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Basketball: South Forsyth boys outpace West in 65-43 win
Stocks
South Forsyth senior Thomas Stocks, left, celebrates with teammate Kohl Harris, right, during the War Eagles' win over West Forsyth on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. - photo by David Roberts

By Josh Holland

For the Forsyth County News

South Forsyth came out with a 12-4 lead over West Forsyth in the first two minutes of Friday’s game and never looked back in a dominant 65-43 performance.

The War Eagles had a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to their quick start.

West played with a lack of energy in the first quarter that kept them from creating high-quality shots.

South head coach Scott Givens attributed the team’s win to the way they started the game. 

“We got off to an outstanding start,” Givens said. “We made four threes in the first quarter, and when we’re making threes with Devin (McGlockton) inside and the presence that he has inside, we’re pretty good.”

In the second quarter, West showed some signs of an offensive presence and was able to cut the deficit to nine before the half, but South had a monster third quarter led by McGlockton. 

Zabetakis
West Forsyth senior Nick Zabetakis passes the ball against South Forsyth on Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. - photo by David Roberts
The War Eagles outscored the Wolverines 18-11 in the third quarter, and McGlockton surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his three-year career at South with a jump shot from the short corner. He finished the game with 24 points, along with a highlight-reel dunk and block.

Givens praised McGlockton’s performance in the game and this season as a whole after the game.

“I think he’s one of the two best players in this region,” Givens said. “Him and Thornton are the two best players in this region. Thornton’s outstanding, Devin’s outstanding and Devin’s been seeing double-, triple-teams all year long. For us to get a win and him get 1,000 points tonight, and he’s well on his way to being all-time leading scorer at South, too.”

West appeared to be defeated after McGlockton’s dunk, and the frustration boiled over in the form of a technical foul for Nick Zabetakis in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Frederick Hurt harped on the team’s mentality after the game.

“I think the game was lost a week ago,” Hurt said. “We’re not playing with any of the same confidence or swagger or poise that we have played with the first part of the year at all.

“We’ve spent two-straight days working on mental aspects and South put it to us. They played much better than us in every aspect.”

South finished the regular season 15-10 overall and 5-5 in Region 5-7A, while West is 17-8 and 5-5 ahead of the region tournament next week.