Brown becomes team's second 1,000-point scorer

Rocky Mount junior J'Kyra Brown

Rocky Mount's J'Kyra Brown knows when her team needs her to score.



The 5-foot-8 junior, who has helped RMHS compile a 48-6 record over the last two seasons, can drive to the basket or bury the 3-pointer. And she's not a bad free throw shooter, either. 

The East Carolina-bound recruit has done so much of all three the last two seasons that she has now scored over 1,000 career points.

Her next to last basket in Monday's NCHSAA 3-A first-round playoff game against Wilson Hunt got her to the mark. She scored once more to end the game with 1,002 points for her career.



And think how many she would have if she hadn't sat out her freshman season with a knee injury.

She joins Tashawn Mabry, Phil Ford and the late Kim Taylor as the only Rocky Mount varsity players to score 1,000 points in their first two seasons of action.

Also, the 2011-12 varsity girls team is the first squad since the 1977-78 vasity boys (Buck Williams/Jeff Battle) to feature two 1,000-point scorers. She has now joined senior Tia Hudgins in the club. 

ROCKY MOUNT'S GIRLS BASKETBALL 1,000-POINT CLUB

Kim Taylor (1981-83)............................1,600 - played at N.C. State (deceased, 1984)
Danielle Powell (1989-1992) ...............1,472 - played at James Madison
Dyonna Battle (2006-09)......................1,290 - playing at Queens Univ.
Tia Hudgins (2008-present)..............1,236 - not committed
Latoya Armstrong (1999-03)............... 1,127 - played at Campbell/Winston-Salem State
J'Kyra Brown (2010-present)...........1,002 - verbally committed to East Carolina

NCHSAA basketball state playoff schedule for Twin Counties - Rd. 1 results

Eight teams from Nash and Edgecombe Counties participated in the 2012 NCHSAA basketball state playoffs beginning Monday. Here are their first-round results from sectional play.

BOYS

3-A

Rocky Mount 90, Eastern Wayne 68

Nash Central 72, Havelock 45

Southern Nash 57, Southern Wayne 51

1-A

Rocky Mount Prep 90, Union 41

 

GIRLS

  

3-A 

Rocky Mount 68, Wilson Hunt 43

Northern Nash 58, Havelock 51

Nash Central 56, Hertford County 55

 1-A

Riverside-Martin 69, North Edgecombe 35 

Wednesday's Playoff Schedule (Rd. 2, Sectionals)

BOYS

3-A

Nash Central (15-7) @ Rocky Mount  (22-3), 7:30 p.m.

Southern Nash (12-12) @ Hertford County (20-3), 7 p.m.

GIRLS

3-A

South Central @ Rocky Mount (23-2), 6 p.m.

Northern Nash @ C.B. Aycock, 7 p.m.

Nash Central @ Cleveland, 7 p.m.

RMHS alum Moss expected to start for UNC this weekend

Benton Moss

Benton Moss was an impact player for Rocky Mount's baseball team as a freshman. It looks like he will start his college career the same way.

Moss, a 2011 Gryphon graduate and a Morehead-Cain scholar, is expected to be Saturday's starter in Game 3 of North Carolina's season-opening series with Xavier in Chapel Hill.

That game was originally scheduled for Sunday, but with heavy rain expected in the Triangle all day Sunday, Games 1 and 2 are being played as a doubleheader Friday and Game 3 is being played Saturday. 

2012 Big East Conference Basketball Tournament Final Results

@ Northern Nash HS, Rocky Mount

MONDAY: Boys' quarterfinals, No. 3 Southern Nash 70, No. 6 Northern Nash 48; No. 4 Wilson Hunt 55, No. 5 Wilson Fike 42

TUESDAY: Girls’ quarterfinals, No. 6 Wilson Fike 43, No. 3 Wilson Hunt 38; No. 4 Nash Central 51, No. 5 Southern Nash 48

WEDNESDAY: Boys’ semifinals, No. 1 Rocky Mount 77, No. 4 Wilson Hunt, 69; No. 3 Southern Nash 60, #2 Nash Central 55, OT.

