Chatham takes control of Gretna with second-half surge

CHATHAM — If the Chatham High boys basketball team was feeling any fatigue as a result of playing its second game in 24 hours, the Cavaliers didn’t show it during the second half of Friday’s game against archrival Gretna.

The Cavs went on a 12-0 run to start the second half and pulled away for a 67-50 victory over the Hawks in a Dogwood District game. 

“The thing with our guys is you’ve got to light a fire at some point,” Chatham coach Barry Mayo said. “We realized that we had to play. So I did have to light a fire. We always say that the first three minutes are the most crucial minutes when it comes down to the second half. If we get our first three minutes going, then we can pretty much get through the game and come out on the good end.”

Chatham (5-2 overall, 2-0 Dogwood) raced out to a 10-2 lead late in the first quarter, sparked by five points from senior forward Solomon Witcher.

But the Hawks (0-4, 0-2) put together an 11-0 run and took their first lead of the night on a 3-pointer by Robbie Slayton.

Chatham junior guard Pierre Ferrell hit a jumper just before halftime to tie the score at 25 heading into the intermission.

The Cavs then opened the third quarter with 12 unanswered points. Senior forward Chris Harben scored seven points and Greg Doss hit a 3-pointer during the run.

Chatham led by double digits for the remainder of the period. Gretna produced one final spurt early in the fourth, and Marquistin Calloway’s 3-pointer pulled the Hawks to within 51-44 with just over five minutes remaining. The Cavs responded with eight consecutive points and never looked back.

“We just tried to get these guys to understand at halftime that Chatham was going to make their adjustment to what we were doing,” said Gretna coach Dalric Beard, “and they were going to come out and make a run in the third quarter. But we had to come out, and we had to be ready to play and withstand whatever they threw at us in the third quarter. (And) we didn’t do that tonight.”

Harben finished with a game-high 19 points. Patrick Murphy added 13 and Witcher added 11 to go along with eight rebounds and three blocks.

“We needed to come out and execute,” Mayo said. “And when we did come out and execute, we got things going. … It’s good to have a win.”

Gretna also had three players in double figures. T.J. Jennings led the way with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Calloway, who hit three shots from beyond the arc, ended up with 11 points, as did Slayton.

“We’ve just got to put two good halves of basketball together,” said Beard. “I’ve been saying that all year long. … We’ve got to play a full game.”

Both teams are off until next weekend’s Register & Bee Shootout at Averett University. Chatham is seeded seventh and faces Eastern Alamance in the opening round, while No. 8 Gretna draws top seed and defending champion George Washington.