Goldsboro routs its rival

By David Williams
Published in Sports on February 4, 2004 2:09 PM

• Print
• Email

Maybe it was the traditional rivalry of Goldsboro and Eastern Wayne that brought out the fire and drive in the Cougar boys basketball team Friday night.

Maybe it was a lot of intangibles that added up to a solid performance in Goldsboro's 72-51 win over the more highly-touted Warriors.

Maybe it was just Goldsboro's night in the jam-packed Cougar Den.

Or maybe it was something the rest of the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference needs to be wary of.

Goldsboro is on a roll.

"I saw a different Goldsboro team than the one that was at Eastern Wayne earlier in the year," said Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman after his team dropped only their second conference road game all season. "That was the best Goldsboro's probably shot all year. We had a hand in their face for most of them, but they went down."

Goldsboro (11-10, 5-8) won its third straight game and second ECC victory in a row after starting out 3-8 in the league. Now, instead of trudging toward an inevitably disappointing end to the season, Goldsboro has some hopes of making the playoffs.

Goldsboro's girls had some tough moments late in the game, but pulled out their 20th win in 21 games with a 47-42 victory over the Lady Warriors.

If the Cougar boys can win their final three games -- Friday at home to Kinston, Monday at West Carteret and Tuesday at Southern Wayne -- it would make them 8-8 in league play and in position to claim fifth or fourth place, and take a playoff spot.

So are the Cougars spoilers -- or contenders?

"We are taking things one game at a time," said Goldsboro coach Randy Jordan. "But our destiny is in our hands. We control our own destiny."

The Cougars trailed 14-13 after one period, but got a huge lift as junior Adam Wright led a 29-point second-period charge. Wright had 13 of his game-high 23 points in that frame, hitting two 3-pointers and several jumpers and layups as well as threading passes through the Warrior defense to Daquan Joyner, Ray Brinson and Adrian Collins in the low post.

"It was Adam Wright's most complete game," said Jordan. "He made everyone else around him better -- great shots, outstanding passes."

Eastern Wayne got 19 points from Derrick Joyner and 11 more from Adrian Kendrick, but could not get their trademark put-back baskets as Goldsboro limited the Warriors creativity in shot-making. The front-line trio of Brinson, Joyner and Collins did a yeoman's job in rebounding and blocking shots.

"Our inside people are getting better and more confident every game," said Jordan. "Brinson changed a lot of shots, and Joyner -- he's just a freshman -- is growing up before our eyes."

Eastern Wayne saw its hopes take a serious blow when center Trey Nelson fouled out with 4:47 to play, diminishing the Warriors' ranks on the glass.

"We have to do a better job on the boards," said Bowman.

Joyner added 15 for Goldsboro, while Deonta Anderson had nine. Jordan added that the support of the large, vocal crowd was important to his players.

"The last three games, they have been great," he said.

After leading by as many as 19 in the second half, Goldsboro's girls went cold in the fourth period as Eastern Wayne staged a rally that put it within five points with a minute to play.

Goldsboro's Clintoria Bryant salvaged the win for the Lady Cougars by directing a time-killing delay game in the last minute. Eastern Wayne had several shots to get closer in the last seconds, but could not get a shot to fall.

The game featured a marquee guard matchup as both Bryant and Eastern Wayne's Nicole Greene had 16 points. Goldsboro's Jessica Faison had 11 points.

"If you'd told me before the game I'd have played to five points against the No. 2-ranked team in the state, I'd have took it," said Lady Warriors coach Brent Holland. "They really stepped up their quality of play.

"I say this after every game, but the girls played really hard. They are disappointed they didn't, but they can take some solace out of losing by five. We had a lot of open looks we should have made which would have made it a different game."

Boys game

Eastern Wayne 14 16 10 11 -- 51

Goldsboro 13 29 13 17 -- 72

EASTERN WAYNE (12-6, 10-3)

Derrick Joyner 7 0 5-8 19, Adrian Kendrick 4 1 0-0 11, Nate Walker 4 0 0-0 8, Jamel Virgil 0 2 0-0 6, Chris Campbell 1 0 2-2 4, Justin Richardson 1 0 0-0 2, Donald Rouse 0 0 1-2 1, Trey Nelson 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 17 3 8-14 51.

GOLDSBORO (11-10, 5-8)

Adam Wright 6 3 2-2 23, Daquan Joyner 5 0 5-5 15, Deonta Anderson 3 0 3-4 9, Ray Brinson 3 0 0-2 6, Josh Broadie 2 0 1-1 5, Chris Jones 0 1 2-4 5, Tavon Waters 1 0 2-2 4, Brandon Grantham 1 0 1-2 3, Adrian Collins 0 0 2-2 2. TOTALS -- 21 4 18-24 72.

Three-point baskets -- Eastern Wayne 3 (Virgil 2, Kendrick), Goldsboro 4 (Wright 3, Jones). Turnovers -- Eastern Wayne 26, Goldsboro 24. Total fouls -- Eastern Wayne 20. Goldsboro 14. Fouled out -- Nelson, Brinson. Technicals -- none.

Girls

Eastern Wayne 9 9 7 17 -- 42

Goldsboro 17 13 12 5 -- 47

EASTERN WAYNE (8-10, 7-6)

Nicole Greene 7 0 2-4 16, Jessy Perkins 3 0 2-4 8, Natasha Wiley 3 0 1-3 7, Sierra King 2 0 3-4 7, Yasmine Washington 0 1 1-2 4, Marandis Lewis 0 0 0-1 0. TOTALS -- 15 1 9-20 42.

GOLDSBORO (20-1, 13-0)

CLintoria Bryant 2 3 1-2 16, Jessica Faison 5 0 1-2 11, Ashelyn James3 0 3-5 9, Shemika Hardy 3 0 0-0 6, Chevoya Jackson 1 1 0-0 5. TOTALS -- 14 4 5-9 47.

Three-point baskets -- Eastern Wayne 1 (Washington), Goldsboro 4 (Bryant 3, Jackson). Turnovers -- Eastern Wayne 20, Goldsboro 20. Total fouls -- Eastern Wayne 11. Goldsboro 17. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.