Double overtime thriller caps action at Hosiery BY RORY DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Tarheels 21, Blue Devils 20 (6-10 Division): Caleb Burgess scored 13 points, including a 3-pointer with S seconds left, to lead the Tarheels over the Blue Devils in a thriller. Antwon Steele of the Blue Devils led all scorers with 14 points. In another 6-10 Divisional contest, the Wolfpack took dowp the Deacons, 18-12. The Wolfpack, behind the strong efforts of Haven Hairston (6 points), Trae Gibson (4 points), and Frank Hines (4 points) over came a sluggish first half to beat the Deacons 18-12. Zackerry McLeod led the Deacons with 4 points. Hawks 36, Spurs 32 (11-13 Division): Maurice Edwards and Devon George each scored 13 points for the Hawks, leading them to a close victory over the Spurs. Rashad Blue led the Spurs with 9 points and . Kayla Blevins chipped in 7 points. Celtics 34, Mavericks 27: DaqJuan Lee scored 9 of his. 14 points in the second half to lead the Celtics over the Hawks. Jarell Simpson and Infinity Penn-Furnace each scored "10 points for the Celtics. Emmanuel Maree led the Mavericks with 12 points. Shanise Sims also scored 6 points for the Mavericks and Roosevelt Harrison added another 4 points. In another 11-13 Divisional game, the Magic took down the Pistons, 24-19. The talented Celeste Burgess scored 8 of her 10 'points in the first half as the Magic pulled held on for a 24-19 victory over the Pistons. The Pistons stayed close most of the game but Hasan Smith added 6 late points for the * Magic. Dishan Beasley led the Pistons with 9 points. riHHU oy noiy m*u The Hawks of the 11-13 Division Jazz 49, Raptors 48 (14-16 Division): Daisean Rucker's game-winning layup pro vided the final margin as the Jazz were abie to outlast the Raptors in double overtime. After looking overmatched during the first half, the Jazz suirmed back in the second half. Correlle Brown scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime, helping the Jazz make up a 10 point deficit in the final six minutes of regulation. The Raptors were led by Brandon Thomas (17 points) and Gerry O'Neal (14 points). AntqiAe Simmons added 13 points for the Jazz, including a key ^-free throw in the final overtime period. In another 14-16 Division game, the Suns defeated the Lakers, 56-36. Juan Miller scored 25 points, including a thunder ous dunk in the final seconds, to help the Suns cruise past the Lakers. .Chris Overby added another 20 points for the Suns. Anthony Mitchell led the Lakers with 17 points. ? Hill Jnm page B1 wants Brandon Chandler, but he's waiting on a few things at the moment. Glenn quarter back George Richardson is still weighing his options. He was offered by Livingstone. But he's thinking about going to Western Carolina. I know of two signings at Mt. Tabor. Ed Gainey signed with Appalachian State. Lemar Wilson was set to sign with Liberty. I am not sure if he did. I couldn't confirm that by - Tuesday night. There were probably a few other^uys that signed yesterday too . Those were the signings that I was aware of while writ ing this column. I just want to wish those guys the best of luck. Like I told Brandon Chandler on Tuesday night, while talking on the phone, make the decision that's best for you. Don't sign with the school that looks the best in The Journal the next day. Don't sign with a school simply because your parents want you to go there. Don't sign with a school simply because your coach has you believing that's ? the only school that wants you. Sign with the school that suits Fik photo Mt. Tabor's Ed Gainey signed with App. Slate yesterday. you the best. A coach once told me that I should sign with the school that really wants me, not the school I really want to go to. That's right and wrong. You have to want to go somewhere before you sign away four or five good years to the program. You also need to sign with a school that will let you get some bum. Sometimes I wish I had signed with a smaller school. But after thinking about it longer. I am happy with all of my decisions. You can't beat the connections, friftidships and relationships I made in college. You also can't beat the les sons I learned while in college. That's why I say that signing day, and die days that follow will be the most important days in a student-athletes life. The decision you make on those days will dictate a lot. So, take your time. Don't get caught up in trying to sign when everyone else does. Sometime it's goo to make a quick decision. But don't make a bad choice. A had choice could have you right bapk in Winston-Salem a year or "two later. I've seen it happen before. Good luck and congratulations to all of the guys that signed. And, good luck to the great bunch we have coming back for their senior year. Next year is going to be a monster of a football season around here. Anthony Hill is the sports editor for The Chronicle. He can be reached at 722-8624 (ext. Ill) or ahill@wschronicle .com. Dawson .... from page B J o Dawson, who's coached at FCD for the last five years. "I would sit around with notepads and take notes while watching games. I kind of always knew I would be a coach. I just didn't , think it would happen this quick. I'd love to still be play ing. But injuries and those type of things happen. It's always good to have something good to fall back on. Luckily fpr-ffle I've fallen into something I really enjoy doing ." Dawson doesn't simply