Fike uses 15-0 run to down Eastern Wayne

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 28, 2007 1:48 PM

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Marvin Bowman watched his Eastern Wayne men's basketball team battle visiting Wilson Fike for 32 minutes on Tuesday night.

But, there were at least two or three minutes Bowman would probably rather forget.

The Demons opened the second quarter on a 15-0 run and turned a four-point margin into a 34-15 lead. The offensive surge put the Warriors in a position where they couldn't recover, and it eventually led to a 78-66 defeat.

"They were on fire ... making every shot they threw up," Bowman said. "It's very difficult to come back. You can't hardly get back in that situation."

Daviyon Whisonant's 3-pointer finally ended the Fike spurt, but the Demons outscored the Warriors 20-11 during the second quarter.

Eastern Wayne (0-2 overall) spent the remainder of the ballgame struggling to get stops on defense, and forced to settle to trade baskets. The Demons broke the Warriors' press with ease, got uncontested layups and forced 27 Eastern Wayne turnovers.

"We pressed some, but when we pressed, once they got past our front line, they were scoring," Bowman said. "Then we were coming down and trading baskets. You've got to keep it close with a team like that. And we made some turnovers that were uncharacteristic, but we haven't seen the pressure that they were playing."

Fike's Jeremy Atkinson finished with a game-high 23 points and R.J. Branch added 16.

Whisonant scored 17 for the Warriors, including five 3-pointers. Jaquivous Williams and Will White had eight points apiece.

Eastern Wayne travels to Jacksonville on Thursday.

"It's early in the season, and this is one to grow on," Bowman said. "We're a young team."

Brittani Billups poured in a game-high 26 points and the Eastern Wayne girls held off a scrappy Wilson Fike club to pick up a 60-45 victory.

The Demons pulled to within three late in the first quarter, but a 6-0 Warriors spurt gave Eastern Wayne a 16-7 lead heading into the second period.

With her team holding a 31-23 lead at intermission, Billups went to work in the second half, scoring 15 of her 26 points often against smaller defenders. Every attempt Fike made at a comeback was more often than not brought to a halt with a Warriors basket or defensive stop.

Eastern Wayne led 48-33 after three quarters.

"Every time Fike would go on a run or we needed a basket, I would call a timeout and we would run a set play to Billups," Eastern Wayne head coach Brent Holland said. "We tried to play a bit more up tempo. We scored 60 points against a good Fike team, I'm real pleased with our effort tonight."

Danielle Daniel finished with eight points for the Warriors (1-1), and Jazmine Middleton added seven. Brianna Virgil led Fike with 10 points.

Boys game

Wilson Fike 19 20 14 15 -- 78

Eastern Wayne 15 11 21 19 -- 66

WILSON FIKE

Jeremy Atkinson 8 0 4-6 23; Malcom Martin 1 0-0 2; Jerrell Williams 3 0 1-5 7; Chance Joyner 1 0-0 2l Darius Parker 1 1 1-2 6; Roger Silver 2 0 2-5 9; R. J. Branch 3 3 1-2 16; Kendrick Davis 1 0 0-0 2; Dontae Ward 2 1 0-0 5; Amir King 1 0 2-3 4. TOTALS -- 25 6 11-23 78.

EASTERN WAYNE (0-2)

James Thomas 0 2 0-0 6; Daviyon Whisonant 1 5 0-0 17; Will White 4 0 0-2 8; Hassan Best 1 0 0-0 2; A.J. Dreighton 0 1 0-0 3; Orlando Midgette 4 0 1-1 9; Cody Kirkham 1 0 0-0 2; Dominique Sadler 1 0 0-0 2; Rashid Williams 2 0 0-0 4; Marvin Bowman 2 0 0-1 4; Colton Butler 2 0 0-0 4; Jaquivous Williams 2 1 0-0 7. TOTALS -- 20 9 1-6 66.

Girls Box

Wilson Fike 7 16 10 12 -- 45

Eastern Wayne 15 15 17 13 -- 60

WILSON FIKE

Adrianne Turnage 0 0 1-2 1; Alex Artis 1 0 0-0 2; Talaya Hall 2 0 1-3 5; Tramicka James 3 1 0-0 9; Lindsey Orr 2 0 0-0 4; Ciara Perry 2 0 1-2 5; Leslie Finch 2 0 0-0 4; Meredith Pruden 2 0 0-3 4; Jameka Thompson 1 0 1-2 3; Briana Virgil 3 0 4-5 10. TOTALS -- 18 1 8-17 45.

EASTERN WAYNE (1-1)

Lindsey Fredrick 0 1 3-6 6; Noelle Kelly 2 0 0-0 4; Jazmine Middleton 3 0 1-4 7; Tiarra McIntyre 2 0 1-3 5; Eboni Reid 1 0 1-4 3; Tia Jones 0 0 2-4 2; Danielle Daniels 1 0-0 8; Brittani Billups 9 0 8-10 26. TOTALS -- 18 2 16-31 60.