Eastern Wayne surges past Charles B. Aycock

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on February 8, 2006 2:23 PM

• Print
• Email

With only one win in Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference play going into Tuesday's game at home against Charles B. Aycock, Eastern Wayne's boys basketball team -- on the outside of the NCHSAA playoff picture -- didn't have much riding on the outcome of the rivalry contest.

Except pride on Senior Night.

Keyed by solid work underneath by senior D'Adrian Worrell, who finished with a double-double, the Warriors outscored the Golden Falcons by 20 points combined in the second and third quarters -- opening up a double-digit lead on their way to a 75-70 victory.

"We played like I know we're capable of playing. I was elated to see those guys put together a win at this point of the season," Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman said. "We turned it up a notch."

In the girls game, Aycock's girls completed a regular-season sweep of Eastern Wayne with a 58-39 win.

Emily Stewart paced three Lady Falcons (14-8, 6-3 ECC) in double figures with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Quaneisha Milner contributed 16 points and six assists and Erin Medford added 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

"I thought our players were very patient and unselfish on offense in the last half. We controlled the boards pretty well and we were a lot more intense on defense in the second half," Aycock girls coach Luke Vail said. "We've got to continue doing the little things well going into the conference tournament and playoffs."

Leading just 22-17 at the break, Aycock outscored the home team 13-2 in the first six minutes of the second half and took a 35-19 lead on a no-look pass from Milner to Stewart.

Eastern Wayne coach Brent Holland then brought in five freshmen off the bench, and the quintet combined for 12 points down the stretch to pull the Warriors within seven late in the third. Holland praised the effort of Laverne Jones, Jalesa Moore, Jazmine Middleton, Eboni Reid and Richielle Butler, which gave his team a spark.

"They cut it down to seven points, and we're excited about the future," Holland said. "They are going to push the older girls to get better. It adds competition in practice."

Similar to the start of the third quarter, Aycock scored the first eight points of the fourth -- capped by a layup by Stewart -- to pull away.

The Lady Falcons are now 7-0 against county foes this year and will be either the second or third seed in the ECC tournament, beginning next week. The Warriors (3-18, 2-7), who were led by Yasmine Washington with 13 points, can still finish as high as fourth in the conference standings. LaNiece Sims played in her final home game for Eastern Wayne.

Worrell, one of seven Eastern Wayne players to score six or more, finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow senior, Landon Downes added 10 points, six rebounds and three steals as the Warriors (9-13 overall) improved to 2-7 in ECC play.

Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman, who started all five of his seniors, was proud of his upper-classmen's ability to step up for their final home game.

"D'Adrian played like a senior tonight, and I think he inspired some of the other players. Landon, Monty Best, Myles Pena and Terrill Boseman all stepped their games up," Bowman said. "We're going to miss our seniors."

Paced by eight points by Rob Phillips, who had a team-best 21 points, Aycock (7-15, 3-6) took an 18-10 lead after the first quarter as Eastern Wayne struggled in the early-going from the field and also committed five turnovers.

From there, it seemed as if the roles reversed. Worrell dropped in eight points in the second and five other Warriors scored, while Lamada Williams and Santavin Poole were the only Falcons to manage a field goal in the quarter. Eastern Wayne's Monty Best knocked down a runner in the lane to help lift the Warriors to a slim, halftime lead.

The third quarter was more of the same. Behind 10 points from Worrell, Eastern Wayne outscored the visitors 21-10 in the third to go up by 12 heading into the final quarter. The Warriors' advantage would increase to 15 after a deep, 3-pointer by Darryl Cowan as Aycock seemed to rush shots in the early stages of the fourth.

Phillips knocked down two, threes in the fourth and had 12 in the quarter to help the Falcons pull within five at 70-65 with :50 left. Aycock missed a chance to draw closer on its next possession and eventually, Davis and Worrell nailed clutch free-throws to put the game out of reach.

"We've been working for three years to contend for a playoff spot. Tonight, we had something to play for, but watching us you would have never known it," West said. "We've been scrappy the last three years, but tonight, Eastern Wayne turned the tables on us. They hit the boards hard and kept a lot of balls alive."

Both teams finish the regular season on Thursday as the Warriors travel to Kinston, while Aycock takes on Southern Wayne in Dudley.

Girls game

C.B. Aycock 10 12 16 20 -- 58

Eastern Wayne 6 11 12 10 -- 39

C.B. AYCOCK (14-8, 6-3)

Emily Stewart 7 0 5-9 19, Quaneisha Milner 7 0 2-2 16, Erin Medford 1 3 2-2 13, Jazzmine Lee 4 0 0-2 8, Chantel Gaines 0 0 1-4 1. TOTALS -- 19 3 8-19 58.

EASTERN WAYNE (3-18, 2-7)

Yasmine Washington 5 1 0-2 13, LaNiece Sims 2 0 1-2 5, Eboni Reid 1 1 0-2 5, Jalesa Moore 1 0 2-2 4, Jazmine Middleton 0 0 4-11 4, Noelle Kelly 2 0 0-0 4, Richielle Butler 1 0 1-2 3, Sherelle Burt 0 0 1-2 1, Laverne Jones 0 0 0-2 0. TOTALS -- 12 2 9-25 39.

3-point goals -- CBA 3 (Medford 3), EW 2 (Washington, Reid). Turnovers -- CBA 20, EW 17, Total fouls -- CBA 20, EW 18. Fouled out -- Lee (CBA). Technical fouls -- none.

Boys game

C.B. Aycock 18 13 10 29 -- 70

Eastern Wayne 10 22 21 22 -- 75

C.B. AYCOCK (7-15, 3-6)

Rob Phillips 3 4 3-4 21, Santavin Poole 6 1 4-5 19, Lamada Williams 5 0 0-1 10, Montez Ham 2 0 2-2 6, Brandon Price 2 0 0-1 4, Nick Weaver 1 0 2-2 4, Tim Alston 2 0 2-4 6. TOTALS -- 21 5 13-19 70.

EASTERN WAYNE (9-13, 2-7)

D'Adrian Worrell 10 0 6-8 26, Landon Downes 3 0 4-4 10, Darryl Cowan 2 1 0-0 7, Reco McCarter 3 0 1-2 7, Monty Best 3 0 0-1 6, Myles Pena 3 0 0-0 6, Lamar Davis 0 2 3-5 9, Floronta Wynn 2 0 0-1 4. TOTALS -- 25 3 14-21 75.

3-point goals -- CBA 5 (Phillips 4, Poole), EW 3 (Davis 2, Cowan). Turnovers -- CBA 15, EW 12. Total fouls -- CBA 17, EW 22. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.