Southern Wayne’s Demetrius Elliott, left, and Ty Williams, right, knock the ball away from Eastern Wayne’s Zavion Burden during fourth-period play Friday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Fourth-year James Kenan head varsity basketball coach Taylor Jones talks with his team during a first-quarter timeout against Wayne Prep Academy on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin’s Dylan Tyndall (12) draws contact from Rosewood’s Micah Fox (12) on his way to the basket during first-period play Friday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Country Day repeated as the Greater Neuse River Fellowship of Christian Athletes Winter Classic team champion after a 65-51 conquest of Wayne Christian on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris Carmon, left, stands with Ronnie Wise of Greater Neuse River FCA after earning second-team, all-tourmament honors Friday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Country Day’s Kayleb Coles, right, stands with Ronnie Wise of Greater Neuse River FCA after received the tourmament MVP and a spot on the all-tournament first team Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Christian finished runner-up to county rival Wayne Country Day in the 2023 Greater Neuse River Fellowship of Christian Athletes Winter Classic on Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
James Kenan’s Stephone Stanley, left, stands with Ronnie Wise of Greater Neuse River FCA after earning first-team, all-tournament honors Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
North Duplin senior DuJuan Armwood, left, stands with Ronnie Wise of Greater Neuse River FCA after he received second-team all-tournament honors Friday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne missed its “motor.”
A pair of Carolina 1A rivals get their “first look” at each other.
James Kenan rallied to a victory.
And, as expected, Wayne Country Day walked away with its second consecutive Greater Neuse River Fellowship of Christian Athletes Winter Classic crown Friday evening. Kayleb Coles earned MVP honors for the Chargers, who turned back Wayne Christian, 65-51, inside Kornegay Arena on the University of Mount Olive campus.
WCDS emerged as the first “repeat” winner since Goldsboro High claimed three straight Classic championships from 2015-17.
Eastern Wayne 69, Southern Wayne 60
The Saints pulled to within a single possession on three occasions during a 60-second stretch in the final period.
Sparked by NyQuan Smith, sophomore Izeiah Oates and Zavion Burden, the Warriors closed out the game on an 11-2 run. Eastern Wayne defeated its cross-county rival for the second time this season.
“When your motor is not around, the vehicle can’t go … can’t run smoothly,” said SW head coach Brian West, whose team played without sophomore power forward Jayden Hardy during the three-day affair. “Missing a guy like 15 [Hardy] when our energy level is down, it’s very key and major for this team. We’re [still] young, still learning.”
Down 54-46 early in the fourth, the Saints toiled through back-to-back turnovers and cobbled out a 6-0 run. Hayden Waller drained two free throws and Chris Carmon provided back-to-back buckets – an offensive putback after his own miss and a pull-up jumper in the lane.
The teams traded baskets until the Warriors started to pull away.
Oates and Carmon each drew second-team, all-tournament recognition. Oates paced the Warriors with 17 points, while Carmon collected 16. Kairel Evans led the Saints with 18 points. Ty Williams scratched for 14.
“As a coach, I’ve got to be happy with this young team,” West said. “We can’t do anything when we are fighting some many different adversities. We just need to continue to battle and play hard.”
James Kenan 57, Wayne Prep 52
The Tigers weathered an early 3-point barrage from the Generals and returned to Warsaw as the Classic’s third-place finisher.
“We’re playing really good basketball,” fourth-year JK head coach Taylor Jones said. “We’ve been playing good basketball for a couple of weeks. I don’t think people really realize that the wins and the losses that we’ve had, we’ve played good ball.
“Our attitude is outstanding. They come in together, ready to go and fully locked in on what we’re telling them right now.”
Tied after three quarters, the teams played a nip-and-tuck fourth.
Kenan grabbed its biggest lead, 47-41, on Darius Howard’s steal and layup.
Gavin Proctor’s 3-pointer and Isaiah Thomas’ drive between three defenders to the bucket trimmed the deficit to 47-46.
The Tigers tallied 11 of the next 15 points to seal the outcome.
A first-team, all-tournament pick, Stephone Stanley dropped in 21 points. TJ Oates added 10. Darius Howard chipped in six points. Three Kenan players – Tyquise Wilson, Naszir Williams and Hassan Kornegay – logged five points apiece in the scorebook.
“I really hate that we’ve got a couple of weeks off now, to be honest with you,” Taylor said. “They’re moving in the right direction, all together [and] that’s awesome.”
Rosewood 59, North Duplin 50
The Eagles led 48-41 early in the final stanza.
Around the five-minute mark, North Duplin tightened the screws.
DuJuan Armwood drew a foul in the paint and Rosewood received a technical foul. Armwood drained three of four free throws and converted a driving layup, which shaved the deficit to 48-46.
Cam Medlin’s long-distance bomb started a game-ending 11-4 run.
Teammates David Reece and Julius Coltrane got into the scoring act, while North Duplin struggled to generate any offense. The Rebels converted just two free throws, misfired from the field and committed five turnovers during the final five minutes.
Senior David Lamm, who received second-team all-tournament accolades, emerged as the Eagles’ top scorer with 15 points before he fouled out. Micah Cox chipped in 12 points, followed by Coltrane with 11.
“[Am] proud of our guys,” first-year RHS head coach Michael Gurganus said. “As a coaching staff, we have preached to our guys about competing, showing effort and positive body language — not just for this tournament, but the entire season. I thought, today, we took a step in the right direction on all three.
“We competed against a really good and scrappy North Duplin team. We showed composure and our effort was there. [I’m] happy for our guys to get a win on the last day of the tournament.”
Armwood, a second-team all-tournament selection, pumped in a team- and game-high 21 points. Micah Lesasane added 12 points, including eight in the second half.
WCDS 65, Wayne Christian 61
Despite a gimpy left foot, Coles knocked down 22 points for the Chargers, who picked up their fifth Classic title overall since the tournament’s inception in 2013.
WCDS junior Jaelen Solomon picked up first-team, all-tournament recognition with 14 points. He and Coles averaged double figures for the three-day tournament.
Andrew Crawford knocked down 12 points for the Eagles.
Wayne Christian’s Eli Anderson was a first-team, all-tournament pick, while point guard Jackson Fox was a second-team selection.
11th Annual
Greater Neuse River
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Winter Classic
(at Kornegay Arena, UMO)
All-Classic Tournament Awards
MVP
Kayleb Coles, Wayne Country Day
First Team
Kayleb Coles (WCDS), Jaelen Solomon (WCDS), Eli Anderson (Wayne Christian), Stephone Stanley (James Kenan), Isaiah Thomas (Wayne Prep).
Second Team
David Lamm (Rosewood), DuJuan Armwood (North Duplin), Chris Carmon (Southern Wayne), Izeiah Oates (Eastern Wayne), Jackson Fox (Wayne Christian).
Scoreboard
Wednesday’s games
Wayne Christian 61, Southern Wayne 55
Wayne Prep Academy 81, North Duplin 64
Wayne Country Day 60, Rosewood 35
James Kenan 48, Eastern Wayne 46
Thursday’s games
Eastern Wayne 61, Rosewood 55
Southern Wayne 60, North Duplin 58
Wayne Country Day 72, James Kenan 41
Wayne Christian 72, Wayne Prep 68
Friday’s games
Seventh place
Rosewood 59, North Duplin 50
Fifth place
Eastern Wayne 69, Southern Wayne 60
Third place
James Kenan 57, Wayne Prep 52
Championship
Wayne Country Day 65, Wayne Christian 61
