Wright, Waters lead Chargers past Rosewood

Published in Sports on December 28, 2005 2:14 PM

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Wayne Country Day, behind high-scoring guards Adam Wright and Tavon Waters, defeated Rosewood 80-62 on Tuesday evening and earned a spot in today's championship game of the Rosewood Holiday Basketball Classic.

The Chargers oppose East Wake at 8 p.m.

First-year WCDS coach Chad Wiggins had little to complain about his team's performance.

"Besides us not getting a hand in the face of that kid (Kyle Bunn) who hit all those 3-pointers, I was as pleased as you can be," said Wiggins. "The way we played is pretty much all you can ask of a team."

The first quarter started with a scoring duel between Waters and Bunn. Waters had 13 first-quarter points while Bunn drained three 3-point shots for Rosewood. Wayne Country Day jumped out to a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter and the Eagles were never able to cut the margin below 10 points.

Wright also scored 11 first-half points as the Chargers built a 38-24 half-time lead. The Eagles actually outscored Wayne Country Day in the third quarter but the Chargers answered with Cameron Strickland's two 3-pointers and the rebounding of Jeff Franklin.

"When it was their time my other players stepped up," said Wiggins. "My big man Franklin just ate up the boards and had 13 rebounds tonight."

The Eagles' Stephen McIntyre had three steals in the fourth quarter and tallied 10 points for the game. However, Rosewood was not able to mount a serious comeback

Bunn was a phenomenal 7-of-9 from behind the 3-point line and finished as Rosewood's high scorer with 28 points.

"We played real hard in the second half (and) they have two really outstanding players," said Rosewood coach Daniel Mitchell. "Their point guard broke us down on the dribble and gave us trouble getting the ball up the court.

"Bunn has been our scoring leader this year and we are just looking for someone else to step up and help him."

The Eagles could not match the scoring balance of Wayne Country Day. Wright was the Chargers' points leader with 28 followed closely by Waters' 24. Strickland also added 11 points. Waters added a superlative floor game with nine assists and six steals. Wright provided nine rebounds and six assists.

In the tournament's first game, East Wake ran away from Durham School of the Arts in the second half and defeated the Bulldogs 70-56. Sophomore forward Jerry Pully led the Warriors with 21 points while guard Travis Montague added 18.

Rosewood will take on the Durham School of the Arts in the tournament's consolation game at 6 p.m. tonight.

The Chargers will try and counter the Warriors superior height advantage with quickness and accurate shooting.

"Two years ago I would have told you we did not have any business playing a team like East Wake, but with the players we have now I feel like we can be competitive, our intensity has got to be a little better tomorrow night," said Wiggins.

WCDS 23 15 20 22 -- 80

Rosewood 11 13 22 16 -- 62

WAYNE COUNTRY DAY (10-3)

Jeff Franklin 1 1 0-1 5, Adam Wright 11 1 3-7 28, Tavon Waters 7 2 4-7 24, Shadoe Stewart 2 0 0-0 4, Phillip Weeks 0 0 2-2 2, Cameron Strickland 2 2 1-1 11, Travis Davis 1 0 2-3 4, Kyle Pender 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 25 6 12-21 80.

ROSEWOOD (1-9)

Stephen McIntire 4 0 2-2 10, Brantley Ellis 2 0 0-2 4, Kyle Bunn 2 7 3-4 28, Clarence Toran 4 0 0-0 8, Dennis Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Holt Raines 2 0 1-3 5, Zack Hardison 0 0 1-2 1, Goss Kendall 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 17 7 7-13 62.

Three-point baskets -- Wayne Country Day 6, (Franklin, Wright, Strickland 2, Waters 2), Rosewood 7, (Bunn 7). Total fouls -- Wayne Country Day 12, Rosewood 16. Turnovers -- Wayne Country Day 13, Rosewood 17. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Rosewood bench.