Butch in the clutch: Huffman and Hairston help Wildcats wear down Nighthawks…Northern Guilford girls in squeaker over EG….

Eastern Guilford boys 74-66 over Northern and the Northern girls 38-37 over Eastern…..

Big-time ticker at Eastern Guilford tonight where the Northern girls defeated the Wildcats for the first time ever and the Eastern boys got their first win over Northern Guilford…..Great games on both ends/sides of the doubleheader and the girls game came down to the last shot….

The Wildcat Crazies were kind of quiet tonight in Wildcat Country and we still need to get out a story about that crowd, but they must have been told to tone it down a bit, cause they weren’t really going all that Crazy tonight…..

The games were wild though….In the girls game, Aliyah Grinage hit the game-winning shot to give the Nighthawk young ladies the victory, after Miranda Jenkins had put EG up by one with a free throw…..Jenkins is one of the top five, if not top ten players in the entire state and she carried her Wildcats on her shoulders tonight, with a game-high 24 points….

Butch Huffman was the man in the clutch for the EG Wildcat boys, as he finished with a potential career-high of 34 points, for the vitorious ‘Cats and he hit 10 clutch free throws in the game, to help seal it for Eastern over Northern….Brandon Hairston was right there with Butch, adding 23 points to the EG total….

A night of conference basketball action at Eastern and Aliyah Grinage becomes the star for the Northern girls and we need to find out if she is the daugther of former Greensboro Day School Bengal BJ Grinage…..He was a big center for GDS, back in the early 90’s…..Miranda Jenkins was probably the overall star of this game, but the Coffers, Sam and Amanda, also turned in very strong efforts for Northern and Gabby Boyd was in on the win, with a large contributing role as well….Eastern’s Jenkins got help from her sophomore teammate, Erica Olerich….A very well played girl’s basketball game tonight at Eastern…..Again, Jenkins hit the free throw to put EG up by one and then NG grabbed the rebound after the second free throw missed and made a play where they made a long pass up court to Grinage and she hit the winner, with just one second left in the game…..EG had one last chance with one second left and they got a look, but could not get off a shot after getting past halfcourt….

Among those 34 points for Butch Huffman in the EG boys win, Butch hit 6 three-pointers and nailed 10 free throws….He would have to be the Player of the Game on the boys side and this might have been his best effort ever as a Wildcat….Northern cut the lead to just 4 points, late in the 4th quarter, but Butch in the clutch, put it out or reach with his free throws…..Brandon Hairston was very steady for EG and his moves around the basket put a charge in the EG offense that NG could not stop…..Going to the basket, Hairston was almost unstoppable and outside, Huffman couldn’t miss from three-point range in the first half, hitting all six of his long-range threes, in half number one….Adam Gunn added 7 points to the EG total and Jeremy Gaddy pumped in 6 points…..Quan Moss chipped in with 4 points…..Gunn and Gaddy gave A+ efforts and Moss was on his game like never before….Gunn outside and Gaddy inside and Moss on the toss to the basket….

Northern was paced by Patrick Chandler’s 19 points, Pat popping in 4 threes….Daniel Downing and TJ Logan added 13 points each for the Nighthawks….John McBeth hit for 8, Will Mulliken 7 and Alex Mott, Mason Wyrick and Evan Markley had two points each…..

Girls rewind:1st Q:NG 12, EG 5…Halftime:NG 23, EG 16…..3rd Q:NG 33, EG 28…Final:NG 38, EG 37…..

NG scoring:Aliyah Grinage 12 points…Amanda Coffer 10 points….Sam Coffer 9 pts…Gabby Boyd 7 pts……

EG scoring:Miranda Jenkins 24 points….Erica Olerich 10 points….Whitney Parks 2 pts…Karima Jackson 1 pt…..

Boys rewind:1st Q:EG 20, NG 8….Halftime:EG 41, NG 26…3rd Q:EG 54, NG 45….Final:EG 74, NG 66…..

EG scoring:Butch Huffman 34 points…Brandon Hairston 23 points….Adam Gunn 7 pts….Jeremy Gaddy 6 pts….Quan Moss 4 pts….

