“IT’S MORE THAN BASKETBALL”

Carolina Christian 45 – Arborbrook Falcons 43

Joseph Womack, a forward on the Carolina Christian Team, drilled a 3 pointer from the cornor with 24 seconds left on the clock to hand the Falcons a heartbreaking loss.  It was the only 3 point shot made by Carolina Christian for the entire game and could not have come at a worse time for the Falcons.  With 8 seconds left and the Falcons trailing by one, Trey Barnes almost pulled the game out when he put up a good shot that bounced around all four sides of the rim before falling out. 

The game started with a packed gym and two evenly matched teams.  The Arborbrook fans out numbered the home team by filling  two thirds of the bleachers.  It was loud from the opening tip off to the final shot.  Both teams came out with a full court press.   Carolina Christian scored the first 2 points of the game but the Falcons took the lead on a Trey Barnes 3 pointer.  The lead bounced back and forth the entire quarter and ended with Carolina Christian on top 16-15.  Josh Black lead the way for the Falcons with 6 points in the quarter while Trey added 5 and Mitch Moore and Daniel Zangmeister each scored 2.  The Falcons had scored only 16 points in their first game and almost matched that in the first quarter.

The Falcons lifted their full court press mid way through the second quarter with Trey and Daniel getting into foul trouble.  The Zone proved effective as the Falcons limited Carolina Christian to 8 points in the quarter but the Falcons offensive production also went down with Trey and Daniel riding the bench.  Neither team could pull away and the Falcons went into the half time break with a 25-24 lead.

Caleb Farmer came alive in the third quarter knocking down 5 points.  Three of those points came on a driving lay up and a foul shot for the old fashioned three point play.  The Falcons played their best quarter of the year and  flashed signs of the team they will become before the season ends.  Their passing was efficient and effective, their defense was solid, and they hit the open shots.  Josh Black was controlling the boards while adding key baskets.  Mitch Moore had 4 steals in the quarter and the Falcons went into the final period leading 38-30.

If the third quarter was our best, the fourth quarter was our worst.  We lost our focus and started to panic as our lead began to shrink away.  Bad passes lead to easy baskets by Carolina Christian but even then we hung onto the lead.  Until the final 24 seconds. 

The Falcons are a young team who have not learned how to win.  The only way to learn how to win is to lose games like this one.  Experience is a wonderful teacher.  You learn by mistakes and not repeating those mistakes.  The Falcons showed their true potential in this game.  They were fun to watch.  Josh Black had a great game scoring 15 points with 14 rebounds and 4 steals.  Trey Barnes scored 11 points with 3 rebounds and 2 steals.  Daniel Zangmeister added 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist.  Caleb Farmer had 5 points with 3 streals and 3 assists.  Mitch Moore did not take a shot in the second half but still scored 4 points with 5 rebounds, 6 steals, and 6 assists.  Forest Landa scored the final 2 points for the Falcons with 1 rebound and 2 steals.  Nathan Spitler did not score but pulled down 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist.  Caleb Robinson came up with 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal.

My thanks to the Arborbrook fans who once again filled the gym.  The players mentioned the fan support after the game.  We all notice.  The players were asked to run at home during the break (parents may want to help with that) and think about what we discussed after the game.  I will share a part of the conversation Coach and I had as we walked to my car after the game.  He had just finished talking with the Carolina Christian coach.  Their coach felt our players handled themselves well following such a difficult loss.  We were disappointed in the actions and attitude of our team in the final seconds and immediately after the game.

  Coach asked, “Dad, do you think we may have set the bar too high?” 

I said, “Maybe, but we’re not going to lower it.” 

Coach then said, ” Yeah, it’s about more than basketball.”

Its more than basketball.  Some coaches don’t get that.  Yours does.

Basketball Games This Friday

The Arborbrook Boys & Girls High School teams will be taking on Carolina Christian this Friday, December 19th.  The Girls game begins at 5:00pm with the Boys game to follow at approximately 6:30pm.  Come cheer on the Falcons (see directions to the CC below).

4821 Waxhaw Indian Trail Rd Matthews, NC 28104

1.	Head northeast on NC-1008/Waxhaw Indian Trail Rd toward Potters Rd		0.1 mi
2.	At Potters Rd, take the 3rd exit onto NC-1357/Potters Rd		4.5 mi
3.	Turn left at E John St/NC-1009/Old Monroe Rd		1.3 mi
4.	Turn right to merge onto I-485 N		9.2 mi
5.	Take exit 43 toward Mint Hill/NC-51		0.4 mi
6.	Turn right at Blair Rd/NC-51		1.4 mi
7.	Turn right at Albemarle Rd/Elm Forest Dr/NC-24/NC-27 Continue to follow NC-24/NC-27		11.5 mi
8.	Turn right at NC-1140/Renee Ford Rd Destination will be on the right		0.3 mi

Carolina Presbyterian School 406 Renee Ford Rd Locust, NC 28097 (704) 888-3658

Falcons High School Team Drops Opener

Central Academy 66 – Falcons 16

The Falcons were bringing back Mitch Moore, Josh Black, Trey Barnes, Daniel Zangmeister, Caleb Farmer, and Caleb Robinson from last year’s team.  New players included Forest Landa and Nathan Spitler.  The 2008/2009 Falcons consists of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders so we will always be the youngest team on the court but that doesn’t mean we will not be competitive.  This team will show considerable improvement from game to game as we develop the chemistry that defines all teams.

