Southern Wayne’s Dylan Tyndall, left, blocks a shot by South Johnston’s Chase Norris during first-half action Thursday evening in Dudley. Tyndall hit the game-winning basket for the Saints, who are 3-0 in conference play for the first time in 12 years. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Eli Boykin (23) and South Johnston’s Chase Norris battle for rebound position on a free throw attempt Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jamaiya Bass, middle, fights to keep possession of the ball during Quad County 3A action in Dudley on Thursday evening. Bass recorded a double-double - 11 points, 11 rebounds - for the Saints. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Elaina Lane, left, attempts to gain possession of a loose ball in the corner while South Johnston senior Caroline Tucker defends. Lane eventually shoved Tucker to the floor after losing the ball out of bounds. The action led to a technical foul. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s student section, known as ‘The Halo,’ cheers on the Saints during their varsity sweep of Quad County 3A foe South Johnston on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Neither Michaelangelo nor Picasso could have created the perfectly-executed play that capped Southern Wayne’s miraculous, 51-49 comeback over South Johnston on Thursday evening.
Down one with 15.2 seconds left in regulation, the Saints called a timeout.
Head coach Brian West scribbled some X’s and O’s on his dry-erase board and sent his team back onto the court.
What happened next seemed like a dream.
The Trojans expected Chris Carmon to take the last shot and double-teamed the junior forward when he dribbled into the paint. Carmon kicked the ball out to a wide-open Dylan Tyndall, who swished a 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds on the clock.
“I really didn’t think about anything, just shot it,” a soft-spoken Tyndall said. “I felt good. I knew I was going to make it.”
Tyndall’s basket, his only conversion of the night, propelled the Saints to their first 3-0 start in conference play since the 2011-12 season. Tyndall finished with nine points, including a 6-for-6 effort at the free throw line.
South Johnston led 37-30 after three quarters.
The Saints didn’t chip away at the deficit until the final 109 seconds regulation. They pulled within 49-48 on free throws from Tyndall and Dujuan Armwood, and layups by Carmon and Chris McDuffie.
“We didn’t give up, just kept going,” Tyndall said.
The Trojans turned the ball over with 20.7 seconds to go.
After Tyndall’s decisive go-ahead basket, South Johnston (4-9 overall, 2-2 Quad County 3A) missed a baseline shot as time expired.
D’Untae Wright grabbed the ball, threw it up into the air and the celebration began. The Saints (6-5, 3-0) collected their third straight home win after an opening loss to Goldsboro.
“Everybody knew the assignment, everybody knew what we needed to do [on the play],” West said. “Our basketball IQ kicked in. He [Carmon] did what a great basketball player will do, he made the play.”
McDuffie emerged as the Saints’ top scorer with 16 points, followed by Carmon with 13. Armwood and Eli Boykin contributed four points apiece.
“3-0 baby!” McDuffie shouted as he headed into the locker room.
Girls
Southern Wayne survived what could have been a disastrous fourth quarter and handed South Johnston a 44-32 loss.
The Saints managed just four points in the final eight minutes – a basket by Elaina Lane and two free throws from Nevaeh Hines-Bass.
“Just one of those games where you grind and get through,” SW assistant coach Takisha Vann said of the physical contest. “
Tied at 3-3, the Saints seized command with a 19-0 run. Their suffocating 1-2-2 full-court press fueled the offensive surge and led to a 16-point lead at the break.
Nygeria Thompson rebounded her own miss and scored to give Southern Wayne its biggest lead, 37-15, with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
South Johnston (2-9, 1-3) responded with a 15-6 run.
Foul trouble, missed free throws and the inability to finish around the basket plagued the Saints all evening. They went into their stall offense to shorten the game and subside the Trojans’ momentum.
“What we’ve been talking about lately is finishing games,” Vann said. “Sometimes we don’t play to our ability, don’t play our game. We’ve got to learn that no matter what’s going on, the atmosphere, we’ve still got to execute.
“The intensity has to be the same every single game.”
Jamaiya Bass posted a double-double – 11 points and 11 rebounds. Thompson finished with 11 points and seven boards. Ta’Niyah Glaspie provided 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Elaina Lane supplied seven points.
The Saints (9-3, 3-0) extended their QCC win streak to 17.
