Jeff Davis photo

Chatham Central Lady Bears Sapna Varkey, far left, 34, lets loose with a three-pointer with 18.4 seconds left in the forth quarter against county rival Jordan-Matthews.  The shot fell through and the Lady Bears won the game 51-48.

Harrington proves this by giving players who don’t start a chance to make a play, even during crunch-time.

For the second time in four days, the Chargers got a huge contribution from a bench player to earn a tough 56-53 victory over a Mid-State 2A opponent.

Jabari Green came off the bench in the fourth quarter and scored all six of his points during a crucial time in the game against the Cedar Ridge Red Wolves, helping NW break a 48-48 tie and go on to the victory.

"I believe in all my guys," Harrington said. "I’m going to play the top guy all the way down to #14 on the roster. I think my confidence goes into those kids. The kids go out there and play with the confidence I give them and it shows. He Green) is a hungry kid, and that’s the main reason I have him on the team. He likes to get after it and likes to play hard."

Well after Friday night, at least one league coach, Bill Slaugther of Chatham Central, would debate that notion right quick.

Slaughter watched helplessly on Friday night as his club was dominated by the 2004-05 version of the Bulldogs to the tune of a 72-29 defeat.

"A lot of people thought this might be the year that an East Montgomery or Albemarle slipped up on Thomasville and won league," said Slaughter after the loss. "But I don’t know, they are about as good as I’ve seen them."

"Thomasville is big and can shoot from the outside, but the difference in this team is their overall team quickness," continued Slaughter. "They’re quicker than any Thomasville team I remember and remind me of the first couple of Burlington Cummings teams which were in our conference back in the late 90’s. They just put so much pressure on you with their defense and press that it suffocates you."

That defensive pressure forced 35 Bears turnovers and turned the game into a rout early.

Jordan-Matthews and Chatham Central last week gave hoops fans the first real taste of the new basketball season.

A good old-fashion rivalry game is what makes basketball on any level such exciting sports to watch.

There are rivalries in other sports like football and basketball, but basketball seems to bring out a different kind of passion.

It could be because more people are able to actually basketball more than other sports, or it could just be this area, but nothing seems to get the blood flowing in these parts like basketball.

The Jets and Bears didn’t disappoint either, as Sapna Varkey’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds to go propelled the CC girls to a win over J-M in a classic.

This past weekend was loaded with great college games that also featured a few barn burners, including Wake Forest edging past Texas.

College basketball has done a good job of pitting two good teams together early in the season lately.

It doesn’t seem to long ago that one would be hard-pressed to find a good college game before New Year’s.

Now, it is not uncommon to see two top 10 teams face off on a weekly basis.

Fattening up the strength of schedule for tournament time is the real reason, but it also helps teams get battle ready quicker rather than play eight or none blow-outs before jumping into a conference like the ACC.

more- See Thursday, December 23 paper: Vol 85, No. 4