Southern Wayne defender Jaylen Bowden (21) closes in to take away the passing lane for Smithfield-Selma’s Cam Adams, who grabbed an offensive rebound during first-period play Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jayden Hardy collides with a Smithfield-Selma player and forces a first-half turnover. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Javeion Cole (back) watches a Smithfield-Selma player attempt to gain control of a loose-ball rebound during their Quad County 3A game Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Southern Wayne overcame a shaky, first-quarter start and cruised past Quad County 3A foe Smithfield-Selma inside “The Halo” on Tuesday evening.
Freshman point guard Kairel Evans collected 18 points and Douglas Wynn, Jr., added 13 during a 70-47 thrashing of the Spartans. The Saints picked up their fourth home victory in six tries this season.
“We actually put four quarters together,” said SW head coach Brian West, whose team took off Monday. “They came back tonight [off the holiday] ready to fight.”
SSS led 9-6 before the Saints woke up.
Chris Carmon’s 3-pointer in transition ignited a 20-7 run that gave Southern Wayne a 10-point cushion early in the second period. The Spartans shaved the deficit to 26-24 with 2:49 remaining before halftime.
West’s team ramped up its defense and profited from miscues that sparked a high-tempo pace. The Spartans couldn’t respond a second time and watched as West’s club closed out the half with a 13-2 run.
“They realized defense creates offense,” West said. “The better we play defense, the more opportunities we get at the basket on fast breaks. We never had to stop and set up in the half court [offense] a lot after the first quarter.
“They bought into what we were doing on the defensive end once they saw a couple of layups and threes drop into the basket.”
Southern Wayne stretched its advantage to 22 points on three separate occasions in the third quarter.
Ranked among the top three scorers in the QCC, Carmon ended up with nine points — all in the first half. Demetrius Elliott and Jayden Hardy chipped in eight points apiece.
Hayden Waller contributed six points on two 3-pointers.
The Saints (6-7 overall, 2-2 QCC) visit Wilson Fike on Friday, while the Spartans (2-10, 0-4) entertain defending QCC tournament champion Charles B. Aycock.
