Southern Wayne’s Nygeria Thompson gets fouled by a West Johnston defender on a layup attempt Thursday evening. Thompson scored and converted the free throw during the Saints’ 47-38 win. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Eli Boykin blocks a shot by West Johnston’s Devin Ford during opening-half action of their Quad County 3A game Thursday evening. Boykin tallied 19 points in the Saints’ 66-51 win. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Minus key players, Southern Wayne’s varsity basketball teams lived by the “next man up” mantra and each completed their respective mission Thursday evening.
Crutches by his side, Chris McDuffie watched as his teammates turned back West Johnston, 66-51. Eli Boykin pumped in 19 points for the Saints, who halted a three-game skid in Quad County 3A play.
Sidelined with a broken nose, Nevaeh Hines-Bass cheered as the Lady Saints secured a come-from-behind, 47-28 triumph over the pesky Wildcats. Jamaiya Bass knocked down 23 points as Southern Wayne collected its 13th win of the season.
Boys
McDuffie endured a right-knee injury against East Wake last Friday. The senior is scheduled to have an MRI next week and remains optimistic he can return for the final week of regular-season play.
“I’ll be ready by the playoffs,” a confident McDuffie said.
Southern Wayne (9-8 overall, 6-3 QCC) owned a 12-point lead with two-plus minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Boykin’s monstrous dunk in transition and DuJuan Armwood’s offensive putback helped spark the surge.
The Saints scored eight points off offensive rebounds during that stretch.
Donovan Armwood’s offensive putback gave Southern Wayne its largest lead, 27-13. The Wildcats regained their composure and pulled to within 31-23 at halftime.
“I had a few [step up] … Jaylan Council, DuJuan, Donovan and Dylan Tyndall all stepped up in the absence of McDuffie,” Saints head coach Brian West said. “I told them you have a soldier down. You have to lift him up by stepping up and taking care of business.”
Southern Wayne pushed its advantage to 37-23 early in the third period.
Play became physical.
West Johnston (9-8, 5-4) scored seven of the next 10 points as fouls piled up on the Saints’ side of the scorebook. Free throws, along with onsecutive offensive putbacks from Rodney Boone and Caleb Gilmore, helped the Wildcats climb back into the game.
Unlike previous seasons, the Saints kept their composure.
Up 46-39, Carmon’s “and one” possession (three-point play) led to another double-digit lead, which Southern Wayne refused to relinquish in the fourth quarter.
The Saints’ margin ballooned to 17 before the final buzzer sounded.
“I’m proud of my guys on how they played the game tonight,” West said. “It got chippy and my guys battled through the chippy adversity.”
Carmon finished with 12 points. Donovan Armwood chipped in nine points, while DuJuan Armwood scored eight. De’Untae Wright contributed seven points.
Girls
A back-and-forth opening half ended on Mallory Nolan’s 3-pointer — her third long-range connection of the quarter.
The Cats entered halftime ahead 21-19.
Incensed by his team’s perimeter defense, Saints head coach Ricky Lofton didn’t peel the paint off the locker room wall with a fire-and-brimstone speech. Yet, the veteran leader stressed the need to shut down Nolan.
Lofton called upon his feistiest defender, Elaina Lane, to hound Nolan in a box-and-one defense. The ploy frustrated the sharp shooter, who had few touches on the ball and converted just one field goal.
“The coaches said we couldn’t let one girl kill us, so we had to shut her down,” Bass said. “I started talking to them, telling them to go out there even when she didn’t have the ball because we knew they were going to give it to her. That helped, too.
“I just covered the back.”
And scored at will.
Down 24-22, Bass and frontcourt mate Nygeria Thompson spearheaded a 16-0 run. Fueled by their patented full-court defense, the Saints’ duo combined for 11 points, including three free throws.
“When we pick our defense up, our offense follows behind,” Bass said.
Bass pulled down eight rebounds and doled out four assists as Southern Wayne earned its seventh QCC win in nine tries this season. Thompson contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Lane posted four points, five rebounds and three steals. Ta’Niyah Glaspie had six points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
Lofton said that Hines-Bass is out for the season.
Southern Wayne travels to Hunt today.