Cental Acadamy was playing their 5th game and had won the first 4 by wide margins.  We knew this would be a tough game before we took the floor.  What can you say when you lose by 50 points on the scoreboard.  Central was good, they were very good.  They have only 7 players and played a full court press from the opening tip.  They played a defense we did not see last year and will probably not see again this year.  They played a defense we cannot practice against.  We were never in the game and on this particular night we were outmatched.  However, Coach and I do not judge a game by the points on the scoreboard.  The Falcon players maintained a positive attitude throughout the entire game.  They never once got down on themselves and never gave up.  They were playing as hard at the end of the game when they trailed by 50 points as they did when the game started.  The helped opposing players off the floor when they were knocked down.  They did not become frustrated and maintained their composure at all times.   Anyone that plays sports knows it is difficult to lose by a wide margin without getting frustrated.  I was proud of all our players because this was a tough loss and a tough game for them.

There were other positives that the fans may not realize.  We played a box and one and Josh Black and Forest Landa shut down their leading scorer for the entire game.  He made a couple of baskets on steals but that was it.  We broke their press and moved the ball over half court almost every time.  We shut down their half court offense.  Most of Central’s points came from steals and bad passes.  We took some good shots that would not drop on this particular night.  We learned what it takes to become a good team and how important conditioning is.  Central will visit the Southbrook Gym in the middle of January which will give us a chance to measure out team’s improvement.  They will probably take us lightly which will be a mistake.  The Central Team is where Arborbrook will be in three years if we keep our same group of players together.

For the record.  Mitch Moore was the leading scorer with 5 points.  Josh Black, Forest Landa, and Trey Barnes all added 3 while Daniel Zangmeister came up with 2 points.  Josh, Mitch, and Trey all grabbed 4 rebounds.  Mitch had 5 blocked shots even though he played most of the game in foul trouble.  Josh added 4 blocked shots and Trey 3.  Mitch had the only assist of the game while Josh had 2 steals and Forest 1.

As usual, the fan support for Arborbrook was tremendous.  The entire gym was full with standing room only.  My thanks to Paul and Christian for keeping the stats and Tracy and Jim for keeping the score book.

Falcons Middle School Wins First Game

Falcons 37 – Central Academy of Lake Park 19

Caleb Robinson, Ryan Brown, Matthew Pedemont, and Joel VanDusen returned from last year’s team and took the floor with Kyle Boutross, Conor Murdock, Richard McFall, Ethan Robinson, and Jonathan Spitler to play in Arborbrook’s first official middle school game and came away with a 37-19 victory over Central Acadamy on Central’s home floor.  It was apparent from the opening tip off that Central could not match up with the taller Falcons.  The Falcons had both a size and a speed advantage at every position and controlled the boards with 43 rebounds and 18 steals.  Kyle Boutross scored the Falcons first 2 points of the game and Caleb Robinson put the Falcons up by 4 on a shot from underneath the basket.  Cental scored 5 quick points for their only lead of the game before Caleb hit his second bucket of the game and Ryan Brown added a basket to give the Falcons an 8-5 first quarter lead. 

 The Falcons started to pull away in the second quarter as Caleb, Ryan, and Richard McFall secured almost every rebound.  Central gave up trying to work the ball into the zone and started lofting 3 pointers which did not find their mark.  Caleb added 4 more points while Ryan and Kyle each added 2 points and the Falcons had a comfortable 16-5 lead at half time.

Coach instructed the players at half time to keep the zone tight and let Central shoot 3’s.  They would probably make one out of five shots but their offensive stratagy was working to out advantage.  Central would end up attemping  23 three point shots  and connect on only 4.

Kyle Boutross picked his game up a notch and scored 8 quick points to start the 3rd quarter and Matthew Pedemont added a basket as the Falcons cruised into the 4th period with a 26-12 lead.  Caleb Robinson played only 3 minutes of the second half because he is a swing player who will play for both the middle school and high school teams.  In a little more than a half Caleb picked up 8 points with 10 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot.

Ryan Brown has the potential to be one of the leading scorers on this team and was the most athletic player on the floor.  Ryan ’s shot started to hit the mark in the 4th period knocking down 5 points while Kyle added another 4 points and Richard McFall made his first basket of the year.   The Falcons maintained a 20 point margin throughout most of the 4th quarter which allowed all the players to get extensive playing time.  Kyle Boutross was the leading scorer for the Falcons with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and 1 blocked shot.  Ryan Brown added 9 points and 12 rebounds with 4 steals, 2 blocked shots, and 2 assists.  Matthew Pedemont scored 2 points and also lead the team with 8 blocked shots and 7 steals.  Matthew also added 6 rebounds and 2 assists.  Richard McFall added the final 2points for the Falcons along with 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and 1 steal.  Joel VanDusen did not score but came up with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocked shots, and 1 steal.