Falcons top ECH; Jordan honors Coleman-Cox as scoring leader

At 6-8, Jordan senior power forward Jerod Hendryx is an imposing sight under the basket.
He appeared even more intimidating Tuesday night in scoring a game- and season-high 20 points off a mixed series of soft-touch lobs and power jams to lift the Falcons to a 62-44 win over East Chapel Hill in the PAC-6 opener for both teams.
“My guards looked inside a lot more than they usually do,” said Hendryx, who is averaging 15 points per game and will be playing collegiately at Queens University in Charlotte. “We executed a lot better, were a lot more patient tonight.
“We moved the ball in the interior pretty well, and our guards actually hit a lot of inside-out shots — more than usual. I felt I was shooting well.”
His previous high score was 28 his sophomore year. He missed his junior season because of ACL surgery.
It was Hendryx who stepped up large when East Chapel Hill had a brief burst to open the third period and cut the deficit to four points. Wildcats 6-6 guard Lawyer Dallas scored back-to-back baskets to draw within 29-25.
On offense, Hendryx then took three straight dishes under the basket to flex the lead to 35-26, with Dallas sinking a free throw in between.
“We had a moment there; we cut it to four” East Chapel Hill coach Ray Hartsfield said. “We had one in transition to cut it to two (but) didn’t catch it and finish, and after that they went on a little run and all of a sudden we’re down — we’re down big.”
Throughout the night, Hendryx gave several impressive offensive looks, hitting a towering skyhook near the end of the third period, jamming the ball on a fast break in the closing minutes of the final period and tapping in a couple of scores on putbacks.
“Jordan did a great job of triple penetration,” Hartsfield said. “They were able to get the ball inside, and when they get the ball inside, Jerod does a really good job of finishing down there.”
K.J. Alston chipped in 17 points for Jordan.
“Jerod is a good player,” Falcons coach Kim Annas said. “He’s got a nice soft touch with good hands, and we were able to find him some and he took advantage of it. K.J.’s a good athlete, and he did a good job of moving within the zone to get the open space, and I thought he did a good job of taking advantage when he caught the pass in the open area and scoring.”
The Falcons’ man-to-man half- and full-court pressure contained East Chapel Hill to single digits in the first and third periods. Arkavius Parks, a 6-2 sophomore forward, was the only Wildcat in double figures with 13 points.
“I think the biggest story was second-chance points,” Hartsfield said. “They really killed us on the boards. We’ve got to do a better job of boxing the boards and defending on the perimeter because we gave up triple penetration. We’ll go back to practice and work on doing the things we didn’t do tonight.”

Jordan 62, ECH 44
EAST CHAPEL HILL — Arkavius Parks 13, Jake Hilkey 9, Tykeem Woodard 8, Lawyer Dallas 7, Justen Best 5, Louis Levin 1, Robert Wilson 1.
JORDAN — Jerod Hendryx 20, K.J. Alston 17, Darrin Ortiz 7, Muhammad Muhammad 5, Josh Thompson and Mike Lee 4, John Brown 3, Willie Weeks 2.
ECH|8|13|9|14—44
Jordan|10|19|13|20—62
Records—ECH 6-3, 0-1, Jordan, 5-4, 1-0.

Jordan 54 (G), ECH 28
DURHAM — Bayley Coleman-Cox fired in 18 points to lead Jordan to a 54-28 victory over East Chapel Hill in girls’ basketball.
During halftime of the boys’ game, Coleman-Cox was recognized by Coach Ty Cox, her father, as Jordan’s career scoring leader. The 5-10 guard, who has signed to play at Hampton University, has 1,419 career points after Tuesday’s game.
She broke the record on Nov. 27 against Wake Forest-Rolesville. Coleman-Cox’s career high is 47 points on Dec. 28, 2011, and her season high this year is 38 points vs. Enloe High School on Dec. 4.
The previous record holder was Class of 2010 and current Western Carolina player Kristen Lyon, who had 1,287 points.

Jordan 54, ECH 28
EAST CHAPEL HILL — Ali Cyr-Cally 6, Adrienne Davis 6, Riley Foster 2, Tierra Holt 3, Sarah Townes 10.
JORDAN — Bayley Coleman-Cox 18, Salita Greene 7, Millicent Blivin 7, Asonte Rochelle 8, Jazmyne Norwood 4, Shaneika Chalmers 1, Niara Tolliver 2, Adrianna Seeney 7.
ECH|2|7|4|15—28
Jordan|17|21|6|10—54
3-point FG—Jordan 4 (Coleman-Cox 3, Seeney). Rebounds—Jordan 33 (Greene 11). Assists—Jordan 11 (Coleman-Cox 5). Steals—Jordan 13 (Coleman-Cox 3, Blivin 3). Blocks—Jordan 6 (Coleman-Cox 2, Chalmers 2).
Records—East Chapel Hill 2-7; Jordan 6-3.