RALEIGH – Both Sanderson and Wakefield have used defense to win games this season. So it came as no surprise that their first meeting of the season went down to the final minutes as visiting Wakefield escaped with a 47-44 victory.

Leading 44-37 with less than two minutes remaining, Wakefield seemed to have the game wrapped up.

The lead quickly closed as Sanderson’s Parker Fennema scored five quick points to cut Wakefield’s lead to just one.

Wakefield (5-0, 1-0 Cap Eight 4-A) though hit two of four free-throws in the final minute to create the three-point margin. Sanderson inbounded the ball with six seconds remaining, but the Spartans were unable to get off the 3-pointer they needed as Wakefield’s defense smothered Gloire Biongo.

CHARLOTTE -- Michigan guard Darius Morris’ attempt at a tying shot caromed off the back rim with one second remaining Sunday afternoon, allowing No. 1 seed Duke to advance to the NCAA tournament’s West Regional semifinals with a 73-71 win at Time Warner Cable Arena.

The Blue Devils led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored seven of his 15 points in the final 3:09 to rally the Wolverines. A Hardaway 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining cut the deficit to 70-69, but Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving made a 6-foot bank shot against a 1-3-1 zone with 31 seconds left.

Morris drove the lane for a layup with 10 seconds remaining, and Michigan immediately fouled Duke guard Nolan Smith. He made the first of two free throws with 8.6 seconds left, and Morris made a mad rush down the court for an attempt at the tying basket.

His final shot caromed off the rim, leaving Duke to celebrate coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 900th career win. Krzyzewski needs three more wins to break Bob Knight’s Division I record.

The Eagles felt confident with their season on the line Tuesday night against the Wakefield Wolverines. They played more like a team with everything to gain rather than everything to lose, which was the right mentality for the Eagles as they held on for a 62-55 victory in the first round of the Cap Eight 4-A Conference Tournament.

“Our mentality now is we’re swinging for the fence,” coach Pina Baker said.

Enloe (7-18) entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed knowing it needs to win the tournament to make the state playoffs. The Eagles will play Sanderson at Broughton today at 7 p.m. Wakefield (12-10) has already reached the playoffs.

“We’re excited to have another opportunity,” Baker said.

RALEIGH – Here’s our rapid reaction after Wakefield defeated Broughton 72-60 Thursday night in a Cap Eight 4-A conference game:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

Wakefield was able to stay calm and collected in the final four minutes, which is something Broughton wasn’t able to do. The Wolverines stayed within their offense and was able to get to the free throw line by driving to the basket. The Wolverines also made their free throws while the Caps settled for quick shots that led to easy transition points for Wakefield. Guard Xavier Saddler-Mee (pictured right) had 22 points and forward Jason Lee had 16 that all came in the second half.

TURNING POINT

Lee was a big factor in Wakefield’s 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter. Lee scored eight points during the stretch when Broughton went to a full-court press to induce turnovers. Lee didn’t play well in the first half, but he really made his presence felt by grabbing rebounds and scoring over smaller defenders.

STAT OF THE GAME

In a short time this year Broughton as become a team that relies too much on the three-point shot. That was their biggest downfall against Wakefield. Although Broughton had a lead early in the first quarter, they Caps shot just 1-for-14 from behind the arc in the second half.

RALEIGH – Here’s our rapid reaction after Wakefield defeated Millbrook 60-57 in overtime Tuesday night in a Cap Eight 4-A conference game:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

This game came down to two plays from Jake Lenox, who was able to score a basket late to give the Wolverines the lead before making his only steal of the game that secured the victory. Millbrook did everything in its ability to push this game to overtime, a sign the Wildcats are still improving with each game.

TURNING POINT

Lenox’s steal gave the Wolverines the possession with the lead, which allowed them to take more time off the clock. The steal was the play of the game because Lexon had no business guarding Millbrook’s Marcus Johnson, yet he stole the ball from the much quicker player.

STATS OF THE GAME

I said it this past Friday, but the key stat with any Millbrook game is turnovers. The Wildcats play a full-court press and the Wolverines didn’t break under the pressure. The Wolverines only turned the ball over 12 times, which is a great number compared to the 20-30 turnovers some teams have against Millbrook. The fewer turnovers allowed Wakefield to have just enough possessions to win the game.

Game over: Wakefield 45, Broughton 42

This was easily the best football game in the Cap Eight this season. The Wolverines survived – literally – in a 45-42 win Thursday night. Broughton tried to tied the game, but a blocked with 1.1 seconds left gave sixth-ranked Wakefield the win.

And although the Caps had their chance for overtime, they could have won the game. Before the field goal attempt, quarterback Will Cooper threw for receiver Thomas Brown in the end zone. Initially, it appeared Brown made the catch, but later it was ruled he didn’t control the ball.

Before the late plays in the final seconds, the Wolverines could have run the clock out. But Wakefield quarterback Connor Mitch threw an interception that gave the Caps life with less than two minutes remaining.

The Wolverines keep their slim hopes of sharing the Cap Eight regular season title alive with the win.

Most coaches would be very pleased with a 35-9 win.  Wakefield Wolverines head coach J.D. Dinwiddie wasn’t too happy with his team’s win over the Sanderson Spartans.

“I wanted some more points,” said Dinwiddie.  “I’m not going to run up the score, but I wanted to get at least 42 points.”

RALEIGH – A.J Liames scored. Then C.J. Tikvart and Lukas Janes scored. So did Cenorino Martinez. Even Lassiter Tollison had two goals.

In a match where both boys soccer teams focused on possessing the ball, Broughton capitalized on almost all of its scoring opportunities in a 6-1 victory over Wakefield on Wednesday night.

“They kept mounting pressure, but I thought we moved the ball really well,” Broughton coach Izzy Hernandez said. “We allowed people to get open because our transition from offense to defensive was pretty sharp.”

Wakefield coach J.D. Dinwiddie was not very pleased with his team's play Friday night even thought he Wolverines defeated Durham Riverside 27-0.
After suffering their only defeat of the season last week, losing to Greensboro Dudley, the 4-A Wolverines got off to a sluggish start before scoring 21 second quarter points.
 

Wakefield scored four touchdowns in the second half to defeat Holly Springs 42-28 in a non-conference high school football game.

Wolverine quarterback Connor Mitch passed for 340 yards and four touchdowns to help the Wolverines even their record at 1-1.