Coastal Christian’s Zeke Martin, right, tries to block Southern Wayne’s DuJuan Armwood from finding an open lane to the basket Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Coastal Christian junior center Aiden Davies, 33, pulls down a rebound against Southern Wayne’s Eli Boykins on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s DuJuan Armwood attempts a shot against Coastal Christian defenders Jay Forrester, 3, Sam Dieffenbauch, 15, and Zeke Martin, 25, on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris Carmon, 1, goes to the basket against a Coastal Christian defender on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s DuJuan Armwood, right, ties up Coastal Christian’s Zeke Martin on a loose-ball rebound during their third-place game in the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic on Thursday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Christian’s Blake Easom, left, wins the opening tip against South Johnston’s Chase Norris on Thursday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
South Johnston’s Ryan Hudson, 0, attempts to cut off the passing lane for Wayne Christian’s Micah Compton on Thursday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Christian’s Oliver Thomas, 33, braces for contact from South Johnston’s Chase Norris during first-half action of their seventh-place game in the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic on Thursday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
James Kenan’s TJ Oates, left, looks for an open teammate as Rosewood’s Ty Waltman defends Thursday afternoon. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Rosewood’s Ty Waltman waits to enter the game against James Kenan on Thursday afternoon. Waltman logged 19 points, including 12 from behind the 3-point arc, in the program’s first win over the Tigers since Jan. 26, 2016. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Rosewood’s Jaelen Solomon defends against a James Kenan player during second-half action in their fifth-place game at the 10th annual Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Coastal Christian’s Aiden Davies, right, pumped in a Classic-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds en route to first-team Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament honors. Standing with Davies is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Country Day’s Carlos Vazquez, right, emerged as the team’s offensive leader in the fourth period Thursday evening. He picked up a first-team Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament spot. Standing with Vazquez is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris McDuffie Jr., right, was a first-team Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament pick Thursday evening. Standing with McDuffie is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
South Johnston’s Cole Norris, right, drained 10 of 10 free throws over a three-day period and drew a second-team nod on the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament team. Standing with Norris is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Prep Academy’s Donte Shuford, right, was a second-team pick on the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament team. Standing with Shuford is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Christian’s Jackson Fox, left, was named to the second-team Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament team. Standing with Fox is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Rosewood’s Jaelen Solomon, right, received second-team accolades on the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament team. Standing with Solomon is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
James Kenan’s Ja’Maury Coe, right, was a second-team selection to the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament list Thursday evening. Standing with Coe is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Prep Academy’s Moses Tufts drew a first-team nod on the 10th annual Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic all-tournament list. Standing with Tufts is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Country Day’s Nayshin Waller, right, was named MVP and also earned all-tournament accolades during the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic. Standing with Waller is Greater Neuse FCA director Ronnie Wise. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Since its inception 10 years ago, the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic continues to draw good crowds. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
For the third straight year, Wayne Prep Academy finished runner-up in the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic contested inside Kornegay Arena on the University of Mount Olive campus Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Wayne Country Day collected its fourth Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic team championship after pulling away from Wayne Prep Academy in the second half Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Coastal Christian has become Southern Wayne’s kryptonite each time the two teams meet in the Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic. Particularly Aiden Davies.
The 6-foot-5 junior torched the Saints’ defense for a game- and Classic-high 30 points during the Centurions’ 61-48 triumph inside Kornegay Arena on Thursday evening.
Coastal is 4-0 against Southern Wayne.
The Saints had no remedy for Davies, who consistently wiped the glass clean on both ends of the court and poured in 14 second-quarter points. The Centurions (6-6 overall) turned a 14-10 deficit into a 26-19 lead at halftime.
“That’s heart,” SW head coach Brian King said. “At any level of basketball, great defenders have heart and they’re going to play hard the entire game. We didn’t show any heart at all on the defensive end.
“We gave up easy baskets cuts that created shots.”
Chris McDuffie’s offensive putback and Chris Carmon’s 3-pointer kept the Saints within striking distance, 31-24, with five minutes left in the third period.
Coastal pulled away again.
Christian Dieffenbauch knocked down a 3-pointer off Davies’ assist. Davies kicked the ball out to Dieffenbauch after the Saints double-teamed him underneath the basket.
Josh Robertson provided an old-fashioned, three-point play. Another Dieffenbauch basket, this time off Robertson’s assist, boosted the margin to 39-26.
“Just one of those nights,” West said.
McDuffie posted a team-high 12 points and joined Davies on the all-tournament team. Terdarius Butler collected eight points. The brother combo of Donovan and DuJuan Armwood supplied eight and seven points, respectively.
