Ridgecroft sweeps Northeast Academy

Published 12:13 pm Sunday, February 5, 2023

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AHOSKIE – Ridgecroft School closed out its 2022-23 basketball regular season by sweeping Northeast Academy in varsity action here Friday night.

In the varsity girls game, the Lady Rams turned a narrow 9-8 first quarter advantage into a 48-42 win by holding off a Northeast rally in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Rams led 22-14 at halftime and 37-22 after three periods of play. Northeast rallied in the fourth quarter, outscoring their hosts, 20-11, but fell just short on the final outcome.

Ridgecroft placed two in double figures: McKenzie Slaughter (17 points) and Hannah Slaughter (11). Kate Chamblee added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Rams.

Hayes Hatcher poured in a game-high 29 points to lead Northeast. Chloe Long added six points.

Ridgecroft improved to 12-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play with the win. Northeast fell to 7-14 overall (3-7).

In the varsity boys game, Ridgecroft put the finishing touches on an unbeaten regular season in conference play as the Rams finished 10-0 in the league (19-1 overall) thanks to defeating Northeast, 93-47.

The winless Eagles hung tough over the opening eight minutes where they only trailed by five (24-19). But the Rams used a 31-12 run in the second quarter to open up a 55-31 halftime lead and never looked back.

Led by Sawyer Chamblee’s 19 points, the Rams placed four players in double figures. Nacir Lewis added 16 points, Emmanuel Savage tallied 13 points, and Bill Vaughan added 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds.

Chance Lassiter scored 19 points to lead Northeast. Judson Smith also tallied double digits, finishing with 10 points.

Northeast Academy is hosting the Tarheel Independent Conference tournament, which tips off Monday, Feb. 6 and runs through Friday, Feb. 10.