Jeff Davis photo

Jets Chad McSwain, 32, gets help from Justin Snipes in their game Monday night in Siler City. West Davidson’s Josh Frey tries his best to reach in to get to the ball. McSwain was able to rein in the ball during the play. Snipes scored 12 points in the 43-40 Jet win.

BEAR CREEK – Chatham Central coach Gerald Binkley wasn’t the only waiting for Erin Leonard’s shots to start falling.

Leonard herself had been wondering if she would regain her shooting touch of late.

On Friday night against the Albemarle Bulldogs, Leonard broke out in near flawless fashion going eight-of-nine from the field and four-for-four at the free-throw line, leading the Bears to a key 59-43 home victory.

"This is the first time in a long time, and it feels good," Leonard said after the game. "Lately, I hadn’t shot very well. It was the first night in a long time. I got my confidence back. This was long overdue."

Leonard’s turnaround could not have come at a better time, either, as CC was locked in a tight contest with the visiting Bulldogs much of the night.

After the Bears came out and established an inside presence with seven points from Becca Bolton and four from Natalie Phillips in the first quarter, Albemarle dropped into a zone.

With the perimeter open, Leonard took full advantage of the opportunity, canning her first five shots in the second quarter.

"She did a good job spotting up and getting open shots,’ said Binkley "The offense did a good job getting the ball to her. We needed her to have a big night, and she stepped up for us."

more- See Thursday, January 13 paper: Vol 85, No. 7

The two long-time rivals who are facing each other for the final time in Siler City before the Dragons move up to 2A next season did what was the norm when they step out on the court, and that’s get after one another.

Bodies were flying the entire night as the two clubs which are fighting to remain in the top half of the YVC standings waged war in what was an extremely physical contest.

"It was your typical West Davidson/J-M match up, both teams got after it hard out there," said Jet coach P.J. Lowman, who played in some of the most historic battles between the two clubs. "The two teams may not have been ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the state like 10 years ago, but it didn’t matter. I feel like it was coached just as hard by the coaches and played just as hard by the players as it was back then."

Lowman was also pleased his club picked up the much needed win after dropping a pair of disappointing losses last week on the road at Albemarle and North Moore.

"We needed this win for our confidence since we’re so young as well as to stay in the middle of the pack in the conference race," Lowman said. "I was pleased at how we played and really gritted it out tonight."

The contest went back and forth the entire night with the Dragons getting the better of the action in the opening quarter, building leads of 6-1 and 13-5 behind six points from lefty Nathan Teague, who’s father Reggie, was a standout baseball, basketball and football player at Jordan-Matthews back in the mid 70’s.

A trey by Garrett Parks off the bench and a bucket each from Tyrece Turner and Chad McSwain pulled the Jets to within 13-9 at the end of the period.

The National Basketball Association hasn’t exactly received a lot of positive publicity lately

Whether it’s talking about a brawl or a rape case, the discussion of professional basketball has been more about what’s happening off the court rather than what’s on.

Last week, however, seven NBA players did something that showed maybe there is hope yet for a league labeled loaded with selfish individuals.

Following the horrific devastation that occurred in South Asia as a result of the monstrous tsunami a month ago, the nations of the world have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help rebuild an area of the world that was nearly wiped from the face of the planet.

Along with the countries, actors and sports teams have donated money as well.

This is where the NBA came in.

Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O’Neal, Bob Sura, Jalen Rose, Paul Gasol, and Mike Miller all pledged to donate $1,000 for each point they scored in a game one night last week.

For players who make millions of dollars a year, this may not sound like much, but in this case, the thought really does count.

They could have not given anything.

S often it is thought that professional athletes have a "duty" to give their money away as part of some civil or cultural responsibility, but, in actuality, they don’t.

It’s nice when they do give, but not all of them do, and that is understandable.

Athletes are still people who have families and obligations just like everyone else, they just have more money than most people.

more- See Thursday, January 13 paper: Vol 85, No. 7