Stargill shines, but Vikings come up short
By CHRIS GIROUARDSpecial to the Times-Herald
A 'Star' may have been born on the basketball court Friday for Northgate High School. And he shone brightly last night in what could have an otherwise dreary night for the Vikings.
Guard Trey Stargill scored 24 points while carrying Northgate on his shoulders in the second half during a comeback effort that fell just short in a 63-57 loss to Region 4B-AAAAA rival McIntosh in Peachtree City.
“Trey played great. He had a great game,” Cain said. “We are tickled to death to have Trey. It has taken a while for him to get used to us, and us to him, but tonight he really put it together.”
Luke Motzel's steal and assist to Wendall Washington to pull within a 53-33 deficit was the start of a 21-4 Northgate run that gave the Vikings new life.
Washington had seven points in the fourth quarter comeback and finished with 10 points on the night.
“We’ve got to have everyone bring it every night,” Cain said. “We had a couple of kids who usually play well for us who didn’t bring it tonight. We are not talented enough to win when two kids don’t bring it.”
Washington scored six of the Vikings’ next seven points as the gap closed to 55-39. Motzel nailed a three and Stargill, Tyler Dahlberg, and Aldrecus Evans all scored to cut the gap to single digits and eventually to five points.
In all, Evans had nine points. Motzel added seven points and Adrian Tolbert netted three.
“I’m proud of the kids,” Cain said. “In the second half they played hard and really got after it. They played hard for the last 10-12 minutes of the game. To me, that goes to our lack of experience. Another thing with us, the games we have won we shoot the ball well. We missed a lot of shots four or five feet from the basket.”
The Chiefs were led by the scoring of Jordan Lyons with 16 points. Joey Bolen added 13 points and Will Washington scored 11.
In the early game, the Lady Vikings started strong but in the end were no match for the Lady Chiefs as they fell by the final score of 67-17.
Northgate jumped out to a 4-0 lead early and kept the score close through the first quarter before the stalwart McIntosh defense forced numerous turnovers which they turned into fast break points.
Ebonee Echols was the top scorer for Northgate. She netted 12 points and played a solid game on both ends of the floor. Amber Radda and Taylor Kidner each added two points and Mackenzie Crenshaw chipped in with one point.
Cassidy Williams was the top gunner for the Lady Chiefs. She netted 20 points to lead all scorers in the game. This total included three three-pointers. Gabby Seiler added 16 points while teammate Kristen Campbell added eight in the victory.
