RALEIGH — Apex didn't have enough magic left over from last year's miracle run to the state title game, as they fell in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs on Monday at Enloe High School by the 67-59 score.
Enloe jumped out to a 40-28 first-half lead thanks to the Eagles shooting an astonishing 65.5 percent from the field. Apex was outscored 11-1 to close out the second quarter.
Apex senior point guard Adam Perry went wild after the half, scoring 19 of his game-high 23 points in the third and fourth quarters. Perry had 10 points in the third to bring his team back to within four, 46-42, going into the fourth.
A Weston Murphy 3-pointer cut the Enloe lead to 53-52 with just under 3:30 to play, and the momentum had completely switched over to the Apex sideline. Murphy had 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, and went 8-for-13 from the field.
Enloe coach Tommy Moore, who was recently named the CAP 7 Coach of the Year, called a timeout shortly thereafter. Enloe's Out of the timeout, Enloe found a streaking Melvin Tabb, a junior who has committed to Wake Forest, open in the middle of the lane and he slammed home an uncontested dunk.
Tabb finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting and five rebounds.
The future Demon Deacon's dunk could've been the difference maker, as the Apex sideline looked as though it had the wind knocked out of them. The Cougars didn't score for the next two minutes, only getting on the board again after Perry hit a 3-pointer at the 1:14 mark to make it 60-55, Enloe.
The Eagles hit 7-of-10 free throws in the last minute to hold on for the win, ending Apex's season at 14-12.
The Cougars will lose key seniors like Houston Hawley, Brandon Carr and Perry, but will return a good nucleus with juniors Murphy, Connor Belicic, Kyle Waters, Mike Fogg and sophomore Sunil Ram.
