Kendrick's suggestion helps Warriors

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on February 11, 2004 2:01 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Along with his heady play at point guard, Eastern Wayne's Adrian Kendrick's biggest contribution in the Warriors' 63-50 win at Charles B. Aycock came in the form of a suggestion.

With the Golden Falcons staging a serious fourth-period comeback, Kendrick proposed to coach Marvin Bowman that Eastern Wayne switch from its zone defense to full-court pressure.

It worked.

Fueled by the defensive pressure, Eastern Wayne induced a flurry of Aycock turnovers in the final four minutes and posted a 13-0 run after Chris Campbell's third basket of the period. The Golden Falcons (4-17, 4-11 ECC) had fought all the way back to erase a 37-22 deficit late in the third period.

Justin Richardson scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to pace the Warriors.

"I have to give credit to Adrian. We talked about going zone and he said, 'no coach, we need to go man,'" Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman said. "And we were fortunate we stayed in it."

Regardless of Thursday's result at conference-unbeaten Kinston, the Warriors (14-5, 12-3) will enter the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference tournament as the number two seed. Aycock's tournament seeding remains uncertain as the middle and bottom of the conference remains in a bunch. Aycock's teams travel to Washington on Thursday.

Eastern Wayne's girls continue to improve defensively and started the evening with a 49-42 win over their county rivals. In a game where the two teams combined to shoot 52 free throws, the Lady Warriors (10-10, 9-6 ECC) capitalized far more than Aycock.

Sierra King, who finished with a game-high 16 points, shot 16 of her team's 32 free throws. The Warriors made 17-of-32.

Aycock knocked down just five-of-20 on the game, including four-of-14 in the crucial fourth period. The Lady Falcons also had 28 turnovers in the game as they never seemed to get on track against the Warrior pressure.

"We shot free throw after free throw at practice yesterday, but you couldn't tell it," Aycock coach Gary Hales said. "Eastern Wayne came and played hard. We've got to find our game before the playoffs get here."

The Lady Warriors also got an 11-point, 10-rebound effort from senior center Jessy Perkins. Aycock was led by Joyce Warrick with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

"We got down 18 points last time and allowed them to get into their halfcourt offense and we weren't going to do that this time," Eastern Wayne coach Brent Holland. "We have played well in the second go round.

"They knew it was Aycock's senior night, and we talked about giving them a senior night to remember. That's probably where the extra energy came from."

Despite the loss, the Lady Falcons remain one game ahead of Eastern Wayne for third place heading into both of their regular-season finales.

Aycock's boys charged back into the game with their own blend of pressure defense. In the first four minutes, Eastern Wayne committed six turnovers and managed just one field goal as Aycock got as close as 46-43 on one-of-two at the line by Rob Phillips. A missed lay-up, followed by a three-second violation on the Golden Falcons' next two possessions started turning the tide back in the Warriors' favor before their pressure took over to clinch the win.

"That's what a good defense is going to do, and they forced turnovers when they need to," Aycock coach David West said. "I'm glad my guys never quit. We aren't as talented, quick or as tall as everybody else, but when it comes to heart, this team's got a lot of it."

Both teams struggled out of the gate as the contest was mired in a defensive struggle through the first period as Aycock held an 8-7 lead after one. Fueled by some nifty passing by Derrick Joyner, who added 10 points in the win, Eastern Wayne reeled off a 12-2 run to open the second. The third of Joyner's three second-period assists gave the Warriors a 23-12 lead as it went on to take a 29-16 lead into intermission.

It looked as if Eastern Wayne was poised to pull away as Kendrick ran down a loose ball in the right corner and dished to Richardson, who scored and gave his team a 37-22 cushion at the three-minute mark of the third. Still, Aycock's Jamorris Dickerson and Dustin Smith knocked down three-pointers to help their team back to within seven at 41-34 late in the third.

Dickerson, Smith and Alonzo Ferrell, who proved the only Falcon in double figures with 10 points, were recognized on Aycock's Senior Night. Warrick, Jennifer Williamson, Mary Beth Hooks and Cassandra Worrell were acknowledged for the Lady Falcons.

Girls

Eastern Wayne 13 15 7 14 -- 49

C.B. Aycock 10 9 8 15 -- 42

EASTERN WAYNE (10-10, 9-6)

Sierra King 3 0 10-16 16, Jessy Perkins 5 0 1-4 11, Kristen Elliott 4 0 0-2 8, Nicole Greene 1 0 6-10 8, Yasmine Washington 2 0 0-0 4, Jazzmine Lee 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 16 0 17-32 69.

C.B. AYCOCK (15-6, 10-5)

Joyce Warrick 5 0 0-2 10, Lela Reid 4 0 0-2 8, Quaneisha Milner 3 0 2-4 8, Cassandra Worrell 3 1 0-8 7, Emily Stewart 1 0 2-4 4, Keyata Pettiford 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 17 1 4-20 62.

Three-point baskets -- C.B. Aycock 1 (Worrell). Turnovers -- Eastern Wayne 18, C.B. Aycock 28. Total fouls -- Eastern Wayne 17, C.B. Aycock 19. Fouled out -- Elliott, Pettiford. Technicals -- none.

Boys

Eastern Wayne 7 22 14 20 -- 63

C.B. Aycock 8 8 18 15 -- 50

EASTERN WAYNE (14-5, 12-3)

Justin Richardson 8 0 3-4 19, Chris Campbell 5 0 1-2 11, Derrick Joyner 3 0 4-6 10, Trey Nelson 4 0 0-0 8, Jamel Virgil 1 0 3-4 5, Donald Atkinson 2 0 0-0 4, Ryan Carter 1 0 0-0 2, Nate Walker 1 0 0-0 2, Adrian Kendrick 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 26 0 11-16 63.

C.B. AYCOCK (4-17, 4-11)

Alonzo Ferrell 4 0 2-3 10, Montrel Sims 3 1 0-0 9, Jamorris Dickerson 2 1 2-2 9, Rob Phillips 0 1 4-5 7, Dustin Smith 0 1 2-3 5, Bryan Moore 1 0 0-0 2, Erik Langston 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 11 4 10-13 50.

Three-point baskets -- C.B. Aycock 4 (Sims, Dickerson, Phillips, Smith). Turnovers -- Eastern Wayne 13, C.B. Aycock 17. Total fouls -- Eastern Wayne 17, C.B. Aycock 11. Fouled out -- Walker. Technicals -- Smith.