THURSDAY: Girls’ semifinals, No. 1 Rocky Mount 52, No. 4 Nash Central 41; No. 2 Northern Nash 48, No. 6 Wilson Fike 35.

FRIDAY:  

Girls championship - Rocky Mount 59, Northern Nash 55, OT
Boys championship - Rocky Mount 76, Southern Nash 61

New sports show to debut on WHIG-TV 17 Sunday evening

Wes Bradshaw

Edward Greene

With the cancellation of the Strechlon Sports Show on WHIG-TV 17 comes the start of a brand new area sports show on the station - the All N.E.W. (Nash-Edgecombe-Wilson) Sports Show.

This new show will debut Sunday at 8 p.m. on WHIG-TV on Channel 17 on Suddenlink Cable in Nash and Edgecombe Counties and on Channel 414 on Greenlight Cable in Wilson County.

Area sports personalities Wes Bradshaw and Edward Greene will co-host the live hour-long show.

And they have a pretty well-known person as their first guest - Tarboro senior Todd Gurley, who recently garnered national attention with his announcement that he will be playing college football at Georgia.

Back in December, Gurley helped the Vikings claim their third straight NCHSAA 2-A state title. Gurley played on two of those championship teams.

Not only will Gurley be in the studio live, but the show will roll some of the announcement footage from Gurley's press conference held in Tarboro's gym last month.

It should prove to be a great opening episode to the show.

"What we aim to do is to continue to bring local sports to the community," said Bradshaw, who has been involved with covering local sports for the last decade. "We want to bring a current, fresh look to the area and do more live broadcasts. We will continue to go out and film sporting events with more emphasis on our expanded coverage area.

"We look forward to covering local athletes in the Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson Counties. Our local sports conferences dominate those areas and those are the faces people want to see."

Another local personality, Tony Doughtie, will also be contributing to the show.

The show can be seen online as well at whigtv.com and comments, questions and suggestions can be emailed to: AllNEWSportsShow@gmail.com.  You can also follow the show on Twitter at: @AllNEWSportShow.

Big East Conference Basketball Scoreboard - Feb. 11

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10

  

BOYS 

Rocky Mount 77, Northern Nash 54

Southern Nash 48, Nash Central 46

Wilson Fike 51, Wilson Hunt 49

GIRLS 

Rocky Mount 50, Northern Nash 43

Nash Central 51, Southern Nash 39

Wilson Hunt 54, Wilson Fike 49

FRIDAY'S TOP SCORERS 

J'Kyra Brown, Rocky Mount - 24 pts.

Lavon Brutus, Rocky Mount - 24 pts.

Ni'ya Styles, Nash Central - 21 pts.

Lorenzo Wilkins, Northern Nash - 18 pts.

Parker Lamm, Wilson Hunt - 16 pts.

Khadijah Manning, Southern Nash - 15 pts.

Jameka Ruffin, Wilson Fike - 15 pts.

Sam Ellis, Wilson Fike - 14 pts.

Quanisha Brown, Wilson Hunt - 14 pts.

Sam Ellis, Wilson Fike - 14 pts.

Nathaniel Pittman, Nash Central - 14 pts.

Josh King, Wilson Fike - 13 pts.

Jalen Hendricks, Nash Central - 12 pts.

STANDINGS

BOYS

School Conf.    Overall Rocky Mount  10-0 19-3 Nash Central  7-3 14-6 Southern Nash  5-5 7-11 Wilson Hunt  4-6 11-12 Wilson Fike  4-6 5-15 Northern Nash  0-10 1-19

GIRLS

School Conf.   Overall Rocky Mount 10-0 20-2 Northern Nash 8-2 18-2 Wilson Hunt 4-6 12-11 Nash Central 4-6 12-8 Wilson Fike 2-8 7-13 Southern Nash 2-8 3-15

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE

BIG EAST BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT @ Northern Nash HS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13 

BOYS

#5 Wilson Fike vs. #4 Wilson Hunt, 6 p.m.

#6 Northern Nash vs. # 3 Southern Nash, 7:30 p.m.

Gryphon News and Notes

Rocky Mount senor Tia Hudgins goes for career-point No. 1,200 Friday night in the showdown for the Big East Conference's No. 1 seed at Northern Nash.

