Many thought the Vikings would come into the Falcons Nest and run Green Hope out of the building. Perhaps Hoggard thought the same thing.

The Falcons started strong, and with the exception of a 2-minute skid to end the first half, they played strong the whole night... including both overtimes. Hoggard, who is ranked No. 8 in the state by NCPreps.com's Media Poll, came into the game with a 15-2 record and the expectation to beat the Falcons. Green Hope came into the game with an 8-6 record, and the need to win a big game.

Green Hope has struggled all season to finish games, especially close ones. The Falcons have four conference losses - Middle Creek (twice), Apex, and Cary - but all of  their losses, Green Hope was in a position to win. The Falcons also have two non-conference losses to Durham Jordan and to Wake Forest-Rolesville.

Green Hope came into the ball game averaging juts 59 points per game, but managed to run all night long. Fatigue never looked like it was an issue for the Falcons, but the same couldn't be said for Hoggard. With a final score of 80-72, and a double-overtime performance, the Falcons picked up their much needed win.

Green Hope was led by senior point guard T.C. Anderson who contributed 22-points, but the scoring was much more balanced than it has been in the past.

Daniel Watts also came up big for the Falcons. Watts had 13-points, grabbed rebounds left and right, and had several blocks in the paint. Junior, Steven Edwards, started Friday night and delivered. Edwards dropped an additional 13-points for the Falcons, tying his season high.

The unsung hero award tonight has to be split between two juniors. Tavares Speaks (7-points) and Andrew Duke (8-points) both made big plays at key points of the ball game. Tavares hit a three-pointer late in the game to tie the ball game.  Duke played extremely tough defense all night long, especially late in the fourth quarter and in the two overtime periods. Duke had several steals in the backcourt and in the corners, but more importantly, most of the steals were converted into points - either from the field, from the line, or both.

Keron Butler, Reuben Ford, and Mike Shaw all gave great efforts on offense and defense as well.

For the first time in a while, the Falcons looked like they will be a force to be reckoned with in the post season, and they played as a team. There was even distribution of the ball, less dribbling, and teamwork all night long and the Falcons came away with the big upset. If Green Hope can carry this momentum over to the next several weeks, watch out.

The Falcons will travel to Panther Creek on Tuesday, then to Apex on Friday. Green Hope will wrap up their January with a home game against cross-town rivals, Cary.

Green Hope Scoring Totals:
Anderson, T.C. - 22
Butler, Keron - 4
Cohen, Robert - 1
Duke, Andrew - 8
Edwards, Steven -  13
Ford, Reuben - 8
Shaw, Mike - 4
Speaks, Tavares - 7
Watts, Daniel - 13

Hoggard Scoring Totals:
Not Reported