E. Wayne men shoot lights out in upset

By Neil Fuller
Published in Sports on February 6, 2005 2:02 AM

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DUDLEY - Chris Campbell shut down access to the post, and the Eastern Wayne men's basketball team shot a blistering 72 percent (28-of-39) from the field in a 77-64 upset of Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference-leading Southern Wayne on Friday night.

Justin Richardson scored a game-high 23 points for the Warriors (7-12 overall, 8-6 ECC), but it was Campbell's second-half defense that Southern Wayne coach Mike Connelly credited with turning the tide.

"You've got to be able to get the ball inside against a zone, and we just couldn't get inside to score," Connelly said. "Defensively, Campbell just intimidated our guys inside. That really hurt us."

Campbell hurt the Saints (14-8, 11-3) on the offensive end, too.

The senior center scored eight of his 16 points during the third quarter. Campbell also delivered a thunderous dunk with 5:28 remaining to give Eastern Wayne a 63-50 lead.

"We did an outstanding job of running our offense tonight," Warriors coach Marvin Bowman said. "We wanted to get Chris going early tonight. It took until the second half, but he really came to life for us. Chris and Justin really held down the fort for us."

Akeem Royal hit four 3-pointers -- including one with 13 seconds left in the first half to draw the Saints even at 33 heading into intermission -- and finished with 18 points to lead three Southern Wayne players in double figures.

The Saints put together a 9-2 run midway through the third quarter to take 46-45 lead. Eastern Wayne would never trail again.

Senior guard Adrian Kendrick scored 18 points for the Warriors.

"This was a big win for us with Southern Wayne being in the No. 1 spot," Bowman said. "It just goes to show that we can play with anybody in this conference.

"Our shooting is something we've been working on really hard in practice. It really has been a priority. Tonight, that work paid off. It's always good to gel at the right time, so we're optimistic."

The win serves as a measure of revenge for the Warriors, who lost to Southern Wayne 71-67 in overtime on Jan. 4.

S. Wayne women 36,

E. Wayne 32

Dionne Dotson converted a 3-point play with 1:39 remaining, and the Southern Wayne women's basketball team was able to burn 17 crucial seconds off the clock in the final minute in a 36-32 win over the Warriors.

Dotson finished with a game-high 17 points to help the Saints (5-13, 4-10) overcome 21 turnovers.

"I think we're finally where we want to be," Southern Wayne coach Sally Combs said. "We're peaking a little bit right now, which is what I wanted for the end of the season.

"We played a great defensive game. The strategy was good. We executed well. We did have a few turnovers -- lapses in concentration where we fumbled the ball -- but I'm very pleased with our defensive effort."

The Saints limited Eastern Wayne (7-12, 6-8) to four first-half field goals to lead 15-10 at the break.

Yasmine Washington and Natasha Wiley scored nine points each for the Warriors.