Rosewood boys pick up win over Rebels - Eagle girls roll

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on January 18, 2004 11:13 PM

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The Rosewood boys basketball team picked an important game to have their best free-throw shooting performance of the season.

Sophomore guard Dustin Overman drained two-of-two at the line with 7.8 seconds left in the game to secure a hard-fought, 58-56 win over North Duplin at home on Friday. It was Rosewood's first Class 1-A Carolina Conference win of the season, and the pair of makes capped a 15 for 19 effort from the stripe for the Eagles (3-9, 1-3).

Despite being only four games into the conference schedule, Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell saw this game as a must win in order to stay in playoff contention.

"This is probably the best game for us at the free-throw line and we definitly needed it," Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell said. "He (Overman) came through in a pressure situation.

"It was a must-win for us if we wanted to have any chance of being back into the thick of things."

Saladeem Dewberry turned in another impressive performance in the paint for the Rebels, who fell to 3-7 overall and 2-4 against conference opposition. The six-foot-six sophomore dropped in 25 points, scoring 11 field goals.

The Lady Eagles continuted their assault on conference opposition as they surged to a 22-2 lead after one period and cruised to a 60-23 win over the Lady Rebels. Rosewood, who forced many of North Duplin's 32 turnovers, improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in conference.

Paced by Nikki Strawn's 15-point effort, the Eagles had three scorers in double figures and five with at least eight points.

"No matter who we play, we need to come out with full intensity," Rosewood assistant coach June Hill said. "When we get into our full-court pressure, we are intense up and down the court."

Rosewood's boys also had their fair share of balance in their win as four players scored in double digits.

Kyle Bunn and Overman teamed to drill two three-pointers each early in the first half. Overman's three with 6:10 left in the second gave the Eagles a 19-8 lead. Bunn finished with 11 points, while Overman added 10.

"Rosewood came out shooting the ball very well," North Duplin coach Ricky Edwards said. "I don't think I had our kids ready to come out playing tonight."

Methodically, North Duplin got enough stops on the defensive end and started cutting into Rosewood's margin. Dewberry's pull-up jumper with one minute left in the third cut the Rosewood's edge to 40-36, but like most of the game, the Eagles had an answer.

An old fashioned three-point play by Taylor Carr, who also had 10 points, put Rosewood up by seven going into the fourth.

It looked as if the Eagles were poised to put the game away when high-scorer Danny Langston's put-back gave his team a 49-40 lead with 5:20 left in the game. Langston finished with 12 points. But in just over one minute, the Rebels were back to down just three at 49-46.

Untimely turnovers plagued both teams in the waning minutes, but North Duplin never managed to swipe the lead from Rosewood. The Eagles drilled seven-of-nine from the line to help lock up their first conference win.

North Duplin's girls never consistently found an answer for Rosewood's pressure defense, especially in the first half.

The Eagles got a number of easy transition baskets off of many of the Rebels' 25 first-half turnovers as they led 35-8 at intermission.

"They've got the best press of anybody in our conference," North Duplin coach Danny Blackburn said. "They work harder than anybody we've played. They are a very well coached team, and they don't miss assignments."

Jennifer Boren chipped in 11 points for Rosewood, while teammate Clare Narron scored 10. Jessica Hill turned in another solid all-around defensive performance and added nine points in the win. The Eagles welcome the return of injured starting forward Shanda White next week.

Sierra Ward emerged as North Duplin's only double-digit scorer with 12 points.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday as Rosewood plays host to rival Princeton, while North Duplin travels to Hobbton in a non-conference tilt.

Girls

North Duplin 2 6 10 5 -- 23

Rosewood 22 13 12 11 -- 60

NORTH DUPLIN (2-8, 2-4)

Sierra Ward 3 1 3-6 12, Lauren Blackmore 1 1 0-0 5, Krystal Smith 1 1 0-0 5, Jessica Denikan 0 0 1-2 1, Amy Arthur 0 0 0-1 0, Marlyn Ball 0 0 0-1 0. TOTALS -- 5 3 4-10 23.

ROSEWOOD (11-1, 4-0)

Nikki Strawn 7 0 1-2 15, Jennifer Boren 5 0 1-2 11, Clare Narron 5 0 0-0 10, Jessica Hill 3 0 3-4 9, Latita Wade 4 0 0-1 8, Stephanie Rhodes 1 0 0-0 2, Morgan Wheeler 0 0 2-2 2, Stephanie Rhodes 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 26 0 7-11 60.

Three-point baskets - North Duplin 3 (Ward, Blackmore, Smith). Turnovers - North Duplin 32, Rosewood 17. Total fouls - North Duplin 9, Rosewood 13. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

Boys

North Duplin 8 13 15 20 -- 56

Rosewood 15 13 15 15 -- 58

NORTH DUPLIN (3-7, 2-4)

Saladeem Dewberry 11 0 3-4 25, Matt Braswell 4 3 2-2 19, Demarco Kornegay 3 0 0-2 6, Charlton Armwood 2 0 0-0 4, Montreal Garner 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 21 3 5-8 56.

ROSEWOOD (3-9, 1-3)

Danny Langston 5 0 2-4 12, Kyle Bunn 0 3 2-2 11, Dustin Overman 0 2 4-4 10, Taylor Carr 4 0 2-4 10, Kyle Grey 1 0 5-5 7, Javon Williams 3 0 0-0 6, Matt Hill 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 14 5 15-19 58.

Three-point baskets - North Duplin 3 (Braswell 3), Rosewood 5 (Bunn 3, Overman 2). Turnovers - North Duplin 17, Rosewood 18. Total fouls - North Duplin 20, Rosewood 16. Fouled out - Kornegay. Technicals - none.