Falcons Nest - February 3rd

Lulu Brase, Assistant Athletic Director
The Falcons begin to wrap up their regular season and prepare for winter play offs. Congratulations the Women’s Swim Team on their Tri-TAC Championship win at Monday’s Conference Meet.
Varsity Boys Basketball
The Varsity Boys Basketball team hosted senior night on Tuesday against Trinity School and opened the evening honoring Holt Neville and Kanye McKeithen. In the game, the Falcons got off to a quick first-quarter start leading 16-8 over the Lions. The second quarter saw the Falcons go cold as Trinity turned up the defense and went on a 16-4 run leading to a 24-20 lead at the half. A back-and-forth second half saw the Falcons battle until the closing minutes coming up just short in the 62-67 loss.
D'Marion Tomlinson was the Falcon’s leading scorer with 21 points on the evening (4 rebounds, 3 assists). Joining in the scoring were Kanye McKeithen (10 points), Malachy White (9 points, 5 steals), Will Slagle (8 points, 6 rebounds), Dakota Bender (7 points, 5 rebounds), Holt Neville (5 points), and Nick Joyce (2 points).
The Falcons will close out the regular season on the road at Carolina Friends on Friday night before next week’s Tri-TAC Conference Tournament.

Varsity Girls Basketball
The Falcons celebrated senior night on Tuesday afternoon for their lone senior, Brooklyn Adams. “In so many ways, Brooklyn has been the glue behind this program,” shared Coach Brase during the ceremony. “Her constant kindness, relentless work ethic, and selfless nature are truly remarkable.”
In the contest, a sluggish start saw the Falcons open a 19-7 lead over Trinity School, which currently sits as the #2 team in the Tri-TAC conference. Quickly, the Falcons were able to turn the tide, cranking up the defensive pressure and picking up the tempo of the game. Ultimately, all Falcons in uniform saw playing time in the victory and were able to get valuable minutes for the Falcons.
The Falcons were led in scoring behind Ashanti Fox’s game-high 21 points (6 assists, 4 steals). Joining the scoring were Kennedy Moore (12 points, 8 steals), Tamiya Judd (11 points, 7 rebounds), Ava Vonderkall (2 points), Riley Lefler (2 points), and Clara Tanner (2 points).
The Falcons moved to 21-2 overall and 7-0 in conference play. The Falcons will finish off the regular season at Carolina Friends on Friday afternoon looking to finish their 6th straight season undefeated in conference play.
JV Boys Basketball
  • January 27th vs Burlington Christian Academy – 32-73 (L)
  • January 31st vs Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill – 40-39 (L)
The Falcons went on the road Friday, January 27th, to take on Burlington Christian Academy. The Falcons started the first half playing well on the defensive side, but Burlington hit some key shots as the game went on to defeat the Falcons 73-32.
The Falcons started the week out at home against Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill. The Falcons came out the gate on a 9-0 run to open the game. Trinity was able to settle in and fought back to take a one-point lead into halftime. The Falcons fought hard in the second half behind the sharpshooting of Gunnar Adams who hit six 3-pointers for the game, but Trinity was able to pull away in the final seconds for a 40-39 victory. Gunnar Adams fished the game with 18 points followed by Arron Pavlovich (7 points), Andrew Pavlovich (6 points), Max Pashley (3 points), and Oliver Simpson (3 points).
The Falcons will end their JV season on February 3rd on the road against Carolina Friends. Tip-off at 4:00 pm
MS Girls Basketball A Team
vs. Fayetteville Academy (home game) Monday - January 30th
The O’Neal School – 41 vs Fayetteville Academy - 2
In their first game of the week, our Falcons hosted the Eagles from Fayetteville Academy. Our Falcons got going quickly in this one, racing out to a 17-0 first quarter advantage as five Falcons got into the scoring column. Our Falcons continued their success on both the defensive and offensive end, holding the Eagles to a single bucket while three more Falcons converted baskets on the offensive end leading to a 28-2 advantage at halftime. The second half would follow a similar script as our Falcons held the Eagles scoreless in the second half, while three more Falcons scored to propel their team to a 41-2 victory. All eleven Falcons ultimately scored in this one. Gianna Maheu led the way with 10 points, followed by Sofie Itegie (6 points), LJ Duffy (4 points), Callie Garrison (4 points), Lillie McIntosh (4 points), Ella Vonderkall (3 points), Lindsey Havenstein (3 points), Callie McHarney (2 points), Chesley Lucas (2 points), Emeli Michael (2 points) and Sydney Davis (1 point). 
vs. Freedom Christian Academy (away game) Thursday - February 2nd
