Raheim Connelly is arguably the best three point shooter in the state of North Carolina. The Hickory High senior, who tied a state record with seven trifectas in the first quarter of last Tuesday's game against Fred T. Foard (a 93-90 overtime win),

put on another shooting clinic Tuesday night against Watauga.
Connelly buried eight threes and finished with a game-high 27 points as the Red Tornadoes (15-3 overall; 6-1 Northwestern 3A/4A Conference) blasted the Pioneers 75-56 at Craft Gymnasium. The win keeps Hickory in sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Pioneers (9-6; 3-3) fall into a fourth-place tie with South Caldwell in the NW3A/4A Conference standings.
"We talked about it before the game, and we fell right into their game plan," said WHS coach Rob Sanders. "They want to play an uptempo game. And they drew us right into it. They're going to give you the outside shot all night long. That's their outlet pass for the break. It's real disappointing after the way we played them in our last meeting."
The Pioneers forced overtime in their last meeting with Hickory back on January 4 (a 74-72 Hickory win). But this time around, the Red Tornadoes put the contest out of reach in the opening quarter. And Connelly applied the finishing touch as he buried three treys in the opening stanza.
His three ball with 2:35 to play in the first quarter gave Hickory a commanding 20-7 lead and the rout was on.
"(Connelly) is a great shooter," Sanders said. "He moves real well without the ball, and they kept finding him. He settled himself on the wing, and he just kept hitting his shot."
But Connelly wasn't on his own. The Red Tornadoes had three players in double figures. C.J. Wardrick, who sat out the first meeting between these teams with the flu, finished with 17 points; Zach Jarrett had 13 points. Ben Howser, who gave WHS a brief 2-0 lead early in the game, led the Pioneers with 19 points. Cameron Baker, who got into early foul trouble, finished with 10 points. The Red Tornadoes, who led 47-23 at halftime, led 69-31 late in the thirds quarter. A 23-point fourth quarter by the Pioneers made the final score respectable.
The Pioneers wrap up their two-game road trip in Newton tonight against Fred T. Foard. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. on Oldies 100.7 FM.
"We just have to go back to work," Sanders said. "We have another huge game coming up tomorrow night. Hopefully, the strong finish tonight will jump start our guys tomorrow night."
NOTES: Gavin Huffman of Hickory did not play last night. He was at the game on crutches nursing a leg injury....The WHS JV boys defeated Hickory 47-38 Tuesday night. Aaron Dobbins paced the Pioneers (13-3; 5-1) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Utah Jones had nine points and four steals.

HICKORY 75, WATAUGA 56

Score By Period   1st   2nd    3rd    4th    Total
Watauga            14    9      10     23  -  56
Hickory            25   22      22      6  -  75

WHS: STEURY 2, STURGILL 7, AUGUSTINE 9, MARGOLIS 8, BAKER 10, HOWSER 19, MACKEY 1. FG: 19, 3FG: 3, FT: 9-15.
THREE-POINTERS: MARGOLIS 2, HOWSER.

HICKORY: JARRETT 13, WARDRICK 17, BEATTY 2, CONNELLY 27, FULLER 6, PETTY 8, M. LINEBARGER 2. FG: 19, 3FG: 10, FT: 7-14.
THREE-POINTERS: CONNELLY 8, JARRETT, WARDRICK.

NORTHWESTERN 3A/4A CONFERENCE

TUESDAY'S GAMES
GIRLS:
HICKORY 64, WATAUGA 37
FRED T. FOARD 59, ALEXANDER CENTRAL 50
SOUTH CALDWELL 50. ST. STEPHENS 45
HIBRITEN - BYE

BOYS:
HICKORY 75, WATAUGA 56
FRED T. FOARD 49, ALEXANDER CENTRAL 41
ST. STEPHENS 75, SOUTH CALDWELL 69
HIBRITEN - BYE

MONDAY'S GAMES
GIRLS:
HIBRITEN 37, SOUTH CALDWELL 33

BOYS:
SOUTH CALDWELL 70, HIBRITEN 55

WEDNESDAY'S GAMES
WATAUGA @ FRED T. FOARD
ST. STEPHENS @ ALEXANDER CENTRAL
WILKES CENTRAL @ SOUTH CALDWELL