NG scoring:Patrick Chandler 19 points…Daniel Downing 13 points…TJ Logan 13 points….John McBeth 8 pts….Will Mulliken 7 pts….Mason Wyrick 2 pts…Evan Markley 2 pts…..Alex Mott 2 pts….

46 thoughts on “Butch in the clutch: Huffman and Hairston help Wildcats wear down Nighthawks…Northern Guilford girls in squeaker over EG….

  1. are u kidding me? wildcat country was quiet? woww im not sure u were at that game because obviously they were hype enough to get butch huffman fired up enough to drop 34 points on the number one team in the conference… not in our house.

  2. Wow Andy I really have to disagree with you there. From sitting up in the stands the Nighthawks players looked extremly uncomfortable. The wildcats crazies make EG without a shadow of a doubt the hardest place to play in guilford county. Tonight i saw a distinct advantage for the wildcats because of the students making a bunch of racket but im sure with this post you just made you might have created even a bigger monster…..just one of the great atmospheres in high school sports keep it up fellas

  3. Dear wildcat crazies,

    learn to start your OWN student section party instead of itching about how one person wasn’t there to lead the cheers. dry your tears and quit bein rude.

    thanks.

  4. I think Butch was in his own zone tonight….Will Oakes and the crazies can create more havoc and noise than what we were hearing tonight…I did see Butch look your way after a few of those threes…I started to get up and come over and see if I could get you guys going, but I did not want to create a scene….A good night for HS basketball at Eastern Guilford…..Where was Mr. Justice tonight?????

  5. We were missing a few biggg wildcat crazies tonight but i still think we held our own.. we had them a little off balance. and butch did look at us several times saying this is our house! tuesday will be really hype when we take the wildcat crazies to western alamances gym, which supposedly has a really good student section (DUB- A). finally a challenge. we will see

  6. They had a bunch over at UNCG when Eastern played there a few years back and that bunch was CRAZY….Tonight’s crew was well-behaved compared to that old crowd at UNCG…Those ‘Cats were CRAZY….I like this new crew at EG, they are a bit civil, not really Wild, but supportive….Supportive they are….

  7. Andy we cant get away with the stuff we could at uncg plus weve had AD’s and Adminstrators chew us out at the SW and Morehead games give us a break were doing the best we can do without getting thrown out

  8. Not quite sure about Tuesday yet, but one thing is certain, we are getting your name out there for you…..LONG LIVE THE WILDCAT CRAZIES IN WILDCAT COUNTRY!!!!!

  9. Crazies you guys are good to go….I thought maybe you had been told to tone it down a bit and we support your AD and the administration….

    I liked the old school/new school music bit the cheerleaders were doing….That was good stuff and I was leaning more toward the old school and the mascot was solid too….

    Like we noted, it was a good night for both schools(EG and NG) and the atmosphere was just right for a Thursday night….Butch Huffman ought to try and get a hook-up with Elon……..One of the girls from EG made it to Elon a few years ago. I think her last name might have been Walls…..

  10. Andy, don’t be too critical. The “Crazies” leader Will OAKES was not at the game tonight, and neither was a few other Key Crazies. Without his leadership and overall presence courtside, the wildcat crazies are nothing more than “supportive”, and “civil”.
    Nonetheless, A GREAT GAME, and a GREAT WIN for Coach Lansdale and the boys!

  11. I got Will Oakes mixed up with Mitch Oates(HPCA) and I have put a few of you guys and girls on the map and hope we can make some names for some more of you….

    I saw this music video on TV a few weeks back, and they were talking about getting “Barefoot and Crazy”….Hey, when the weather warms up……You never know…..I saw some of the crazies in a summer milder tone, at a Colt Baseball game one night, but they had shoes on and were not Barefoot….

    That “Barefoot and Crazy”, might be a good theme for the conference tournament….The kids on that music video had no shoes and they were dressed for the warmer temperatures…..

  12. The “Wildcat Crazies”? What a joke you are, I see where yall had to make a facebook page and beg people to attend the game. Thats was the most unorganized cheering section i’ve ever seen in my entire life. Yall don’t even wear yalls school colors to the game..

    Editor’s note…. We are trying to keep this on the basketball topic during basketball season….