schedule practices and show up for games. He also spends countless hours watching tapes and finding ways to help his squad become better. His team has seemingly benefited from his knowledge this season Dawson's Furies are presently 20-1, but went 17-0 before suf fering their first defeat. His team has beaten teams like Winston Salem Prep, Oak Hill, Charlotte Christian, Providence Day, Thomasville and a number of others. The Furies defeated Thomasville in its Christmas tournament this year. The Bulldogs were said to not have lost in that gym in the last 12 years. Dawson's squad has only suffered one loss this season, and that was to Greensboro Day ? a school the Furies will trav el to play on Friday. "They've kind of had a spell on us during the last few times we've played them," Dawson said. "But I think we can get them this time" Dawson is assisted by John Allen, who's a longtime youth basketball coach in the area. Even Allen is impressed with the way Dawson has been han dling business from the side lines. "He's a great coach," Allen said. "He's really doing some Photo by Anthony Hill FCD's Craig Dawson watches a player shoot free throws. great things over here at Forsyth Country Day. He's an excellent offensive mind. I would bet you that he's got the best offensive mind around here." Dawson added. "Coach Allen is the nicest guy in the world. He says good things about every one. But it's still a good feeling to hear something like that coming from him. I spend a lot of time trying to pre pare my guys. I ask a lot of them.. So, I put in a lot. We've been able to do some good things, offensively, so far." Some Of the leaders of Dawson's squad are Brandon Goodson, who's an eighth grad er. He's leading the team in scor ing with 13 points per game. TJ. Deal, who's only a seventh grader, averages 1 1 points per game. Deal, who's the only black player, is also ranked No. 16 in the country among 12 year olds. The rebounding leaders are Greg McClinton (S.4) and John Hewell (five rebounds). The assist leaders ar^Bill Reece and Hewell. Reece averages 6.7 assists per game (141 total assists), with only 35 turnovers on the season. Reece (3.8 steals) and Jed Helvey (2.2) lead the team in steals. "The guys have really played well this season," Dawson said. "We've kind of dedicated this season to coach (Skip) Prosser. I learned a lot from him. A lot of the players' parents are Deacon Club mem bers. We even have tie-dye shirts with messages to coaoh Prosser. I definitely feel like that's been a motivating factor for us this year. The guys have bought into the "One Team, One Fight" concept." Dawson's Furies have three more games left in the season. Dawson is focused on closing the season strong. He's also got his mind on his future, and mov ing lip in the coaching world. "My goal is to become a var sity coach," Dawson concluded. "I'd also like to coach college someday. I want to go through it all before I do that to make sure I'm prepared. I breakdown a lot of film. Some people ask me why I do all of that for JV. This is what I want to do with my life. It's not just JV for me. Basketball is basketball on any level. I hope to continue to progress." Teague is ACC Rookie of the Week CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT Wake Forest freshman guard Jeff Teague has been named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Teague averaged 22.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in the Demon Deacons' two contests last week. Teague scored a season-high 27 points (the most for any Deacon player this season) in Wake Forest's 70-68 defeat of Miami on Tuesday. The Indianapolis. Ind., native had season highs of nine field goals and five three-point field goals. He went 9-for-14 from the floor, including a 5-for-6 mark from beyond the arc. Of his 27 points, 19 came in the second half. Teague followed with 17 points, three assists and a season-high five rebounds in Wake Forest's 67-65 loss at NC State on Sunday. He added three steals and was a perfect 7 for-7 from the free throw line. On the week, Teague was 14-for-25 (56.0 per cent) from the floor, 5-for 8 (62.5 percent) from three-point range and a perfect 11 -for- 11 on free throws. He had six assists and four steals. On the season, Teague is second on the team with wake s jejj i eague earned nis sec 1 1 .9 points per game. He is on ^ wee^h honor. alsp second in the ACC with 2.40 steals per game. Teague is averaging 14.3 points per game in conference play. Teague becomes the fourth freshman in the ACC to win the con ference's Rookie of the Week award multiple times this season, join ing N.C. State's JJ. Hickson (three times). Duke's Kyle Singler (three times), and Virginia Tech's Jeff Allen (twice). Teague was previously named the ACC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 17, 2007, following his performance in the Bucknell game. He is the first Demon Deacon since Chris Paul (five times) in 2003-04 to win Rookie of the Week multiple times. Teague and Paul are the only Deacons to win the award multiple times in the past seven sea sons. Teague is one of two Deacon freshmen ? along with forward James Johnson? to win the award this year, making Wake Forest the only squad with multiple recipients. In program history, 33 Deacons have received the horibr a total of 56 times." we BELIEVE in YOUR FUTURE innovations wouldn't be p ble I ur is h best under the diirx ' ? ? I \ if I \f I / 1