Goldsboro withstands Greene Central rallies

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 20, 2008 12:41 PM

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Goldsboro's boys and girls basketball teams both watched double-digit, second-half leads evaporate before holding on to earn wins over visiting Class 2-A Eastern Plains Conference foe Greene Central on Friday night.

The Cougars outscored the Rams 18-9 in overtime to earn a thrilling 108-99 victory. Meanwhile, Greene Central's girls rattled off 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, but came up just short in Goldsboro's 50-41 triumph.

Greene Central's boys trailed by 12 in the second quarter and 47-36 at halftime. The Rams trimmed the deficit to 65-60 heading into the fourth quarter.

Goldsboro led 87-78 with less than three minutes to play in regulation. The Rams' Curtis Braswell knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, Danny Moye added a layup and Albert Barron's free throws with less than a minute left in the fourth tied the game at 90-90.

Each team failed to convert game-winning shots in the final seconds of regulation.

It was all Goldsboro in the extra session as the Cougars needed just 2 minutes to jump out to a 102-92 lead. Keovanta McDuffie led all scorers with 31 points, most of which came off dribble penetration as Goldsboro (10-6 overall, 2-0 EPC) fearlessly attacked the basket all night. Aric Sinclair added a career-high 24 points, Demetrio Irby scored 16 and Tavon Murchinson had 14.

"Those guys really stepped up," Goldsboro head coach Tod Morgan said. "We needed an inside presence to give us some scoring, it seems like we've been relying on scoring from the perimeter players.

"I'm glad to see Aric step up that's a big game for him. He's capable of giving us that kind of night every night."

Moye paced the Rams (2-13, 0-2 EPC) with 28 points. Braswell finished with 16 and Bobby Waters pitched in 15.

After dropping six games during a difficult non-conference schedule and undergoing key roster changes in the past few weeks, the Cougars are off to a 2-0 start in conference play.

"If you play tough 3-A (and) 4-A competition around eastern North Carolina, you're going to get battles every night. It gets you battle tested," Morgan said. "Then we come into conference play and every night's a battle, and I think we're ready for that."

Goldsboro's girls displayed some composure while withstanding a late charge from Greene Central to earn their first conference victory of the season.

A 10-0 run in the fourth quarter turned a 41-27 lead into a 41-37 margin with just over two minutes remaining. T.T. Pettaway drained a pair of 3-pointers during that stretch and her free throws that cut the deficit to four had the Rams (2-14, 1-1 EPC) within striking distance.

However, Goldsboro (5-10, 1-1 EPC) scored nine of the game's final 13 points to preserve the win.

"Tonight we showed some poise with having the lead and maintaining the lead even when they made a run," Cougars head coach Brandy Smith said. "It is comforting when your team is able to show that little bit of poise and strength to hold onto that lead and come out on top."

Ki'ana Williams scored a team-high 16 points for Goldsboro. Danielle Irby and Tiffany Pearsall each added eight. Pettaway led all scorers with 21.

Goldsboro plays host to North Pitt on Tuesday, while Greene Central travels to Tarboro.

Boys

Greene Central 21 15 24 30 9 -- 99

Goldsboro 20 27 18 25 18 -- 108

GREENE CENTRAL (2-13, 0-2)

Danny Moye 11 1 3-3 28, Albert Barron 8 0 5-6 21, Curtis Braswell 3 4 0-0 16, Marcus Lee 1 1 0-2 5, E.J. Fleming 0 0 0-1 0, Bobby Waters 6 1 0-0 15, Eddie Jones 1 0 0-2 2, Ray Webb 2 1-2 5, William Brown 1 0 0-0 2, Chris Edwards 0 0 1-2 1. -- TOTALS 34 7 10-19 99.

GOLDSBORO (10-6, 2-0)

Keovanta McDuffie 13 0 5-7 31, Donald Lewis 2 0 0-0 4, Tavon Murchinson 4 1 3-6 14, Cortez Sprangle 0 0 1-2 1, Doshamora Simms 3 0 1-2 7, Demetrio Irby 2 1 9-10 16, Aric Sinclair 10 0 4-4 24, James Williams 1 0 1-2 3, Carlos Atkinson 4 0 0-0 8. TOTALS -- 39 2 24-33 108.

Girls

Greene Central 6 10 9 16 -- 41

Goldsboro 7 14 16 13 -- 50

GREENE CENTRAL (2-14, 1-1)

Jocelyn Conner 1 0 3-4 5, Tia Jones 1 0 1-4 3, Brittane Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Dominique Graham 0 0 2-4 2, Darneka Waters 2 0 2-4 6, T.T. Pettaway 6 2 3-7 21. TOTALS -- 12 2 11-23 41.

GOLDSBORO (5-10, 1-1)

Zeara McDuffie 3 0 1-1 7, Danielle Irby 4 0 0-2 8, Victoria Williams 2 0 0-0 2, Tiffany Pearsall 3 0 2-4 8, Millicent Kornegay 3 0 0-3, 6, Johnesia Maye 0 1 0-1 3, Ki'ana Williams 3 2 4-6 16. TOTALS -- 17 3 7-17 50.