SW boys, CBA girls post big offensive outputs

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on January 22, 2006 2:22 AM

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PIKEVILLE -- The Southern Wayne and Charles B. Aycock boys basketball teams combined for a a whopping, 197 points on Friday night in the Golden Falcons' gymnasium.

Senior Akeem Royal had a season-high 37 for the Saints, and both coaches agreed ... none were bigger than the six he posted at the end of the second and third quarters.

Royal, who finished with six, 3-pointers, drained two from behind the arc at the buzzer of the middle two quarters -- giving the visitors a momentum boost both times as Southern Wayne claimed a 104-93 win.

"We made a big play at the end of the first half and we made a big play at the end of the third quarter. You never know when something like that is going to happen in a game," Southern Wayne boys coach Mike Connelley said.

The Saints (14-2 overall) improved to 3-1 in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference. Aycock (4-12 overall) slipped to 0-4 in league play.

In the girls game, the Lady Falcons turned in their highest scoring output of the season as Southern Wayne fell behind early and never got on track in Aycock's 91-53 victory at home.

Quaneisha Milner posted a season-high 30 points and nearly missed a double-double with nine assists. Milner had limited turnovers and turned in several crowd-pleasing drives as she seemed to single-handedly breakdown the Saints' defense with dribble penetration.

Teammate Emily Stewart added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Erin Medford contributed 14 points, six rebounds and five assists with 12 of her points coming in the first half. Jasmine Dobbin and Chantel Gaines tallied eight points each in a game where 10 different Falcons scored.

"This was probably the first time we can say we played really well in all four quarters on offense through the game," Aycock girls coach Luke Vail said. "Quaneisha did a good job finding the open player. We shot 61 percent from the floor. It was nice to see Emily and Erin step up to provide balance on offense."

Shakoria Clark paced the Lady Saints with 15 points, including three, 3-pointers as Ebony Darden and Lynnesha Leonard dropped in 10 points each.

Southern Wayne (6-7, 2-2) finished with 20 turnovers, many leading to Aycock baskets, and never consistently got second looks at the basket as the Falcons controlled the glass.

"We've seen pressure defenses this year, and we worked on breaking the press all week in practice," Southern Wayne girls coach Sally Combs said. "We had two turnovers on our first two possessions, and that's not a good sign in a game like this where you expect the kids to be playing up."

The Lady Falcons (12-6, 3-1), which scored at least 21 points in each quarter, rolled out to a 12-2 early lead behind pressure defense in the backcourt and balanced scoring. Aycock, which has won eight of its last 10, led 23-13 after the first quarter and consistently increased that margin by the end of each quarter.

The David West-coached Golden Falcons never let the Saints go on a big run in the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference contest as the game was especially close through the first half.

Aycock's ability to get to the free-throw line, and big scoring efforts from Lamada Williams and Santavin Poole, helped the Falcons answer Royal and the Saints' potent offense.

The Falcons took their first lead at 36-34 on a lay-up by Williams, who finished with a season-high 30 points, near the 2:30 mark of the second quarter. Like most of the first half, the two teams traded baskets late in the quarter, before Royal canned a three at the horn to send the Saints into the locker room with a 48-45 halftime advantage.

"There were two big plays in the ball game ... at the end of the first half and third quarter. They hit those shots," Aycock boys coach David West said. "I think it's a whole different game without them. That's two shots that really gave them a lift."

Aycock finished 13-of-24 from the stripe in the first half, while the Saints, with multiple starters in foul trouble, got to the line only seven times and made five.

In the third and fourth quarters, Southern Wayne, ranked No. 7 in the latest Class 3-A ncpreps.com poll, created the separation that would eventually lead it to its ninth win in its last 11 games.

Reserve Jon Hart, who gave the Saints big minutes with starter Antonio Davis in foul trouble, provided an old fashioned 3-point play, while Delawn Armwood, who finished with 24 points, knocked down a trifecta to give Southern Wayne a 63-55 lead with six minutes left in the third.

The Saints scored 18 points in the first 2:45 of the third and tallied 33 by the end of the quarter, but Aycock never went away. A drive-and-score by Williams pulled the Falcons within four at 74-70 with 30 seconds left, but Southern Wayne had an answer.

