Crosstown clash: Goldsboro boys, Eastern Wayne girls prevail

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 6, 2006 1:47 PM

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Victories against county rival Goldsboro haven't come easy for Eastern Wayne's varsity girls basketball team in recent years.

Warriors head coach Brent Holland hopes his team started a new trend Tuesday evening. Junior forward Brittanni Billups provided a triple-double, which included a career-high 31 points, in a 58-36 conquest of the Cougars at New Hope.

Eastern Wayne (2-3) seized its first-ever triumph over Goldsboro in eight tries during Holland's four-year tenure.

McDonald's All-America nominee Tim Kornegay pumped in a game-high 30 points as the Cougar boys routed the Warriors 82-56. Nine players scratched in the scoring column for Goldsboro, which claimed its fourth consecutive win after a season-opening loss against perennial Class 3-A power Kinston.

The Warrior girls harassed Goldsboro with a variety of zone defenses and collected 11 of their season-high 18 steals in the first quarter. Noelle Kelly and Eboni Reid combined for nine steals that led to open-court layups or offensive putbacks by Billups. The 6-foot-2 Billups tallied nine points in the period.

"We tried to mix up our zones," said Holland. "I don't think we're a very good man team because we're a little slow of foot at some positions. We tried to make them identify the different zones we do.

"I thought the girls were aggressive and we got out on the wings real good. Noelle, Yasmine (Washington) and Zhanea (Charles) did a good job of shooting gaps."

Eastern Wayne led 7-6 midway through the opening quarter, but broke the game open with an 8-0 run. Goldsboro managed just two field goals during an eight-minute stretch as the Warriors seized a double-digit advantage -- 32-17 -- at halftime.

"Goldsboro didn't shoot the ball as good as they usually do," said Holland. "(Our) girls do a good job of being in position. We know where we're supposed to be and where the ball is supposed to be, good help and stuff like that."

The Warriors led 45-23 after three quarters and eventually kept the Cougars winless in two outings against county opposition this season. Goldsboro exited 0-4 overall.

Billups finished with 13 rebounds, 10 blocks, four steals and one assist. Washington contributed 14 points, including 10 in the second half. Jasmine Middleton chipped in seven.

Irby paced the Cougars with eight points. Senior center Carmille Early tallied seven points, five rebounds and five blocked shots. Kiana Williams played a solid floor game with six points, seven assists and four steals.

"We couldn't get anything going on defense and of course, it didn't create anything for us in transition, which is the style we play," said first-year Goldsboro coach Brandy Smith. "That hurt us badly. Having just six points in the first and third quarter didn't help, either."

Kornegay's three-pointer capped an early 15-5 spurt by the Cougars less than four minutes into the boys' contest. Eastern Wayne returned the favor with a 15-2 run that started after 6-foot-7 Daquan Joyner, a McDonald's All-American nominee, missed a dunk on Goldsboro's end of the court.

University of Richmond signee D.J. Cowan answered with a thunderous one-handed dunk off Lamar Davis' assist to get the Warriors started. Davis drained a couple of jumpers and Will White had two offensive putbacks to put Eastern Wayne ahead 20-17 after eight minutes of play.

A warmed-up Kornegay turned red-hot in the second quarter. The senior forward scored 14 of the Cougars' 22 points and gave his team the lead for good at 21-20 with a soft jumper in the lane.

"We came out real strong and did a great job, but give Eastern Wayne credit. They answered and kept coming right back at us," said Goldsboro coach Randy Jordan. "The first half was a lot of fun for the fans, I imagine."

Eastern Wayne (1-4) stayed within striking distance and trailed 39-32 at halftime. But it couldn't carry keep its first-half intensity into the second half and struggled in the third quarter.

The Warriors connected on just three field goals and endured a four-minute scoring drought as the Cougars took complete control. Kevonta McDuffie and Tim Hobbs combined for eight points off the bench as Goldsboro put 22 points on the board compared to just nine for Eastern Wayne.

