VGCC Vanguards stop skid with back-to-back wins

The Vance-Granville Community College Vanguards men’s basketball team was looking to return to its winning ways, and it did so with two victories in as many days. VGCC (9-4) snapped its 4-game losing streak with a thrilling home victory over Central Carolina Community College that went down to the wire Feb. 12.

The lead went back and forth throughout the game between the Vanguards and the Cougars, who had beaten VGCC in Sanford less than two weeks earlier. VGCC was down 82-80 when head coach Avery Wilson called a timeout with only a few seconds remaining in the game. After Wilson conferred with his players, Vanguard Jeremy Lenoir of Raleigh shot the winning three-pointer at the buzzer, giving VGCC the 83-82 win. Lenoir also led the team in scoring, with 20 points. Henderson resident E.J. Henderson put up 14.

“I’m proud of my guys,” Wilson said after the game. “Everybody played well.” The coach singled out a new addition to the team, Mario Harris, who came off the bench in the second half and gave the team an “emotional lift” with his hustle and defensive play against a larger CCCC player.

The Vanguards had little time to celebrate the win, since they went on the road the next day (Feb. 13) to face Roanoke-Chowan Community College in Ahoskie. This time, the result was a more comfortable 89-78 win for VGCC.

“It feels good to win one on the road,” Coach Wilson said, since the team had started the season 1-4 away from home. Wilson also noted the significance of his team’s 2-0 record against RCCC, which plays in Division I (the highest level) of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Central Carolina, meanwhile, is an NJCAA Division III school.

Jayson Brown of Raleigh led the Vanguards with 22 points, followed closely by Jeremy Lenoir, who scored 21. E.J. Henderson added 15 points.

After another away game Feb. 18 at Johnston Community College, VGCC will play the junior varsity squad from Louisburg College Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. at Western Vance High School in Henderson. The game will be a rematch from the Vanguards’ first regular-season game, which VGCC won 77-64 at Louisburg. There is no charge for admission to VGCC home games.