    Let’s see who gets to host the conference tournament…..Will it be Eastern or Northern or does Burlington Williams jump in here????? EG and NG are strong candidates to host that Conference Basketball Tournament……

  13. NGHAWK,

    Said like a true “champion” How’s it feel to make the drive back with your tsil tucked between your legs? Talk, talk, talk. By the way, true ‘champions” don’t have to talk to make themselves feel important. Congrats on your football title since your basketball title was just fool’s gold…..

  14. I know for a fact that the kids were told to ton it down…the family members were told the same thing! LOL I think it is all part of the game. Let your team know you are their to support them. NOW…don’t be disrespectful…but I LOVE IT when the crowd is standing, jumping, and cheering the entire game. It really fires up the players.

    As far as EG…so proud of you guys! You really pulled it out last night. Butch…all I can say is WOW! and Hairston…LOVE THAT GAME FACE! Keep that fire going!

  15. I think that this NG team is still suffering fall out from coach k’s days (two years later) because of the bitterness coming from fans at most away games having to do with “legitimate championships”, recruiting, etc. AND attitude from referees.
    If the reason EG lost their game at NG was due to one call, then we could say NG lost @ EG due to multiple questionable calls.

  16. Great game last night at Eastern with the Wildcats and Nighthawks and it is good to see the passion from all the fans….

    Would love to see this carry over to the tournament, all being driven in a positive manner and then next year for football, you might have to bring in extra seats for this game with EG and NG….

    Lots of spirit and enthusiasm from two school that are developing a big rivalry in the County and they need to keep it coming as in the end the competition will only make their teams get better when they hit the playoffs and face the hostile crowds down the road….

    Again, good job Eastern and good job Northern….You guys are heading toward the Grimsley-Page and Smith-Dudley and the High Point Central-High Point Andrews levels and it is a credit to your schools, teams and your fans….

    Now about that block/charge call…..One call doesn’t make a game, but it sure can bring out a rule book from the stands and get many a bewildered fan reading up on that one…..

    Tournament Time is just a few days away….What do you say, we get EG and NG back together again in the finals for the girls and boys…..A couple of years ago, the Dudley-Northern finals were classics for the boys and this could be even bigger for the girls and the boys….

    Have a safe day and good luck to the teams tonight……

  17. Many of you might know this but it does matter what seed either team gets if they play they will not play in the first round which is hosted by the higher seed. But the semi-finals and the championship game is hosted at Northern even if Northern is not playing in it…. Sounds pretty messed up to me????

  18. @ EG, WOW, I hope not. That is really sketchy! So pretty much Northern hosts the conference tournament!? That’s definitely a setup. And by the way, those Nighthawks were playing really dirty last night, they was trying to hurt the Huffman kid it looked like several times. No flagrant fouls were called though! No matter what someone tells me I still feel like Nighthawks are spoiled alot, this goes beyond the cheating days with Stan.

  19. That is absurd. That’s just what you want to believe. Please show me where Northern gets this preferential treatment. It is simply that the perception from the Stan days lingers. I would imagine the conference tournament site was determined before the season even started. Andy, how is it determined?

  20. what do you mean HUH? “It looked like they were trying to hurt huffman? ”

    If that were the case they would have been called- if NG got near someone a foul was called so the refs were watching out for them pretty well. SHEESH

  21. Some conferences have pre-determined sites and they rotate them evenly to give all the teams a chane to host….I think the Metro has done it that way in the past and therefore if you have a real strong team, then they don’t get to host every year….

    Other conferences go with the Regular Season winner gets to host the Conference Tournament….I believe the EG girls won the regular season and therefore they got to host the tournament last season….Sometimes that has the boys and girls in different locations and that is not as sound logistically, but it does reward the Regular Season Champs…..

    NEG hosted for maybe two years in a row back when they opened their new gym and we’ll have to start looking around and see where all the tournaments will be this year…..I remember one year it was the Dudley boys vs. NG boys in the finals at NEG…..

    I don’t think anyone was trying to hurt anyone last night, they were just playing hard on both ends….When Huffman gets hot, he is tough to stop….Especially his outside shot….Get a hand in his face, but the shot is already heading throught the net……Quick release……

  22. I agree with you to a point Andy. The crowd was VERY quiet during the girls game. So quiet that Coach Gunn and to motion, more than once, for them to “make some noise”. This was a crucial game for the girls and I am sure having their crowd behind them would have helped them press through. The girls are feeling the indifference, especially from the cheerleaders. If you are going to cheer, then cheer for both teams that you are supposed to support….not just the boys!!!

