Holly Springs snaps NP’s win streak

By Ike House
All good things come to an end and for the Cougars their five game winning streak came to an end Friday night against rival and district opponent Holly Springs.
The Cougars came out with good intensity in the first half going toe-to-toe with the Hawks and going into the half with the lead by 32-30.
In the second half the Cougars would look to Jamarcus Jones to counteract the shooting from Holly Springs’ junior point guard DaQuan Smith. The Cougars also developed their own shooting stroke from outside the arch behind Vennis Mills.
In the end it was not enough as Smith poured on the points causing the Cougars to fall behind. The Cougars fell 63-55 and were swept on the season series. Leading the Cougars in scoring was Jones with 18 points. Other scorers were Mills with 16; Kenneth Jefferson with 11; Sylvonta Oliver and Darrell Young both five a piece and Jordan Dandridge with one.
NP Ladies 57, Holly Springs 54
On the other hand the Lady Cougars had a season sweep of the Lady Hawks beating them in another close game. The Lady Cougars won 57-54, but it was not easy.
The Lady Cougars had the lead going into the fourth quarter and had to score 21 points in the final quarter to make sure they kept the lead.
The Hawks outside shooting game was on in the fourth as they continued hitting shot after shot cutting into the 10 point deficit. But the scoring of Leah Shorty in the fourth quarter helped put the Cougars over the top.
Leading the Cougars was Shan Clark with 12 points. Other scorers were Kenya Edwards with 10; Joneiyca Wilson and Jasmine Mays with nine points each; Shorty with eight and QuiTonya Webster with six.
The other game that was interesting on the night was the junior varsity with a three point loss. The Cougars lost 33-30. The Cougars were behind the entire first half but started coming back after an electrifying dunk by Ankerrion Gross.
The spark the Cougars needed did not give them a big enough boost needed to get back all the way in the game. The Cougars took a couple of shots to attempt to tie the game but they did not fall as the Cougars lost.
The leading scorer was Roydarrius Jackson with 10 points. Other scorers with Gross with nine points; Canijah Jones and Zandavious Phillips with four points each; Tyler Shorter with two and Clarence Taylor with one.