Greene Central rolls to road playoff win

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on February 22, 2005 1:55 PM

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HENDERSON - Charles Gamble nailed the game-winning basket in the final 10 seconds, sparking Greene Central to a 47-45 victory against Northern Vance in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2-A men's basketball playoffs Monday evening.

"Teddie (Waters) drove into the lane, made a post feed and Gamble had one of their players one-on-one in the block," second-year Greene Central coach Kevin Hart said. "Two guys converged on him and he just powered it up and in."

Gamble finished with a game-high 17 points for the Rams, who travel to High Point Andrews for a second-round game Wednesday.

Hart opted to play a conservative offense and shorten each possession to negate Northern Vance's height advantage. Greene Central (18-8) held the ball an average of 45 seconds per possession. When the Vikings got their hands on the ball, they took a quick shot and the Rams usually rebounded.

Greene Central, the No. 3 seed from the Eastern Plains Conference, led by 10 after the first quarter. Hart's squad kept the lead throughout the second half before Northern Vance chipped away, and tied the game before Gamble's game-clinching basket.

"We controlled the game, but they came back and hit some big threes," Hart said. "We held on."

Jihad Scott led the Vikings with 10 points.