RALEIGH -- Losing a conference championship game like Millbrook did to Broughton could be a disaster for most teams. Coach Scott McIness thinks it just might have been the best thing that could have happened to his team.
"It worked out for the best," he said. "It hurt the guys because they had a bad taste in their mouth, but we went out Saturday and had the best practice we had all year."
Millbrook took out its frustrations Monday on Greenville Rose High, coming up with an emphatic 71-57 victory in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs. Millbrook will host Wake-Forest Rolesville on Wednesday night.
Millbrook got a big boost from center Robert Brown, who scored 22 points. The 6-foot-7 freshman made it clear his team wanted to make a statement after Friday's loss.
"We took it really hard because we lost to (Broughton) two games in a row," he said. "We took the energy from that game into this game."
Daequan Turner topped Greenville Rose with 22 points, and Saleik Edwards added 12. Shi'Chee Moore finished with 14 points for Millbrook and Karon Blount added 14 points, five assists and two steals.
McIness had high praise for the defensive play of guards Adrian Atkinson and Blount.
"They kind of sparked us," he said. "It's good to see other guards step up."
Another positive sign, according to McIness, was the vocal leadership of some of his upperclassmen, particularly junior Andrew Ezebuiro, who admonished about the importance of getting back to the state final. It was a message that was not lost on Brown.
"I got it in my head that this could be the senior's last game. I was just trying to play as hard as I could so they can go out with the (state) championship this year," Brown said.
Millbrook's girls beat Harnett Central 44-26 to advance.
Ryan Flowers and Alex Tomlinson led Millbrook (24-2) with 11 points each. DeAnnishia Jackson had a game-high 15 points for Harnett Central.
"We just didn't come out ready to play tonight," coach Chris East said. "We were just going through the motions. We're going to need a better effort if we're going to achieve our goal. ...
"If we can't bring it for three games in a week, then maybe we don't deserve some of the things I think we deserve."
