Apex High School Logo
Feb 5, 2010
Green Hope dug itself a big hole in the first quarter, and it was too much to overcome as Apex clinched the regular season Tri-9 championship, 71-60.
The Falcons got the opening lead, but Apex went on a 20-2 run to take a 20-4 lead with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter.
Green Hope found its footing late in the quarter, and after finding itself down by 20 at one point, Green Hope pulled within 18-points by the end of the quarter.
"When we were up 20, Green Hope could have just packed it up and called it quits, but credit them because they fought back into the game," Apex head coach David Neal said.
The Falcons outscored Apex 21-17 in the second quarter, but the Cougars still led 46-32 at the break.
Last season when Apex traveled to Green Hope, the Cougars only scored two-points in the third quarter, allowing the Falcons to get back into the game.
"I was thinking about that tonight," Neal said. "We were getting lay-ups, they were contested lay-ups, but we couldn't get them to fall."
Green Hope eventually cut the Apex lead to seven points in the third quarter, however the Cougars ended up outscoring Green Hope 15-14 in the quarter to retake control.
Weston Murphy led all scorers with 25-points, but he was one of just four Cougar players in double-figures.
"That consistency makes us tough to guard," Neal said. "Tonight Connor [Belicic] got hot early and they tightened up their defense on him, but Sunil [Ram] hit some big shots for us too."
"I think we're at our best offensively when Sunil is hitting shots."
Ram had 15-points for the Cougars, while Belicic had 12. Versatile guard Mike Fogg had 14-points against Green Hope.
Chris Flemmings led Green Hope in scoring with 16-points. Max Povse had 15-points. Both Flemmings and Povse came off the bench for the Falcons on Friday evening.
The Apex win clinches the regular season conference championship for the Cougars.
"They've worked hard for this," Neal said. "The seniors - like Connor and Weston - they've never won a regular season championship."
The Cougars will be guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the state playoffs from the Tri-9 Conference, regardless of how the conference tournament plays out.
This story is closed for comments.
