APEX – Both the Apex boys and girls varsity basketball teams were able to defend their first place standing in the Southwest Wake Athletic Conference following consecutive home wins over the Panther Creek varsity squads. Both student sections were decked out in bright neon shirts that were being sold in support of the “Operation Coming Home” campaign in the packed Cougars’ gym.

Girls

The Apex Cougars were able to make the halftime adjustments expected of a conference leader, outscoring the Catamounts 19-5 in the third quarter after finding themselves in a slim 29-28 disadvantage at the end of the second quarter. Senior center Mia Castagnero lead the way on both sides of the floor for the Cougars, notching 17 points and seven steals in her team’s 68-41 blowout victory.

“We realized this is our senior year, and this is not how we should be playing against this team,”  Castagnero said.”We all went to deny more, we all pressured more for the steals.”

Adjusting the defensive scheming was the main change made at halftime by Apex head coach Issac Bristol.

“We had a very entertaining halftime speech to say the least,” Bristol said. “From a defensive standpoint, we were going away from what we preach at practice (in the first half), and the biggest thing was that we were going to win on defense. We worked on denying the ball and pressuring the ball, so I thought our defensive intensity picked up…the offense fed off of the defense.”

The defensive adjustments turned out to be exactly what the Cougars needed, as they cruised to a critical victory. Junior Elle Hepburn was a large part of the hot start to the second half for the Cougars, scoring 11 of the team’s 19 points in the third quarter.

Sophomore guard Gabby Rogers’ nine points lead the Catamounts in scoring.

“At halftime we lost our intensity, and nobody really had the fight to win as much as we did in the beginning,” Rogers said. “It’s all mental, I think if we all change our mental state, we’ll get back to where we were.”

Panther Creek will look to bounce back against Holly Springs Hawks on Jan. 16. Apex will look to defend their place at the top of the Southwest Wake standings the same night against Green Hope.

Boys

The defending boys state champion Apex Cougars rallied back in the second half in part due to a lights out night from junior forward Ian Boyd to defeat Panther Creek 78-71 in front of a loud home crowd. After allowing Panther Creek to go on a 31-13 run to end the first half, Boyd took over the game, scoring 23 of the Cougars’ 49 points in the second half, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the game’s final minute.

“I used some of the trash talking as a motivation,” said Boyd. “It pushed me hard to get my team back into it.”

Boyd would finish the night with 32 points and 11 rebounds.

“My boys were really tough and resilient coming out of halftime,” said Apex head coach David Neal. “We got Ian some touches and free throws to get going, (John Kitoko) always seems to hit a big three or two, and he hit two in the second half that would give us the lead.”

Junior point guard Juan Munoz had 30 points and five assists for the Catamounts, many of which came in a man-to-man set in which Apex sent Boyd to shadow him. Following the first quarter in which they only scored eight points, Panther Creek’s offense exploded in the following period scoring 31 points. Alex Zietlow and Munoz combined for 24 points in the quarter.

“He was unconscious in the first half,” said Panther Creek head coach Shawan Robinson of Munoz.
“He played great, and when they took him away, he found his teammates.”

In the third quarter, Panther Creek started to let their lead slip away as Apex were able to gain a 55-52 lead after a Kinito three-pointer.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Munoz bloodied his nose following a hard foul as he drove to the basket. Less than a minute later, he was back on the court with a tissue shoved in his left nostril.

Senior shooting guard Alex Zietlow added 14 points for the Catamounts, 12 of which came from behind the arc.

Jon Jones scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Cougars. Colin Molden tacked on six points and 12 assists despite leaving the game early in the fourth quarter after receiving his fifth foul.

Panther Creek fell to 3-2 in conference play, while Apex improved to a perfect 5-0. Panther Creek takes on Holly Springs at home on Jan. 16. Apex travels to Green Hope the same night looking to stay undefeated in conference play.