Eagles upset EW boys; Warrior girls win

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on January 30, 2004 2:01 PM

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West Craven's Willie Perry struggled scoring around the basket for most of Thursday's contest at Eastern Wayne.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, he didn't struggle when it counted.

With his team clinging to a one-point lead, Perry tipped in a missed free throw attempt to give his team a three-point edge with nearly 10 seconds left. The Warriors were unable to convert on a three-point try on the other end as the Eagles eventually escaped with a 63-62 upset win over their Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference rivals.

In a statiscally-even game, the tip-in by Perry capped a night where defensive rebounding plagued Eastern Wayne, which had not practiced for a week coming into the game due to the recent inclement weather.

"They had several offensive rebounds. That hurt us at the end," Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman said. "We played well in spots, but this is a good team (West Craven). They are very athletic and now they are starting to find their roles.

"The timing was off for us tonight, but this is an opportunity for us to regroup."

Despite the loss, the Warrior boys (12-5, 10-2) still remain solidly in second place behind Kinston, unbeaten in ECC play heading into next Tuesday's match-up at rival Goldsboro.

Eastern Wayne's girls, also playing after a week of inactivity, overcame 35 turnovers to claim a 37-36 victory over the Lady Eagles (3-15, 3-7).

Warrior point guard Nicole Greene stepped up when it mattered down the stretch, scoring six of her team-high 12 points in the fourth period. The post defense of Jessy Perkins and Natasha Wiley helped counter the turnovers with key blocked shots and defensive rebounds in an improved second half.

"I thought Natasha (Wiley) played really well defensively. Nikki (Greene) has been playing the point for four years, and she really came up big in the fourth quarter," Eastern Wayne coach Brent Holland said. "We didn't play well, but we played hard. I thought that was the biggest key."

The Lady Warriors (8-9, 7-5 ECC) are alone in fourth place in the conference.

Eastern Wayne's boys found themselves playing catch-up for most of the first three periods. A three by point guard Adrian Kendrick -- who dropped in 14 points -- followed by a thunderous open-court, one-handed dunk by Derrick Joyner capped an 11-1 run near the two-minute mark of the third. The Warriors' 41-38 lead would prove to be their largest for the rest of the contest.

Both teams put up 21 points each in a fourth period that saw its fair share of lead changes. Chris Campbell, who finished with a team-high 16 points, and Justin Richardson, who added 13, posted crucial fourth-period baskets. But each time, the senior-laden Eagles had an answer.

West Craven's Bobby Cox drove the lane and scored with one minute left to give his team a 60-59 edge before Perry helped seal the hard-fought win with the late tap-in.

After suffering a handful of tough losses in conference play, Eagle coach Joe Holt was clearly relieved to be on the winning end of a close battle.

"It's a big win for us. We haven't been able to have one bounce our way until tonight," Holt said.

Much like the boys, the Lady Warriors also had to play catch-up.

A three by Sierra King put Eastern Wayne up 23-21 at the 4:30 mark of the third as the Warriors steadily gained focus on both ends of the court. The advantage was the Warriors first since early in the first period as they went on to yield just one field goal in the crucial third period.

West Craven managed to tie the defensive struggle several times in the fourth, but was hurt by missed opportunities at the free-throw line. The Eagles shot just four-of-12 on the game and were zero-for-six in the final period.

Joyce Freeman emerged the only Eagle in double figures with 15 points.

Girls

West Craven 12 9 4 11 -- 36

Eastern Wayne 7 10 10 10 - 37

WEST CRAVEN (3-15, 3-7)

Joyce Freeman 4 1 4-4 15, Jessika Barnes 3 1 0-4 9, Keshia Hardy 3 0 0-0 6, Jacquina Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Kanesha Raynor 1 0 0-2 2, Jalesha Jones 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 13 2 4-12 36.

EASTERN WAYNE (8-9, 7-5)

Nicole Greene 5 0 2-4 12, Natasha Wiley 3 0 0-0 6, Sierra King 0 1 3-4 6, Jazzmine Lee 1 0 3-4 5, Jessy Perkins 2 0 0-0 4, Yasmine Washington 1 0 0-0 2, Kristen Elliott 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS - 14 1 8-12 37.

Three-point baskets -- West Craven 2 (Freeman, Barnes), Eastern Wayne 1 (King). Turnovers -- West Craven 21, Eastern Wayne 35. Total fouls -- West Craven 13, Eastern Wayne 14. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.

Boys

West Craven 12 12 18 21 -- 63

Eastern Wayne 11 11 19 21 -- 62

WEST CRAVEN (6-12, 3-8)

Bobby Cox 6 0 4-5 16, Tony Jones 7 0 1-3 15, Kevin Berryman 5 0 0-0 10, Craig Carter 2 2 0-0 10, Bryan Hardy 3 0 3-6 9, Willie Perry 1 0 1-4 3, Anthony Cuthbertson 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 24 2 9-20 63.

EASTERN WAYNE (12-5, 10-2)

Chris Campbell 5 0 4-8 14, Adrian Kendrick 5 1 1-2 14, Justin Richardson 4 1 2-2 13, Nate Walker 1 3 0-0 11, Derrick Joyner 3 0 2-5 8, Theo Givens 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 19 5 9-17 62.

Three-point baskets -- West Craven 2 (Carter 2), Eastern Wayne 5 (Walker 3, Kendrick, Richardson). Turnovers -- West Craven 16, Eastern Wayne 15. Total fouls -- West Craven 14, Eastern Wayne 13. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.