After a 10-point night against Southern Nash, she needs six more to reach 1,200.

She has passed Latoya Armstrong and is No. 4 on the school's girls basketball scoring list.

Next on her move up the scoring ladder is No. 3 Dyonna Battle at 1,290 points.

Twins get off to good starts on diamond

Twins Thomas and Matthew Berry, who have played baseball together all their lives, are now playing apart at the college level - both at the Div. II level.

Thomas has a starting spot at Lander University (Greenwood, S. C,), while sibbling Matthew got a starting nob at Barton College as it opened its season last weekend.

Thomas batted in the No. 2 hole for the Bearcats who won their series with two wins over Newberry in their Lander's brand new stadium.

Matthew ended up notching Barton’s first three-hit game of the season. In his first career start, Berry rapped three hits in four trips. His collegiate debut actually came in Friday’s second game, but he did not have an official at-bat. 

Gryphons tossed from NCHSAA dual team playoffs

Rocky Mount's wrestling team has woeful time in its first-round matchup with Western Harnett in the NCHSAA dual team wrestling playoffs. It was played at Western and the Gryphons dropped the meeting by a 48-15 score.

They concluded their fine season with a 32-9 record.

Northern Nash, the Big East's No. 2 seed, also saw its season end with a 40-27 loss to Hillsborough Orange.

Last regular seasons game at gym

For those who were at Rocky Mount's gym last Tuesday night, they were witnessing some history. The contests with Southern Nash were the last regular season games ever played in the 59-year-old venue.

While sitting there watching games, I couldn't help but recall the two seasons when basketball was even played there.

During the 1967-68 season, a pipe under the floor burst. The end result had the floor warping. The then-Blackbirds ended up playing their season at N.C. Wesleyan's Everett Gymnasium.

You younger folk might remember the last time the Gryphons had to leave their home floor.

It was during the 1999-2000 season. Lingering water brought on by the rains of Hurricane Floyd warped the floor once again. 

The Gryphons were forced to play the whole season at Northern Nash's gym. 

Sounds great, doesn't it?

Big East Conference Basketball Scoreboard - Feb. 8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

  

BOYS 

Rocky Mount 95, Southern Nash 68

Nash Central 82, Wilson Hunt 73, 3 OTs

Wilson Fike 46, Northern Nash 44

GIRLS

Rocky Mount 66, Southern Nash 31

Nash Central 53, Wilson Hunt 47

Northern Nash 68, Wilson Fike 39

TUESDAY'S TOP SCORERS 

Justin Jefferson, Wilson Hunt - 35 pts.

Nathaniel Pittman, Nash Central - 29 pts.

Terrill Hilliard, Rocky Mount - 23 pts.

Tevin Taylor, Rocky Mount - 20 pts.

Alexus Hill, Northern Nash - 19 pts.

J'Kyra Brown, Rocky Mount - 18 pts.

Jalen Hendricks, Nash Central - 18 pts.

Jaquan Wilkins, Nash Central - 16 pts.

Lavon Brutus, Rocky Mount - 16 pts.

Josh King, Wilson Fike - 15 pts.

Alexus Cooper, Rocky Mount - 15 pts.

Marcus Hicks, Southern Nash - 15 pts.

Sam Ellis, Wilson Fike - 14 pts.

Chi-Ali Bunn, Southern Nash - 13 pts.

Tony Willis, Southern Nash -13 pts. 

Darryl Prunty, Northern Nash - 13 pts.

