Jeff Davis photo

After his team built a 20-point lead on the West Davidson Green Dragons midway through the third quarter, Slaughter still felt there was plenty of basketball left to be played.

The veteran coach was right, as WD mounted a furious comeback versus the home Bears, trimming the deficit to as little as five points in the games closing minutes.

Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch, however, including some pressure makes by a unlikely source, helped CC hold on to a 54-47 win.

"Coach McDay and I have gone against each other for a lot of years, and I know his kids don’t quit," Slaughter said. "It has gone both ways. We’ve blown 20-point leads against them, and they have blown them against us. You just have to be able to weather the storm."

Josh Tilton came off the bench in the final two minutes and calmly made three-of-four from the charity stripe with the Green Dragons breathing down the Bears’ necks.

"I was nervous being I hadn‘t played all night," said Tilton. "This is a big win for us."

Ryan Lambert also made two at the foul line just 13 seconds after WD climbed to within 48-43 with 2:26 to go in the game.

As CC was converting free-throws, the Dragons were missing them, making only one-of-six in the final two minutes.

The victory marks the second in a week for the Bears following a tough stretch in which the locals struggled to score points.

Early on, it appeared CC was on its way to another sub-par offensive performance.

The Bears totaled a mere four points in the first quarter, but only trailed by four thanks to a good defensive effort.

While watching the two NFL championship games on Sunday, I found out that former late-night talk show host Johnny Carson had passed away at age 79.

Sometimes it’s hard deciding on what to write a column about every week, as so much happens in the world of sports.

Writing about Carson’s death, however, is something I felt was important to me both as a sports writer and a person.

Growing up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the 1970’s was a unique experience that I know I will never forget.

Of my many early childhood memories, the sound of Ed McMahon introducing Carson with the famous "Here’s Johnny" is one that sticks out vividly.

In the days of MASH and the Dukes of Hazzard, Carson’s voice was the night-light to a boy waking up thirsty in the dark.

Hearing my grandparents laugh at one of Carson’s skits was sometimes the last thing I heard before drifting off the sleep on more than one occasion.

It seems fitting to me that Philadelphia won on Sunday and advanced to the Super Bowl because during this time of my life, my family and I were huge Eagles fans, and I remember the first time they went 24 years ago.

As I grew older, Carson and sports began to take new meaning to me.

more- See Thursday, January 27 paper: Vol 85, No. 9