DUDLEY — An unusual pre-Thanksgiving break will give Southern Wayne’s varsity basketball teams plenty of time to “clean up” after facing county rival Goldsboro last Friday.
The Cougars tallied 27 fourth-quarter points and rolled 80-48 before a standing-room-only crowd in the boys’ contest.
On the girls’ side, the Saints extended their regular-season win streak to 23 with a ragged, 36-18 triumph.
“We had to play all four quarters with the confidence we started with, but more importantly [we] have to show real ‘Saint Pride’ on our home court,” second-year SW head boys’ coach Brian West said. “The defensive end, boxing out and taking care of the ball has to be better. We will shape up to be a good team [with] more discipline and patience on offense with valuing possessions.”
The Saints started strong and held an early lead against the Cougars, who are favored to contend for the 2A east crown this winter. Returning starters Chris Carmon and Chris McDuffie, Jr., combined for 11 points in the opening eight minutes.
Senior Takorrie Faison dropped in eight of his game-high 22 points in the second quarter. His outburst helped propel the Cougars in front, 35-29, at halftime.
Turnovers, one-and-done possessions and rebounding proved crucial for Southern Wayne in the third period. Goldsboro uncorked a pair of runs and led 50-35 before the Saints converted two straight 3-pointers in transition.
“We played the game the first two quarters with confidence,” West said. “In the second half, Goldsboro continued to play the game with great confidence even when we made a run. We stopped playing the game.”
Carmon and McDuffie tallied 13 points apiece. Tyquavious Williams added 11 for the Saints, who are 9-21 against Goldsboro since 2007.
Girls
“We were just out of sync,” Saints head coach Ricky Lofton said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do … get everybody on the same page.”
Coming off a 23-win season, Southern Wayne looked out of sorts from the opening tip. Lofton watched from the bench as his team missed easy shots underneath the basket and committed turnovers in transition.
The Saints led 14-10 late in the opening half and outscored the visitors 22-8 the rest of the way.
Navaeh Hines-Bass paced Southern Wayne with 12 points, while first-year starter Nygeria Thompson contributed 10. Despite foul trouble, senior Jamaiya Bass supplied eight points. Ta’Niyah Glaspie added six.
“A scrappy, physical ball game … ugly,” Lofton said.
