Cougars collect seventh win in last eight outings

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on February 1, 2006 2:12 PM

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Goldsboro coach Randy Jordan's plan was thought-out, yet simple -- put together a tough non-conference schedule, so his Cougars will have faced stout opposition heading into their first year in the always-rugged, Class 2-A Eastern Plains Conference.

So far, that has proved to be a blueprint for success.

After two losses in the prestigious GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Tournament in Raleigh back in late December, Goldsboro has now won seven of its last eight after a hard-fought, 67-63 win over Greene Central on Tuesday night in the Cougar Den.

Junior Tim Kornegay pumped in a game-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Cougars (13-8), who sit atop the Class 2-A Eastern Plains Conference with a 6-1 mark with three games left. Fellow junior, Daquan Joyner, added 17 points and 13 boards -- including an old-fashioned 3-point play that put his team ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.

"I think our non-conference schedule prepared us for what we were going to face in conference," Jordan said. "We played some good teams ... Southern Wayne, Eastern Wayne, C.B. Aycock, the Glaxo and the Mount Olive tournament. That goes hand-in-hand with what we are doing now."

Greene Central (11-7 overall), which led 40-32 at halftime, slipped to 2-5 in EPC play and was led by Charles Gamble and Reggie Johnson with 17 points each.

In the girls game, the Lady Cougars turned in, "their best defensive performance of the season," according to coach Gladys McClary and emerged with a 48-38 victory over Greene Central.

Chevoya Jackson dropped in 26 points for Goldsboro (10-10, 2-5 EPC) and caught fire in the second quarter -- scoring 14 points, including a buzzer-beater from halfcourt that sent her team into the locker room in command with a 31-17 lead.

The Cougars, who consistently came up with steals and loose balls, allowed only 23 points through three quarters and took a 44-23 margin into the fourth quarter. Despite managing just two field goals in the fourth, Goldsboro never led by less than 10 down the stretch as Briana Stanton, who had a game-best 28 points, and the Rams never threatened the lead.

Jackson added two clutch baskets in the fourth with dribble penetration and effectively kept the ball in her hands as Greene Central stepped up its defensive pressure.

"Considering we played last night, I was just hoping we could endure. For this group of girls to do that, I was very proud," McClary said. "Chevoya was in a zone tonight. She was scoring outside and inside. She played a well-balanced game."

Angel Roberts added seven points for the Cougars, while Danielle Irby chipped in six points.

The Lady Rams (9-11 overall) fell to 3-4 in league play.

Paced by hot shooting and hard work on the offensive boards by Kornegay, who had 16 points in the first quarter, Goldsboro's boys jumped out to a 14-2 lead two minutes into the game, then led 23-15 after one.

Gamble and Johnson keyed an improved second quarter by the Rams that saw the visitors take advantage of sloppy offensive play by Goldsboro, which committed nine turnovers and scored just nine points in the second.

A 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer by Johnson, his second of the quarter, sent the Rams into the locker room with a 40-32 advantage. Gamble also had two threes in the second as he and Johnson combined for 18 of the Rams' 25 points in the quarter.

After halftime, the Cougars stepped up their defensive intensity and Greene Central simply went cold from the field. The Rams, who seemingly became overly-reliant on outside shots, managed just nine field goals after intermission and didn't knock down a basket in the fourth quarter until the 3:30 mark.

With his team still trailing early in the fourth, Joyner rebounded his own miss, got fouled on the put-back, then completed the 3-point play to put the Cougars ahead 55-53 as the home team would never trail again. The offensive set was preceded by a Joyner blocked shot on the defensive end.

"Our defense makes our offense. If we play defense, the momentum will usually change in our favor," Joyner said.

A 3-pointer by Gamble cut Goldsboro's lead down to 65-63 with :22 left, but senior reserve Eric McLean stepped up and made two big free-throws for Goldsboro to make it a two-possession game -- essentially sealing the win.

Kornegay and Joyner may have led the scoring, but McLean, Antonio Green, Anthony Artis and Branden Herring all had consistent nights off the bench. Burnie Best and Raheem Lofton, who started at the guard spots, were key in the Cougars' quick start and helped their team win the turnover battle.

"Everybody has a role. We've got to have good chemistry. If you know your role and execute your role, good things are going to happen for us," Jordan said.

Goldsboro travels to Farmville Central on Friday to face the Jaguars for the second time in five days, while Greene Central takes on Tarboro in Edgecombe County on Friday.

Girls game

Greene Central 8 9 6 15 -- 38

Goldsboro 11 20 13 4 -- 48

GREENE CENTRAL (9-11, 3-4)

Briana Stanton 7 2 8-10 28, Shantillia Joyner 2 0 0-1 4, April Jones 1 0 0-0 2, Natasha Williams 1 0 0-0 2, Ashley Simmons 1 0 0-0 2, Shawan Daniels 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 12 2 8-13 38.

GOLDSBORO (10-10, 2-5)

Chevoya Jackson 8 2 4-5 26, Angel Roberts 3 0 1-2 7, Danielle Irby 3 0 0-0 6, Mikeda Graham 1 0 1-2 3, Carmille Early 1 0 0-0 2, Tiffany Burden 1 0 0-0 2, Kiana Williams 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 19 2 6-9 48.

3-point goals -- GC 2 (Stanton 2), GHS 2 (Jackson 2). Turnovers -- GC 23, GHS 16. Total fouls -- GC 9, GHS 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.

Boys game

Greene Central 15 25 11 12 -- 63

Goldsboro 23 9 18 17 -- 67

GREENE CENTRAL (11-7, 2-5)

Charles Gamble 2 4 1-3 17, Reggie Johnson 1 4 3-6 17, Brandon Sutton 2 0 5-7 9, Chavelier Howell 4 0 0-0 8, Marcus Thomas 3 0 0-1 6, Dreyan Willis 2 0 0-0 4, Kelsey Baker 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 15 8 9-17 63.

GOLDSBORO (13-8, 6-1)

Tim Kornegay 9 2 4-6 28, Daquan Joyner 5 1 4-6 17, Raheem Lofton 2 0 2-3 6, Burnie Best 2 0 0-0 4, Antonio Green 1 0 2-5 4, Eric McLean 0 0 2-2 2, Anthony Artis 1 0 0-0 2, Branden Herring 1 0 0-0 2, Joe Houpe 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 22 3 14-22 67.

3-point goals -- GC 8 (Gamble 4, Johnson 4), GHS 3 (Kornegay 2, Joyner). Turnovers -- GC 15, GHS 22. Total fouls -- GC 18, GHS 17. Fouled out -- Willis (GC). Technical fouls -- Bench (GC).