Armwood had a basket down low and got fouled, missed the free-throw, then Royal posted a put-back. The Saints got a stop on Aycock's next possession, before Royal canned his second buzzer-beater of the game at the end of the third to cap a 7-2 spurt to give Southern Wayne a 81-72 margin after three quarters.

"I thought we controlled it pretty well in the third quarter. They got it down to four, but I don't think we panicked," Connelley said.

Keyed by six points by Davis, the Saints led by as much as 14 at 93-79 with 4:30 left in the fourth, and held off a late 6-0 run by the Falcons that cut the deficit to 98-91 with :40 remaining. Southern Wayne, which finished 20-of-29 (69 percent) at the line on the game, shot 9-of-12 at the stripe in the fourth to put the high-scoring affair away late.

Davis finished with 11 points, while Hart added nine off the bench. Saddled with foul trouble, senior point guard Austin Hood added eight points as did his back-up, Justin Bellamy, who hit 2-of-2 at the line late in the game to give the Saints 100 points for the fourth time this season.

Poole pumped in 28 points in the post for Aycock and had at least two field goals in each quarter. Rob Phillips chipped in 17 points, while Tim Alston added nine. The effort marked the second time this season the Falcons have reached 90 points in a losing cause.

"We scored 91 against Wayne Country Day and scored 93 against Southern Wayne and we lose both times," West said. "You would think you score 90 points in a high school basketball game, you're going to win."

Both schools return to ECC action at home on Tuesday. The Saints host Wilson Hunt, while the Falcons entertain county rival, Eastern Wayne.

Girls game

So. Wayne 13 11 12 17 -- 53

C.B.A. 23 23 24 21 -- 91

SOUTHERN WAYNE (6-7, 2-2)

Shakoria Clark 2 3 2-2 15, Ebony Darden 5 0 0-4 10, Christy Dixon 1 0 0-0 2, Lynn Grantham 1 0 0-0 2, Lynnesha Leonard 2 1 3-5 10, Cassandra Jones 0 3 0-0 9, Clarice Sherard 0 0 0-3 0, Kierra Ingram 1 0 3-4 5. TOTALS -- 12 7 8-18 53.

C.B. AYCOCK (12-6, 3-1)

Quaneisha Milner 11 1 5-6 30, Emily Stewart 7 0 2-2 16, Erin Medford 3 1 5-6 14, Chantel Gaines 3 0 2-2 8, Jasmine Dobbin 3 0 2-2 8, Jazzmine Lee 3 0 0-0 6, Lauren Pratt 1 0 0-0 2, Brianna Reid 1 0 1-2 3, Chelsey Jackson 1 0 0-0 2, Janay Dickerson 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 34 2 17-20 91.

3-point goals -- Southern Wayne 7 (Clark 3, Jones 3, Leonard ), C.B. Aycock 2 (Milner, Medford). Turnovers -- Southern Wayne 20, C.B. Aycock 17. Total fouls -- Southern Wayne 17, C.B. Aycock 17. Fouled out -- Ingram (SW). Technical fouls -- none.

Boys game

So. Wayne 26 22 33 23 -- 104

C.B.A. 21 24 27 19 -- 93

SOUTHERN WAYNE (14-2, 3-1)

Akeem Royal 5 6 9-10 37, Delawn Armwood 8 2 2-5 24, Antonio Davis 5 0 1-1 11, Jon Hart 3 0 3-3 9, Austin Hood 2 1 1-2 8, Justin Bellamy 3 0 2-4 8, Derek Garris 0 1 2-4 5, Jaffari Ward 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 27 10 20-29 104.

C.B. AYCOCK (4-12, 0-4)

Lamada Williams 12 0 6-8 30, Santavin Poole 11 0 6-10 28, Rob Phillips 4 2 3-8 17, Tim Alston 4 0 1-3 9, Brandon Price 3 0 1-1 7, Montez Ham 1 0 0-1 2. TOTALS -- 35 2 17-31 93.

3-point goals -- Southern Wayne 10 (Royal 6, Armwood 2, Hood, Garris), C.B. Aycock 2 (Phillips 2). Turnovers -- Southern Wayne 11, C.B. Aycock 20. Total fouls -- Southern Wayne 23, C.B. Aycock 22. Fouled out -- Davis (SW), Hood (SW), Poole (CBA). Technical fouls -- Bench (SW), Royal (SW), Bench (CBA).