Eastern Wayne’s Michael Bailey (11) fouls Southern Wayne’s Demetrius Elliott from behind on a breakaway play. Elliott scored 19 points in the Saints’ loss. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jayden Hardy fouls Eastern Wayne’s Michael Bailey from behind during their cross-county matchup Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Kairell Evans (1) defends against Eastern Wayne’s Michael Bailey during first-quarter action Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — A disastrous start quickly destroyed Southern Wayne’s game plan Friday evening.
A bitter cross-county rival enjoyed a hearty feast.
Costly turnovers proved critical against aggressive-minded and athletic Eastern Wayne, which departed “The Halo” with a 113-87 victory that can be described in many ways — particularly chaotic and insane.
The teams combined for 59 fouls, including four technicals. Five players fouled out. The Saints shot 21 of 28 at the free throw line, while the Warriors converted 28 of 48 attempts.
The final 5:06 of regulation play took 35 minutes to complete due to constant stoppages that included the ejection of two EW players and an intentional foul. The three officials spent the equivalent of five full timeouts (five minutes) to determine the right decision on the plays.
But the outcome boiled down to one conclusion.
“We didn’t attack, execute the game plan properly the first portion of the game,” SW head coach Brian West said.
Instead, the Saints collapsed.
The Warriors tallied 11 of the game’s first 13 points. They dove after every loose ball, crashed the offensive glass, dictated the tempo, dribble penetrated to the basket and flourished in transition.
Demetrius Elliott’s 3-pointer off an offensive rebound closed the gap to 11-5. Eastern Wayne answered with a back-breaking 15-6 run. SW’s Jaylen Carr stopped the surge with a driving layup as the buzzer sounded.
“[They beat us] every single possession,” West said. “They out-manned us, they out-wanted it more than we did. They literally did everything a basketball team that wants to win is supposed to do.
“They just kept working.”
Eastern Wayne entered halftime ahead 51-27.
The Warriors’ advantage ballooned to 30 before the Saints developed a little offensive rhythm. Evans dropped bombs behind the 3-point arc. Jayden Hardy opted to attack the rim, which resulted in 10 made free throws on 14 tries.
“That showed a lot of fight in my guys, something that we can build off and take with us anywhere,” West said. “The first portion of the game is what cost us. I can’t blame anybody but us for those possessions or how the game went.
“That’s just how it goes.”
Evans led four Saints in double figures with 25 points. Elliott delivered a 19-point performance. Hardy collected 14 points, while Carr scored 12.
EW’s Michael Bailey torched the nets for 43 points.
Southern Wayne (1-4 overall) leads the series 22-21 since 2006. However, Eastern Wayne (5-1) has triumphed in nine of the last 12 meetings.
The teams return to action Dec. 20 in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Winter Classic at the University of Mount Olive. The Saints face Wayne Prep Academy on opening day, while the Warriors meet James Kenan in the nightcap.
You may reach sports writer Rudy Coggins at prepswriter2@gmail.com or call/text 919-709-9257.