  23. number six for northern guilford ran his cocky mouth all night to fans and players…. they say he is the qb next year???? well i hope the kid grows up!! both teams are very talented… northern had a coach they might have won!!!! But when u have a guy like butch take the game over and hairston did it on both ends, tough to win!!! Good game on both sides…. eastern is small but they dont let there size hold them back! They are fighters!!!

  24. Oh by the way…. good article!!! how does this performance not get atleast something small in the paper????? ashame

  25. Good observations EG BB Mom.

    My thoughts are the NG boys coaches are doing a good job….They have been through a lot of changes up there and Coach Freeman has held this team together and they came back late last night even though TJ Logan was gone and the Nighthawks are still in the hunt….But for sure, last night’s game belonged to the Nighthawks…..Huffman and Hairston were very potent….

  26. good job??? i disagree!!! Only game i have seen of them this year!! But chandler made things happen when he drove to the basket!! So i get into a convo with a parent and ask why doesnt he take it to the hole about everytime he touches it if its obvious its working, passing or layups! The Northern parent said quote “ive heard the coach doesnt want him 2”!! Now that could be false, and i just spoke with one person but if the coach doesnt want the kid to go to the hole and break down the defense, then the coach needs to see the tape of that game! Cause if the guard goes to the hole 5 or 6 more times that game very possible there is a different outcome!! EIther way im gonna gonna watch eastern again this year… that was my 3rd game and those boys have heart!! And im def gonna catch another northern game, but i will not make another trip to brown summit if the players run there mouth about rings and everything just because there losing one game!! I know they were upset and the fans were all over them but they have to tune the fans out and not let them in the game! Exp #6

  27. Not talking trash hope it doesnt get taking the wrong way….. i mean you are right they came back! But im not to fond of eg’s coach either i listened to him in both games and from what i have seen and heard… the assistant looks as if he knows what he is doing and could do a great job!!

  28. neutral, the assistant is coach simpson. you are right, he does know what he’s doing, and would make an excellent high school coach. as for Coach L, one attribute of a good head coach is putting good people around you and allow them t0 coach. it appears coach L and coach S have a good working relationship. too many head coaches try and do it all by themselves.
    andy, as for the crowd being quiet, i think it is a matter of the administration continuously policing the kids to the point of them not caring as much anymore. it’s a shame, they pay to get in and come to support their team, and constantly get told to not do this and not do that. i agree support needs to be done with class and they should never get personal with the players or get vulgar, but come on, it’s high school sports, it’s supposed to be fun. sometimes when the game itself gets boring, watching the kids is worth the price of admission, that is until one of the administrators show up. ask coach gunn or coach lansdale if the crazies can be the sixth man, you saw flashes of that last night.
    andy, why didn’t you come over and sit on the eastern side for at least part of the night?

  29. I started to come over and sit right above the student section and I have to admit I got caught up in the game action and never moved…..I did motion over that one time for them to make some noise, but I did not want to make a scene and take away from the game going on, on the court….

    I’ll be back again and maybe we’ll see these two again in the conference tournament….

    On another thought, I have always sat in the same spot at EG and at NG too….Would it be bad luck to move to another area?????

  30. The outcome of this game didn’t have anything to do with calls. Northern had to fight to even get close to winning. EG came out on fire. I will say, they knew (EG that is) that they had to give it their all last night in order to win the game. The question is…did Northern think they were going to easily wrap this game up. I belive a lot of lessons were learned last night. Don’t get so big headed about yourself and your team that you think you are unbeatable…and No matter what others say or what odds are against you…You can have the victory if you put your heart into something and give it your all. This goes beyond basketball.

    Northern is a good team. Not taking anything away from them. But don’t under estimate EG…That is a strong team and those boys are learning how to mesh with each other. They have had to deal with people’s mouths all season…started with some seniors leaving, then a key player left to go to another school, tried to say Hairston couldn’t even play after the first game…I am just glad that their actions as a team is saying otherwise.