STANDINGS

BOYS

School Conf.    Overall Rocky Mount  9-0 18-3 Nash Central  7-2 14-5 Wilson Hunt  4-5 11-11 Southern Nash  4-5 6-11 Wilson Fike  3-6 4-15 Northern Nash  0-9 1-17

GIRLS

School Conf.   Overall Rocky Mount 9-0 18-2 Northern Nash 8-1 17-1 Wilson Hunt 3-6 11-11 Nash Central 3-6 11-8 Wilson Fike 2-7 7-12 Southern Nash 2-7 3-14

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10

Rocky Mount @ Northern Nash - Senior Night

Wilson Fike @ Wilson Hunt - Senior Night

Nash Central @ Southern Nash - Senior Night 


Regular Season Complete 

Big East Tournament starts Monday, Feb. 13 at higher seeds boys (No. 6 @ No. 3; No. 5 @ No. 4)

Big East Tournament Finals @ Northern Nash 

Big East Conference Basketball Scoreboard - Feb. 4

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3

  

BOYS

Rocky Mount 100, Wilson Fike 53

Southern Nash 60, Wilson Hunt 52

Nash Central 69, Northern Nash 41

GIRLS

Rocky Mount 47, Wilson Fike 28

Wilson Hunt 38, Southern Nash 34

Northern Nash 52, Nash Central 34

FRIDAY'S TOP SCORERS 

J'Kyra Brown, Rocky Mount - 26 pts.

Terrill Hilliard, Rocky Mount - 23 pts.

Tevin Taylor, Rocky Mount - 22 pts.

Marcus Hicks, Southern Nash - 22 pts. 

Parker Lamm, Wilson Hunt - 18 pts.

Jaquan Wilkins, Nash Central - 17 pts.

Qiunesha Lynch, Northern Nash - 16 pts.

Timyra Staton, Nash Central - 16 pts.

Justin Jefferson, Wilson Hunt - 15 pts.

Josh Sessoms, Southern Nash - 15 pts.

Miya Bryant, Southern Nash - 15 pts.

Jalen Hendricks, Nash Central - 13 pts.

Patrick Goliday, Wilson Fike - 13 pts.

Josh King, Wilson Fike - 13 pts.

Alexus Cooper, Rocky Mount - 13 pts.

Khadijah Manning, Southern Nash - 13 pts.


STANDINGS

BOYS

School Conf.    Overall Rocky Mount  8-0 17-3 Nash Central  6-2 13-5 Wilson Hunt  4-4 11-10 Southern Nash  4-4 6-10 Wilson Fike  2-6 3-15 Northern Nash  0-8 1-16

GIRLS

School Conf.   Overall Rocky Mount 8-0 18-2 Northern Nash 7-1 16-1 Wilson Hunt 3-5 11-10 Nash Central 2-6 10-8 Wilson Fike 2-6 7-11 Southern Nash 2-6 3-13

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7 

Southern Nash @ Rocky Mount - Senior Night
Nash Central @ Wilson Hunt
Wilson Fike @ Northern Nash

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10

Rocky Mount @ Northern Nash - Senior Night

Wilson Fike @ Wilson Hunt - Senior Night

Nash Central @ Southern Nash - Senior Night 

Regular Season Complete 

Big East Conference Basketball Scoreboard - Feb. 3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2

  

BOYS

 

Wilson Beddingfield 48, Wilson Hunt 38

GIRLS

Wilson Hunt 56, Wilson Beddingfield 49

THURSDAY'S TOP SCORERS 

Quanisha Brown, Wilson Hunt - 17 pts.

Shan Jenkins, Wilson Hunt - 14 pts.

Justin Jefferson, Wilson Hunt - 11 pts.

 

STANDINGS

BOYS

School Conf.    Overall Rocky Mount  7-0 16-3 Nash Central  5-2 12-5 Wilson Hunt  4-3 11-9 Southern Nash  3-4 5-10 Wilson Fike  2-5 3-14 Northern Nash  0-7 1-15

GIRLS

School Conf.   Overall Rocky Mount 7-0 17-2 Northern Nash 6-1 15-1 Nash Central 2-5 10-7 Wilson Hunt 2-5 10-10 Wilson Fike 2-5 7-9 Southern Nash 2-5 3-12

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Rocky Mount @ Wilson Fike
Northern Nash @ Nash Central
Southern Nash @ Wilson Hunt

 

 

NEXT WEEK'S SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Southern Nash @ Rocky Mount
Nash Central @ Wilson Hunt
Wilson Fike @ Northern Nash

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10

 

Rocky Mount @ Northern Nash

Wilson Fike @ Wilson Hunt

Nash Central @ Southern Nash

 

Regular Season Complete