SANFORD - The Central Carolina Community College Cougars resumed their winning ways Jan. 14 with a blowout win over visiting Piedmont International University JV, 114-66.

The Piedmont Bruins may have come into the Cougar Den at the wrong time, as the team was looking to right the ship and shake off the tough losses it suffered in Tarheel Conference play recently.

Chris Kelly (Cape Fear) has moved into point and added a power penetration component to the backcourt. Kelly and Greene led all Cougars with 20 points with most of Kelly's points coming layups and fast breaks, and one thundering dunk. Harris put up the team's first triple double of the year with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Two of his assists came on feeds to Greene to slam home.

All five starters finished in double figures with Bailey at 18 points and Mills at 16 points. Bailey showed a different aspect of his game with two 3-point shots in the second half. Billy Brunson (Hoke) put in 17 points and was 2-of-2 behind the arc to add to his 3-point percentage on the year. V. Diamond Gibbs (Westover) had footwear trouble in the first half and was held to just 7 points on the night. Brandon Oparo (Cox Mill) and Bryant Youngblood (Plano, Texas) each had 4 points. The Bruins were led by Javon Summers and Xavier Dulin with 16 points each. The Cougars led 62-28 at the half and kept a very comfortable lead throughout the second half with a final tally 114-66.

The Cougars had entered Tarheel Conference play last week, but finished without a victory. The conference opener at Davidson County Community College went two overtime periods before the Cougars came up empty 100-106. The follow-up game at Caldwell Community College was only the second time all year that the Cougars were just outplayed, falling 79-100.

At Davidson County, the Cougars were plagued by continued poor free throw shooting. They missed two opportunities to ice the game at the line just to miss the freebies. Julian Bailey (Cape Fear) led all Cougars with 26 points. However, he fouled out of the game and was not able to add to his conference leading rebound totals, finishing with just 10.

Jenaro Harris (Cox Mill) put up 17 and Deinzel Greene (Central Piedmont) added 16. Odarius Mills (Chester, SC) posted 14 and pulled down 12 rebounds along with Greene. The most glaring stat for the game was a combined 21 of 40 free throws for the game. Hard to win with that many misses. Ace Chalmers (Southern Lee) led the Davidson County Storm with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists.

The Caldwell C.C. Cobras came out firing on all cylinders as all shots seemed to fall, and the Cougars were behind before they could regroup. Darrell Perry was the first no-starter to lead the Cougars in scoring this year with 18. Additionally, the Cougars were out-rebounded for one of the few times this season. The lone bright spot was a much-improved performance from the line as the team went 15 of 21 for nearly 72 percent. On the season, the team is shooting just 55 percent for free throws.

CCCC is 12-7 on the season and welcomes Wytheville C.C. (Va.) at 3 p.m. Jan. 18. Additional games in the five game home stand include: Belmont Abbey, 7 p.m., Jan. 20; Sandhills C.C., 7 p.m., Jan. 22; and Cape Fear C.C., 3 p.m., Jan. 25.