    Wildcats…keep it up!

  31. whoever the idiot is who said the wildcat crazies wheere unorganized and that burlington williams might jump in it. Please know how ur talking about before you jump in it with that bull crap burlington williams is 0-14. Obviously the crazies were got enought to beat yall. See you in the tournoment

  32. why is it that the eastern guilford people feel so persecuted? sure, northern was found guilty of recruiting and everyone continues to pay–you all are lucky that everyone in the county doesn’t remind you constantly that one of your own students burned your school down and the whole county is still paying for it because the insurance didn’t cover it. Why doesn’t everyone just move on and quit letting the past define you—let the future be your legacy!!!!!!

  33. The Burlington Williams girls are the team from Burlington to watch out for….They are like (9-1) conference and (15-2) overall…..The Lady Bulldogs are for real, the boys on the other hand, that sounds like a different story…..

  34. before u say that. the students didnt burn EG school down. try to get ur facts straight….. it was a chemical fire in a science class.. nice try though

  35. its obvious Andy’s fav team is Northern always! Always says something to make it not look bad when they lose. “wildcats wear down the nighthawks” ?? that sounds like nighthawks were winning at a point and they weren’t! EG gave it to them and Huffman did get tackled once and no flagrant and then TJ made a dirty play on him after jumpball was called. jealousy is all that is. I hope noone gets hurt out there. ref needs to make right calls

  36. Trying to keep the positives going and with all the negative that has been laid at the feet of Northern over the past few years, it’s good for them to know somebody is still out here trying to shed some positive light….Eastern’s boys know that I have been there for them….I helped put Butch Huffman on the map….I met a parent one day at the Sprinkle Gas on East Market Street that told me about a kid from the McLeansville youth leagues that could shoot from the outside and that this little kid, Butchie could really be good one day if he got the chance, but that he had to overcome some obstacles and if he made it to the higher levels, that it would be tough….

    I didn’t think much more about it and then I walked into a game at Eastern one night and saw this kid at guard with hair down in his eyes and this kid could connect and he could really handle the ball and he had some real nice drives to the basket and he could finish the play with some very sharpe passes….

    I headed back to the Sprinkle Gas and told Tim Rich that I found the kid you were telling me about a few years ago…..That little kid that used to shoot them up in the McLeansville League is now the starting guard for the Eastern Guilford Wildcats…..The kid who thought might not never get the chance, he’s leading the way….Tim, you were right, this kid is really something and he got his chance and he is making the most of it….

    Then I started putting the Huffman name everyehere I could, hoping maybe this kid could noticed and who knows????? He and the Wildcats have arrived and it is a good story…..Hope they stay on the ride the rest of the way….Huffman could take his team deep into the playoffs and the rest of the cast is strong with Hairston, Gunn, Gaddy, Moss, Chavis and others…..

    Good story about a good kid that got his chance……

    As far as the headlines go, those aren’t always that easy to come up with and I have to make sure that I don’t start some kind of riot…..With the reaction that we have had on this game, we sure didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire…..

    Good game by both boys and girls teams from both schools……..

  37. Wow. Andy, thanks for all the love and support you have showed my brother and everyone. I pray that God blesses you and makes your year prosperous here on greensborosports.com. I would love all the write ups on him you have ever did, if possible. No rush, just saying. This is his #1 supporter, “father-figure”, oldest brother Frankie!

  38. Frankie, remind me again and I will try and get all the articles on Butch and EG together at the end of this current season…..

    I have told others as was told to me about 6-7 years ago…..Butchie Huffman’s older brother has there for him and he has been “The Man”…..Butch owes a so much of what he has been able to do and where he is today, to his older brother…..You have done a great job along the way of helping your little/younger brother….Keep up the good work and have Butch go get a college degree and tell him to keep on playing basketball……The kid’s a very football and baseball players too…..

    Tim Rich at Sprinkle Gas/Oil #1 on East Market Street told me about Butch Huffman many years ago, and Tim was right, this kid can play…..

  39. Please do not forget about Coach Hairston the 3rd coach on the Eg coaching staff. He is doing on outstanding job as well.

    Staff and players stay focused. one game at a time

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