Southern Wayne head coach Brian West (blue shirt) talks with Terdarious Butler (4) and Duntae Wright (2) while Wayne Prep attempts a first-half free throw Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris McDuffie, Jr., looks for an open teammate after grabbing a rebound against Wayne Prep on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris Carmon (1) and Jylon Council (10) box out a Wayne Prep player on a free throw attempt during their semifinal-round game in the 10th annual FCA Winter Classic on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Dylan Tyndall brings the ball upcourt Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne guard Duntae Wright drives past a Wayne Prep defender toward the basket during second-half action Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell watches his team battle against South Johnston in consolation-round play of the 10th annual FCA Winter Classic on Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Christian’s Andrew Thacker (35) and Rosewood’s Jaelen Solomon (35) battle for possession of a loose-ball rebound during consolation-round play in the FCA Winter Classic contested the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
South Johnston senior Chase Norris (25) shoots over James Kenan senior center Aiden Venecia during first-half action of their consolation-round battle in the 10th annual FCA Winter Classic on Wednesday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
South Johnston junior guard Connor Lee (3) works his way around a James Kenan defender toward the basket during first-half action in the 10th annual FCA Winter Classic at the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne watched its grip on a winnable ballgame slip away within a four-minute stretch Wednesday evening.
Wayne Prep Academy broke a 41-41 tie with a commanding 15-3 run that ruined the Saints’ aspirations of reaching the 10th annual FCA Winter Classic championship game.
Moses Tufts and Donte Shuford did the offensive damage for the Generals, who prevailed 64-58 and face Wayne Country Day for the Classic crown at 7 p.m. today. It’s a rematch of the 2020 final won by WCDS.
The Saints oppose Coastal Christian in the third-place game. Tip-off is 5 p.m. inside Kornegay Arena on the University of Mount Olive campus.
In other second-day games, Wayne Country Day dispatched Coastal Christian, 72-36; Rosewood outlasted Wayne Christian, 53-49, and James Kenan rallied past South Johnston, 53-49.
South Johnston and Wayne Christian meet at 2 p.m. in the seventh-place game. James Kenan squares off against Rosewood at 3:30 p.m.
Admission is $10.
Tough loss
Ty Williams’ free throw knotted the game at 41-all with 7:03 to go.
Seconds later, Tufts gave WPA the lead for good, 43-41.
Shuford and Williams traded 3-pointers.
Up by two, the Generals (12-2) converted four of their next six offensive possessions and knocked down three free throws, which boosted their advantage to 56-44.
“When the game is in the balance and it’s mano-v-mano, you have to understand the game is won through heart,” attested SW head coach Brian West. “You have to be disciplined and execute. For three quarters, we executed on the defensive end. That fourth quarter, we fell apart.
“If you stay disciplined and you continue to go on the schemes that you started, which was to play defense, execute … then you’ll win the ballgame.”
Southern Wayne forced Wayne Prep to play a half-court game in the opening half. The teams traded baskets, lead changes and ties before the Generals jumped in front 27-20.
Dylan Tyndall came off the bench and drained a 3-pointer in transition. Duntae Wright’s layup off a turnover trimmed the deficit to 27-25 at intermission.
The Saints stayed within striking distance in the third period.
Frustrated that its full court defensive pressure didn’t create offense, Wayne Prep couldn’t find any breathing room. Myles Tufts’ 3-pointer pushed the lead to 41-32.
Eli Boykins and transfer Dujuan Armwood hit back-to-back baskets. Chris Carmon dropped in two free throws with 28.6 seconds to go and the Saints entered the final period down 41-38.
Armwood and Wright paced SW’s offense with nine points apiece. Boykins provided eight, while Carmon logged seven points in the scorebook.
Moses Tuft emerged as the game’s top scorer with 17 points. Shuford added 13. Jaquan Green and Isaiah Thomas notched 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Chargers too strong
Wayne Country Day rolled to a 15-point lead after one quarter and clinched its sixth appearance in the Classic finals.
Only Goldsboro has made more title-game trips with seven.
Nayshin Waller poured in 19 points for the Chargers. Jordan Cooper scratched for 14 points, while Kayleb Coles contributed 11. Zane Cogdell and Jai Williams recorded nine and seven points, respectively.
Aiden Daires tallied 15 points for the Centurions, who are 2-3 in two Classic appearances since 2020. Noah Anderson, George Robertson, Zeke Martin and John Streit scored four points apiece.
Rosewood survives
Turnabout is fair play.
Rosewood slid past Wayne Christian, 53-49, and avenged a loss in the Classic’s third-place game a year ago.
Neither team held more than a two-possession lead in a back-and-forth affair that included five ties in the final quarter.
Two Micah Cox free throws and Jaelen Solomon’s offensive stickback on his own miss pushed Rosewood ahead 51-47 with 55.3 seconds to play in regulation. Cox eventually picked the Eagles for a steal and converted a one-handed layup, which increased the advantage to 53-47.
Wayne Christian junior Oliver Thomas tallied a basket with 13.9 seconds, but that was it.
Cox and Solomon notched 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Rosewood.
Junior Miguel Rojas led three Wayne Christian players in double figures with 12 points. Jackson Fox provided 11, while Thomas ended up with 10.
Coe saves Kenan
Before James Kenan’s basketball team boarded the bus for a short ride from Warsaw to Mount Olive on Wednesday afternoon, third-year head coach Taylor Jones said he didn’t care if his team won or lost.
“You better respond,” Jones said.
The Tigers did.
Jamaury Coe drained two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to cap James Kenan’s 55-52 comeback win over South Johnston in consolation-round play.
The Trojans led 50-43 with 2 1/2 minutes to go.
Stephane Stanley’s offensive putback ignited a short run that flipped the scoreboard in the Tigers’ favor. Coe connected on a traditional three-point play and Stanley’s 3-pointer off Coe’s assist put Kenan in front, 51-50.
Coe extended the lead to 53-50 with two free throws.
Despite missing nine of 12 attempts at the free throw line in the fourth, South Johnston closed to within 53-52 on Chase Norris’ layup before Coe sealed the outcome. The Trojans shot 12 of 30 (40 percent) from the stripe for the game.
10th annual FCA Winter Classic
Schedule
Tuesday’s games
Game 1 – Wayne Prep 64, Rosewood 49
Game 2 – Southern Wayne 70, Wayne Christian 53
Game 3 – Wayne Country Day 81, South Johnston 55
Game 4 – Coastal Christian 43, James Kenan 23
Wednesday’s games
Consolation bracket
Game 5 – James Kenan 55, South Johnston 52
Game 6 – Rosewood 53, Wayne Christian 49
Championship bracket
Game 7 – Wayne Country Day 72, Coastal Christian 36
Game 8 – Wayne Prep 64, Southern Wayne 58
Thursday, Dec. 22
Seventh-place game
Game 9 – South Johnston (3-7) vs. Wayne Christian (5-4), 2 p.m.
Fifth-place game
Game 10 – James Kenan (3-4) vs. Rosewood (3-3), 3:30 p.m.
Third-place game
Game 11 – Coastal Christian (5-6) vs. Southern Wayne (4-5), 5:30 p.m.
Championship
Game 12 – Wayne Prep (12-2) vs. Wayne Country Day (13-2), 7 p.m.