"I told the guys at halftime if we could carry over that intensity and play at that level, then we'd do an outstanding job in the second half. But we didn't," said Eastern Wayne coach Marvin Bowman. "We looked pretty good for a couple of series and controlled the ball on our end, but didn't get it to fall. They were quick to the ball and really wanted it more than we did."

Goldsboro increased its defensive intensity in the second half. Jordan said two slight adjustments proved beneficial for the Cougars, who denied the Warriors from converting long, open-court passes for uncontested layups that had bothered them in the opening half.

Jordan altered his team's full-court press and created several transition baskets off deflected passes and turnovers. Goldsboro prevented Eastern Wayne from scoring in its primary offense and forced them into their secondary offense for a majority of the second half.

The Warriors didn't score a fast-break point in either the third or fourth quarter.

"We made the adjustments and it put us in a better position, a step closer where I wanted us to be," said Jordan. "I thought we did a much better job on the glass rebounding in the second half, than we did in the first half, especially on our weak side."

Joyner emerged one of four Cougars in double figures with 12 points. Hobbs and Jameson Wellington each scored 11 points. Eric McLean dished out a game-high seven assists.

Cowan, who handed out five assists, and Davis led Eastern Wayne with 14 and 13 points, respectively. White chipped in 10.

Goldsboro plays back-to-back contests against county rival Charles B. Aycock within a three-day period, starting today in Pikeville. The Warriors are the guests of North Lenoir on Friday.

Girls game

Goldsboro 6 11 6 13 -- 36

E. Wayne 15 17 13 13 -- 58

GOLDSBORO (0-4)

Carmille Early 3 0 1-1 7, Zeara McDuffie 2 0 0-0 4, Kiana Williams 2 0 2-2 6, Tiffany Burden 1 0 0-0 2, Danielle Irby 3 0 2-3 8, Johneshia Maye 1 0 3-4 5, Millicent Kornegay 0 0 0-4 0, Victoria Williams 2 0 0-0 4. TOTALS -- 14 0 8-14 36.

EASTERN WAYNE (2-3)

Laverne Jones 0 0 0-0 0, Jasmine Middleton 2 0 3-3 8, Noelle Kelly 0 0 0-0 0, Alysa Artis 0 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Frederick 0 0 0-0 0, Yasmine Washington 5 1 1-1 14, Eboni Reid 0 0 0-2 0, Sherrelle Burt 0 0 0-0 0, Zhanea Charles 2 0 0-0 4, Jasmine McLamb 0 0 2-2 2, Brittanni Billups 13 0 5-7 31. TOTALS -- 22 1 11-15 58.

Boys game

Goldsboro 17 22 22 21 -- 82

E. Wayne 20 12 9 15 -- 56

GOLDSBORO (4-1)

Tim Kornegay 11 2 2-5 30, Burnie Best 1 0 0-2 2, Eric McLean 1 0 0-0 2, Jameson Wellington 4 0 3-3 11, Kevonta McDuffie 2 0 1-2 5, Tim Hobbs 5 0 1-3 11, Treme Boone 0 0 0-0 0, Brandon Sampson 0 0 0-0 0, Aric Sinclair 1 0 0-0 2, Daquan Joyner 6 0 0-0 12, Antonio Green 3 0 1-2 7. TOTALS -- 34 2 8-17 82.

EASTERN WAYNE (1-4)

Lamar Davis 5 1 0-0 13, D.J. Cowan 3 2 2-2 14, Jenieri Cyrus 1 0 1-2 3, Darren Bennett 2 0 0-0 4, Darian Cahill 1 0 0-0 2, Darius Wilder 0 0 0-0 0, Will White 5 0 0-0 10, Jamere Thomas 1 0 0-0 2, Johnathan Hill 1 0 0-0 2, Orlando Midgette 3 0 0-0 6. TOTALS -- 22 3 3-4 56.