Southern Wayne’s Chris McDuffie, Jr., right, blocks a shot by Eastern Wayne senior Alijah Brown during first-quarter action Monday evening. McDuffie was called for a foul on the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne junior guard Eli Boykin, left, keeps the ball away from an Eastern Wayne defender. Boykin scored six points for the Saints, who improved to 2-2 this season. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne sophomore Nevaeh Hines-Bass drives the baseline against Eastern Wayne’s Shuntay Douglas during second-half action Monday evening. Hines-Bass collected 14 points and six steals. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Jamaiya Bass, right, and Eastern Wayne senior Trinity Smith fight for a loose-ball rebound during first-half action Monday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jamaiya Bass and Eastern Wayne’s Trinity Smith staged a rebounding war all evening. Bass scored eight points and snagged four rebounds before fouling out. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Nygeria Thompson, left, braces for contact on a shot against Eastern Wayne on Monday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Leading by a single possession with 13.1 seconds left in regulation Monday evening, Southern Wayne’s players huddled with their head coach during a timeout.
His reminder was simple.
“Coach [Brian West] just said play solid ‘D,’ no reach-in fouls…none of that crazy stuff,” Saints junior Chris Carmon said.
On the ensuing inbounds play, Eastern Wayne struggled to find an open player and committed a five-second violation.
The Warriors fouled Donshae Boseman, who drained one of two free throws. Carmon capped the 58-53 triumph with a steal and layup as time expired.
“That was more stressful than it should have been,” West said. “They dug a hole, but they battled and dug themselves out of that hole.”
Southern Wayne (2-2 overall) defeated Eastern Wayne (0-5) for just the second time in the county rivals’ last eight meetings. The Warriors lead the series 20-18 since 2006.
Eastern Wayne seized an 11-2 advantage midway through the opening quarter. Sparked by Jamere Miller’s old-fashioned, three-point play, Southern Wayne answered with an 8-0 surge and closed to within 12-10.
From there, it became a nip-and-tuck affair.
The Saints grabbed their first lead, 25-22, on Carmon’s 3-pointer late in the second quarter. The Warriors erased the advantage and entered halftime ahead 29-26.
After exchanging a pair of third-quarter runs, Chris McDuffie’s traditional three-point play — off an offensive rebound — knotted the contest at 42-42 in the final minute.
The Warriors forged in front, 52-46, as the clock ticked under three minutes in the fourth quarter. Carmon banked a 3-pointer off the glass to spearhead a 7-1 run to tie the game at 53-53.
“I think it was energy, really…team feeds off my energy a lot,” Carmon said of the Saints’ second-half fight.
Naquan Kornegay’s driving layup put Southern Wayne ahead 55-53 with just under 20 seconds left to play. That basket set the stage for a nail-biting finish.
“Even though it was tough out there, we finished through contact [and] we finished plays,” West said. “We played the game of basketball together without worrying about our emotions if we got hit. We just played defense and that’s what created the win.”
Carmon scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. Kornegay, transfer DaJuan Armwood and Tyquavious Williams provided seven points apiece. Eli Boykin tallied six points.
Girls
Southern Wayne collected 24 steals and prevailed 42-34 in a grind-it-out affair. The Saints claimed their eighth straight conquest of the Warriors and extended their regular-season win streak to 26.
Physical and aggressive from the opening tip, Eastern Wayne grabbed an early 8-3 lead.
“We came out rattled,” said SW assistant coach Takisha Vann.
The Saints turned up their defensive pressure, created turnovers and strung together 13 consecutive points. Jamaiya Bass tallied the first two baskets and got offensive support from Ta’Niyah Glaspie, Kyren Strong and Alaina Lane.
Eastern Wayne (3-2) wouldn’t go away.
The Warriors stayed within striking distance and trailed 29-22 after three quarters of play. They pulled to within 34-31 on two free throws by Trinity Smith, but could get no closer.
Nevaeh Hines-Bass converted seven of eight free throws in the final 72 seconds to seal the outcome.
“I thought we settled down, but I feel like when the game started flowing and they started getting close, I think we started panicking again,” Vann said. “[I told them] we don’t have to force things when we’re in control of the game.”
Hines-Bass pumped in 14 points, including 10 from the free throw line. Glaspie supplied nine points, eight rebounds, seven steals and two assists. Bass posted eight points, four rebounds and five steals.
JV
Hayden Waller tallied 13 points and Jaylyn Bowen added 11 as the Saints turned back the Warriors, 44-40.
SW won the girls’ game, 38-24.