Carmon added seven.
“Chris worked hard, has to fight through adversity on and off the court, so he deserved that more than anything,” West said. “I think that will get him headed in the right direction going forward for the rest of the season.”
The Saints (4-6) return to action at home Jan. 3 against Quad County 3A rival Hunt.
Chargers claim title
First-team all-tournament pick Carlos Vazquez tossed in eight of his team- and game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, and helped Wayne Country Day secure its fourth Classic crown with a 78-56 win over Wayne Prep Academy.
Isaiah Thomas’ 3-pointer from the corner pulled WPA to within 49-48 in the final half minute of the third period.
WCDS senior Nayshin Waller, who was named Classic MVP, answered with a buzzer-beating shot to make it 51-48.
The Chargers took control in the final period with a 10-3 run that included baskets from Vazquez and Kayleb Cole. The Generals got a jumper from all-tournament pick Donte Shuford and a free throw from Jaquan Green during that stretch.
“Let’s get some stops, guys,” first-year WCDS head coach Jeff Davis shouted from the bench. “Don’t gamble, play defense.”
Vazquez’s transition basket and Zane Cogdell’s uncontested layup off Coles’ midourt steal ignited a game-ending 17-2 run. Cogdell finished with eight points for WCDS, which has won all five meetings against Wayne Prep.
Waller and Coles provided 19 and 13 points, respectively.
Thomas pumped in 14 for the Generals, who fell in the Classic championship for the third consecutive year. Tufts, an all-tournament pick, scored 13 points along with Jaquan Green.
Eagles trip up Tigers
Ty Waltman notched the game-winning bucket in the final 20 seconds and helped Rosewood pull off a come-from-behind, 47-46 decision over James Kenan in the fifth-place game.
Waltman shot 4 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc and poured in a season-high 19 points for the Eagles, who earned their first win over Kenan since Jan. 26, 2016.
The Tigers lead the series 8-3 since 2013.
Tied at 40-40, all-tournament pick Jamaury Coe put the Tigers back in front, 42-40. The teams exchanged a flurry of turnovers before Darius Howard knocked down a short floater just inside the free throw line.
“The ball is the most-precious thing on the floor,” Tigers head coach Taylor Jones told his team during a fourth-quarter timeout. “You have to be strong with it. Attack, don’t play passive right now.”
Rosewood climbed to within 44-42 after all-tournament pick Jaelen Solomon scored on a pick-and-roll assist from Micah Cox. Coe made it a two-possession game with a score underneath the basket.
That forced an Eagles timeout with 1:02 to go.
Jones pumped his fist and high-fived his players.
“Great job,” he said.
Waltman collected his fourth 3-pointer of the day with 43 seconds to go. His game-winning basket occurred after a Tigers’ turnover near their own bench.
Solomon finished with 13 points, while Cox had six.
Oates and Coe emerged as Kenan’s top scorers with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Trojans cruise
South Johnston used a 13-5 run as the springboard to a 67-39 thrashing of Wayne Christian in the seventh-place game.
Chase Norris’ 3-pointer and Cole Norris’ offensive putback ignited the offensive surge. The duo combined for 30 points as the Trojans (4-7) improved to 2-4 all-time in two Classic appearances.
Second-chance opportunities proved the difference early in the third quarter. Lucas Layman and Chase Norris each converted an offensive putback which stretched the lead to 39-15.
Cole Norris earned a nod to the all-tournament team. One of nine seniors on the roster, the 6-3 forward notched 18 points and ended the tournament 10 for 10 at the free throw line.
All-tournament pick Jackson Fox paced Wayne Christian with 15 points, while teammate Blake Easom scored six.
10th annual Greater Neuse FCA Winter Classic
All-Tournament
First Team
MVP: Nayshin Waller (WCDS).
Carlos Vazquez (WCDS), Moses Tufts (Wayne Prep), Chris McDuffie, Jr., (So. Wayne), Aiden Davies (Coastal Christian).
Second Team
Donte Shuford (Wayne Prep), Cole Norris (S. Johnston), Jackson Fox (Wayne Christian), Jamaury Coe (James Kenan), Jaelen Solomon (Rosewood).
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’s games
Seventh-place game
Game 9 – South Johnston 67, Wayne Christian 39
Fifth-place game
Game 10 – Rosewood 47, James Kenan 46
Third-place game
Game 11 – Coastal Christian 61, Southern Wayne 48
Championship
Game 12 – Wayne Country Day 78, Wayne Prep 56