The O’Neal School – 42 vs Freedom Christian – 26
In their final regular season game, our Falcons took on Freedom Christian in a rematch of last season’s tournament championship.  Our Falcons seized the initiative early in this one, utilizing full-court pressure that led to numerous turnovers for Freedom Christian.  Our Falcons capitalized on the turnovers, converting several transition baskets, and jumped out to an early 9-1 lead, forcing Freedom Christian to burn a timeout within the first two minutes of the game.  Freedom Christian would answer back, closing the gap to 11-7 just prior to the end of the first quarter.  However, an “and-1” by Emeli Michael with one second remaining in the quarter would push our Falcons to a 14-7 first-quarter lead.  In the second quarter, behind solid defense and an 11-point outburst by Gianna Maheu, our Falcons would carry a 26-16 lead into the half.  In the second half, our Falcons shook off several attempts by Freedom Christian to close the gap and ultimately pulled away with a 42-26 victory.  Gianna Maheu led all scorers in this one with 26 points while Emeli Michael (7 points), Chesley Lucas (2 points), Lillie McIntosh (2 points), Callie McHarney (2 points), Callie Garrison (2 points), Sofie Itegie (1 point) also scored.  Our Falcons will now head into the post-season conference tournament as the #1 seed and will host Northwood Temple on Monday, February 6th in the tournament semi-finals at The O’Neal School.
MS Boys Basketball A Team
The Middle School Boys Falcons are headed to the SEMSAC playoffs!!!
After a large margin win against Fayetteville Academy (43-13) on Monday, the boys headed to Freedom Christian Academy on Thursday and secured the #2 seed heading into next week with a 49-36 win.  Top performers for the week were Will Haarlow (27 pts total), Wells Kuester (12 pts total), Jacob Lindsey (13 pts total), and Christian Lyles (14 pts).  The Falcons will host Northwood on Monday, 6 February at our home court in the Hannah Center.  The tip-off is set for 4:30 pm.   
MS Boys Basketball B Team
The O'Neal School Killer B's closed out the middle school basketball season with a dominant 32-8 victory over Mina Charter School. From the opening tip, The Killer B's swarmed the court with their relentless defense, building a 7-point lead in the first quarter.
Tanner Massey, Keens Cameron, and Christian Baker led the way for The Killer B's, dominating the court with their athleticism and skill. The second half saw Gabe Marrero running the offense, with Murphy Stanton and Owen West providing shut-down defense to keep Mina Charter from scoring. Jaxon Graves dominated the paint on both ends all evening long.
In the third quarter, Parker Maxwell and Kolton Van Scoyoc got going, helping The Killer B's extend their lead to 16 points. Carson Toohey and Camden Harrell joined in on the scoring action in the fourth, with Jack Browning and Dylan Rabon doing the "dirty work" on the glass, securing crucial rebounds and second-chance points.
The final score of 32-8 was a testament to The Killer B's outstanding performance and the hard work they put in all season. This was a fitting end to a successful season for the talented middle school basketball team. Congratulations to The O'Neal School Killer B's on a job well done!
MS Girls Basketball B Team
vs. Mina Charter (home game) Wednesday - February 1st
The O’Neal School “B” team – 25 vs Mina Charter – 11
In their only game of the week and their final game of the season, our Falcons “B” team took on Mina Charter. Our Falcons got going quickly in this one, finding early success on the offensive end behind baskets from Riley Havenstein, Caitlyn Strickland, and Joelle Cole. Mina Charter would answer with a few baskets of their own and our Falcons carried a slim 8-6 lead into the second quarter. Our Falcons would trade baskets with Mina Charter in the second half until a breakaway lay-up by Joelle Cole followed by a put-back on the very next possession by Sophia Chalker put the Falcons up 16-11 heading into the half.  While our Falcons cranked up the defense in the second half, Joelle Cole converted multiple baskets and Georgia Phillips capped the scoring with a powerful offensive rebound and put-back, lifting the team's score to 25, our Falcons highest scoring output of the season.  Ultimately our Falcons “B” team would come away with a convincing 25-11 victory and ended their season with a 4-2 record. Joelle Cole led all scorers in this one with 15 points while Riley Havenstein (4 points), Caitlyn Strickland (2 points), Sophia Chalker (2 points) and Georgia Phillips (2 points) also scored. 

Photos
Photos by Wendy Hodges except swim team group photos -- contributed.
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