RALEIGH -- In a bizarre, thrilling finish, the Wake Forest-Rolesville boys kept Broughton off the scoreboard for all but about one-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter Monday night, scoring the final 16 points as the Cougars downed the Caps 51-43 in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A Playoffs.
Host Broughton (21-7) jumped ahead 43-35 with a little more than 6:30 to go in the game on Chase Johnston's drive to the bucket. But it would be the last time the Caps scored, thanks to a suffocating Cougar defense.
"That's incredible," Broughton coach Jeff Ferrell said of the Caps' drought. "Wake Forest had a lot to do with that with their defense."
And WF-R offense played its part, as well.
Five Cougars chipped in points during the game-winning run, but the biggest shot came from Jordan Ayscue, whose dagger three-pointer gave WF-R the lead for good at 45-43. Ayscue chipped in 13 for the Cougars, who were led by Tevin Barnes' 16 points.
The Cougars were able to melt clock, play staunch defense and hit their last four free throws in the final minute to close out the Caps.
And now the Cougars move on to the second round, where they will face Millbrook on the road.
"Hopefully this is a springboard for a great week for us," said Wake Forest-Rolesville coach Mickey Bissette.
The Caps were led by Devonte Graham's 15 points.
In the girls game, Sanderson (18-8) built a 15-point lead early and never trailed the Caps (20-8), pushing their way to a 63-55 win in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs.
The Spartans knocked back six of their seven three-pointers in first nine minutes, which opened up the lanes for Derricka Lewis to drive in the second. She had 12 of her game-high 21 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Sanderson's Jessica Fife hit three 3-pointers in the first four-and-half minutes of the game and added another with 7:24 to go in the second quarter. That outburst coupled with two three-pointers from Dashawna Smith pushed the Spartans to a 25-10 lead early in the second quarter.
"They had to go out and defend the 3s," said SHS coach Raymond Hammond.
But once BHS did that, Lewis did the damage. Sanderson would keep Broughton at arm's length much of the way, pushing its lead to 16.
The Caps cut it down to four when Nicole Bellamy's bucket made it 47-43 Sanderson with 6:54 to go, but that was as close as Broughton would come in the second half.
