luffman 14, Stanley 13, Long 2
Mount Airy — Jordan Hiatt 13, T. Hiatt 4, Andrea Leonard 12, Brittany Webster 10, Ellie Case 18, Summer Hamilton 3, Danielle Williams 17, Danielle Jones 2
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