Southern Wayne’s Kairel Evans (5) defends against James Kenan’s Stephone Stanley (3) during first-half action Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne sophomore shooting guard Hayden Waller, right, keeps his balance and possession of the ball as he drives past James Kenan defender Jeremiah Hall Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne head coach Brian West (red shirt) has a heated discussion with his players during a first-quarter stoppage that involved a player ejection. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — A sophomore back-up point guard provided poise when James Kenan stumbled backwards from a third-quarter knockout blow Tuesday evening.
Southern Wayne built a 21-point lead during a four-minute surge after halftime.
“Quick shots, defensive transition was terrible, everything you could have done wrong we did wrong [and were] all the things we talked about at halftime,” Tigers head coach Taylor Jones said. “[Then] we came out flat [in the third].”
That’s when Jeremiah Hall stepped up.
He drained just one 3-pointer, but scrambled after every loose ball, which allowed James Kenan to sink its claws into the Saints. His spirited effort sparked his teammates, who closed out the game with a mind-boggling 33-8 run and departed “The Halo” with a 65-60 victory.
“He played 11 seconds in the first quarter to give Tyquise [Wilson] a break,” Jones said. “He came in during the third quarter, said ‘coach, I’ve got you.’ He gave us a lift because he’s willing do anything we ask him to do. We were thinking about putting him on JV this year because he missed all of last year with a knee injury.
“I’m sure glad we didn’t put him on JV.”
Sophomore guard Hayden Waller buried consecutive 3-pointers and Jayden Hardy’s offensive outback ignited the Saints’ third-quarter run. Hardy’s 3-pointer off Kairel Evans’ assist on an out-of-bounds play capped the monster rally.
The Saints led 53-32 around the two-minute mark.
Kenan closed out the quarter with three straight baskets and climbed to within 53-46 with six minutes remaining in regulation.
“We got the ship righted,” Jones said. “All of a sudden, we were moving the ball better, making better decisions, being velcro on the defensive end [because] we let them free way too much [in the first half].
“They have a tendency to self-implode sometimes and they were on that cusp [tonight], but they fought tooth and nail like a tiger does. They just kept chipping away and played with poise. Super proud of them.”
Meanwhile, Southern Wayne lost its poise.
A turnover allowed the Tigers to knot the contest at 60-60 with 1:56 on the clock. Kenan snared long rebounds off the offensive glass, held the Saints to one shot defensively and caused numerous unforced turnovers.
“Youth, lack of understanding the game, [recognizing] time and score, possession, missed layups or turnovers … when it’s time to finish a game, you’re supposed to execute,” SW head coach Brian West said. “At some point in time, our older guys have to say ‘fellas, we’ve got to slow down.’ Our knowledge for the game is not catching up for what we’re talented enough to do.
“At some point, it will balance out. Right now, we’re learning. This should be a big learning lesson right here tonight.”
Waller supplied a career-high 14 points, while Chris Carmon tallied 14. Evans and Hardy recorded 10 points apiece, while Ty Williams scored five.
Kenan’s Jamaury Coe led all scorers with 16 points. Teammates Wilson and TJ Oates scratched for 12 and 11 points, respectively. Darius Howard and Damarion Artis each scored eight points.
Southern Wayne (0-2 overall) entertains North Pitt on Friday.
