Thomas leads Topsail to win

Tue. February 07, 2012 at 11:09 p.m. | By StarNews Sports Department

By Martin Rickman
Sports@StarNewsOnline.com

HAMPSTEAD | Will Thomas left a big impression in what could be his last home game on the hardwood for Topsail in a 56-47 win against Richlands on Tuesday.
The 6-foot guard, who last week became the first-ever UNC-Charlotte football commit, had a game-high 18 points, including his layup and foul shot that put the Pirates up 51-44 with 1:35 to play.
The Pirates (15-7, 9-4) moved the ball well all night, using a methodical tempo to find quality shots and build a 25-15 halftime lead on Senior Night.
Richlands (15-5, 8-4) struggled against Topsail's defense, but battled back with second-chance opportunities created from offensive rebounds in the second half.
"I think they hurt us when we got out-positioned and didn't box them out," Topsail coach Jeff Gainey said. "Three or four times, they got three-point plays off of it. But for the most part, our guys just played hard."
Senior Payton Ball added 16 for Topsail and provided a calming influence in the second half when the Wildcats started to bring a second defender to shadow Thomas. Ball got free a number of times, including a pivotal play in which the Pirates showed a lot of patience before Thomas finally found the other senior for a layup.
"We had come down the previous three times and took jump shots," Gainey said. "We're not built to play one-shot-and-done. We want to make the other team play defense. We really needed to use clock and get a good possession there."
After losing two straight, the Pirates have rattled off three wins in a row, including Friday's 77-65 double-overtime victory over previously unbeaten Croatan. A win Thursday against Swansboro would give Topsail a second-place finish in the 2A East Central Conference standings.
"It says a lot about our guys to be able to battle the way we have," Gainey said. "Our backs were against the wall a week ago, and we've dug back in and won three in a row. That's a tribute to our kids."

Girls
Topsail 43, Richlands 42
Topsail senior Jaelyn Miller stepped up on Senior Night in a big way, tying the game on a three-pointer with 26 seconds to play.
Miller finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, with most of her passes going Lyia Cerillo's way on the pick-and-roll. Miller had a complete game, doing damage from outside, on the drive and on defense.
"That's just seniors stepping up when they need to," Topsail coach Sarah Graves said. "We came together and won. That's really all that needs to be said."
Tineisha Knapp led Richlands with 19 points and 12 rebounds.