Hough (NC) defeated Northland (OH) 54-52 to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2014 Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach (SC) Convention Center.
Hough (9-1; Cornelius, NC) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before closing the half with a 13-0 run to take the lead into halftime. Northland (3-2; Columbus, OH) held the lead for much of the opening 16-minute period and built a 27-18 advantage on a jumper by DezJuan Wright with 4:35 on the clock. Hough then began a full-court press defense that turned the tempo of the game in the Huskies favor. Luke May scored six points during the 13-0 run by Hough that closed the half and gave the Huskies a 31-27 lead at halftime.
The second half saw almost a mirror image of the completion of the opening half as Hough this time built the nine-point lead only to see it slip away. Trailing 49-40 with 5:46 remaining in regulation, Northland went on a 12-3 run that tied the game at 52-52 with 52 seconds remaining. During the run, Seth Towns tallied seven points and Doug Taylor tied the game with a pair of free throws.
Hough passed the ball around, taking time off of the clock, before taking a timeout with 35 seconds to play. A tough Northland defense forced another timeout by the Huskies with 19 seconds to play. As the clock counted down toward the end of regulation Maye drove the lane and was fouled by Towns with five seconds on the clock. Maye connected on both free throws to give the Huskies a 54-52 lead. Following a Northland timeout, the Vikings’ Wright turned the ball over with less than one second on the clock to end the game.
Maye, who has committed to the University of North Carolina, led Hough with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Northland was led by Towns’ 17 points.
