Gryphons are 3-A State Basketball Champs

Rocky Mount High School earns second title in three years

The Rocky Mount faithful came out in droves to support their Gryphons Saturday night at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. They stood. They danced. They clapped. They jumped up and down. They were LOUD. The student section behind the basket was pumped up before their team took the floor and were crazy all night.

This was a crowd of folks who were going to will their Gryphons to a state championship. You could feel it in the air. There was going to be nothing to stop the Rocky Mount basketball team from winning the school's second state title in three years, and first on the hardwood since 1982.

Except maybe the Gryphons themselves.

The talk before the game was how their Concord High opponents would full court press all night. The worry was if the Gryphons could match the Spider's intensity and if the Gryphons could handle the pressure.

Rocky Mount answered those questions and fears early in the contest, seemingly breaking the press with ease. The Gryphons built an early lead during the first quarter and those in the seats were happy and cheering.

But the Gryphons suddenly went cold. They couldn't make shots from under the basket. They couldn't make free throws. And their early lead during the first quarter dwindled to just a couple by the horn ending the first half.

The wild jubilation of being in the state championship game gave way to the reality of playing against a worthy opponent. The Gryphon cheering section was still loud and fully behind their team, but you could feel the tension building by the start of the second half.

The Gryphons got by the pressing Spiders for the most part and slowly inched ahead on the scoreboard as the teams battled through the third period. The Gryphon nation started sniffing victory when Rocky Mount put on a spurt to go up by double digits midway through the final quarter of play.

Concord knuckled down on defense to force a couple of turnovers, and Rocky Mount did not take advantage of their own defensive stops. A couple of baskets by the Western side, a couple of fouls from the Eastern side. The Spiders seemingly hit every free throw they were given, and with just about two minutes to go, the game suddenly was undecided.

The Western faithful were making all the noise, Concord's coaching staff was pumped up. The Gryphon faithful seemed to be nervous and the team not so confident.

But just as Concord somehow stayed within shooting distance of the Gryphons, Rocky Mount took a deep breath and imposed their will. They pounded the boards on the offensive end and cashed in on second chance opportunities. They broke the Spider press over and over again. The defense turned Boa Constrictor and tightened on the Spider offense.

All the while being willed on by those folks in the stands, the students and the band.

In the end, the Gryphons played well enough. They took the Concord Spiders' best shot & they turned them away.
They showed the heart of a championship team. They played with the will of a championship team.

And today, they are a championship team.

The 2010 NCHSAA 3-A State Champions - the Rocky Mount High School Gryphons Basketball Team.