Falcons avenge earlier loss to Vikings
~December 7, 2007~
By Michael Orr

Photo by Morgen Young A.C. Flora's Carlos McCoy tries to get by Spring Valley's Charles Lang.

A.C. Flora overcame an early 10- point deficit to defeat Spring Valley at home Friday night, 67- 65. The Falcons had four players score in double figures, led by Dominique Hollins', 16, and played varying zone defenses to confuse the Vikings throughout the game. Clutch free throw shooting by Flora's Carlos McCoy sealed the win in the game's final moments.

Spring Valley opened the game with aggressive man- to- man defense and a balanced scoring attack. Martin Simms, Jamil Jones and Andrew Jones each scored five points in the first quarter as the Vikings launched three- pointers against the Falcons' 2- 3 zone. Only a late burst by Flora's James Anderson kept the Falcons from being completely overwhelmed and the quarter ended with a 19- 11 lead for the Vikings.

In the second quarter, Flora mixed up their defensive looks, which confused the Spring Valley offense strategy. Morphing between box and one, 1- 3- 1, and 2- 3 zones, the Falcons' constantly changing defense created turnovers and allowed the Falcons to get back into the game.

Photo by Morgen Young A.C. Flora's Demetrius Williams fights for the rebound with Spring Valley's Charles Lang.

Flora evened the score at 23- 23 midway through the quarter and the game remained very close the rest of the night. Dominique Hollins scored 10 points in the second quarter alone giving the Falcons a tenuous 31- 30 lead at halftime.

Both teams struggled to muster any momentum in the third quarter. Spring Valley did figure out the Flora zones and were able to rotate the ball and get open three- pointers for Ryan Jenkins and Andrew Jones. A fast break lay up at the buzzer by Flora's Khvan Pennix tied the score at 43- 43 going into the fourth quarter.

Unlike the quiet third quarter, the fourth was an outright offensive explosion by both teams. Andrew Jones led the way for the Vikings with 11 points in the quarter, sparking a comeback for Spring Valley after they fell behind 57- 49 with 3:40 to play. With the score tied 58- 58 and a mere 1:38 to play, Flora point guard Carlos McCoy took control of the game with adept ball handling and clutch shooting from the free throw line. McCoy made six of eight free throws in the game's waning moments and the Falcons' defense forced the Vikings into a heavily contested final shot, which fell short, preserving the A.C. Flora victory.

Flora avenged an 89- 70 loss to Spring Valley on November 30 with the win and moved to 3- 1 on the young season.

Hollins led the Falcons with 16 while Robert Brown added 14 and McCoy scored 12. The Vikings were led by Andrew Jones' 19 while Ryan Jenkins added 13.