Eagles halt Rebels 43-29

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 24, 2009 11:14 PM

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It came in a flurry and when it was over, Rosewood had all but put the finishing touches on its first Class 1-A Carolina Conference win of the season.

The Eagles used a 12-0 run to break open a tight ballgame en route to a 43-29 victory over North Duplin on Friday night. It was Rosewood's first win since it defeated Hobbton on Dec. 10, 2008.

The Rebels held a 14-11 advantage at the half, but the Eagles got a pair of free throws from Cody Harris and a layup from Will Beasley to take a 15-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Four quick North Duplin turnovers helped fuel Rosewood's spurt that was capped by Trevor Cox's 3-pointer that gave the Eagles 23-14 cushion. Cox finished with a team-high 10 points, James Harris added seven points and Cody Harris had six.

"We picked it up defensively," said Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell. "In the third quarter we went to some full-court pressure and really made them turn the ball over a couple of times and got some good looks out of it.

"We got the ball into the paint and got some high percentage shots and we were able to get a lead."

The Rebels (0-11 overall, 0-3 Carolina) answered with back-to-back buckets from Blake King and Shayne Deaver. The Eagles (4-10, 1-2) closed the quarter with layups from Ahkeem Simms and Antonio Henriques; and a 3-pointer from James Harris.

Rosewood outscored North Duplin 19-4 in the third quarter and took a commanding 30-18 lead into the fourth.

"We just didn't knock down shots and Rosewood played good defense," said Rebels head coach Ricky Edwards. "We've just got to knock down some shots. The press hurt us a little and we turned it over, and they were able to get a cushion."

With Jacquez Raynor sidelined with a broken foot, junior varsity call-ups Henriques and Jonathan Franks provided Mitchell with solid minutes. Henriques and Franks played active on defense, helped force 25 North Duplin turnovers and assisted in Rosewood's 33-26 rebounding advantage.

"I thought we rebounded the ball well tonight," said Mitchell. "We talked about having to make a conscious effort to rebound the basketball. I thought Antonio and (Robert) were a big part of that third quarter when we were able to turn it up defensively and get some easy baskets."

The Rebels never got the deficit inside double digits in the fourth quarter as they were outscored 32-15 in the second half. Edwards' club recorded just five field goals in the final two quarters.

"We've just got to knock down shots and guard people," said Edwards. "We've just got to keep working and we've got a lot of work to do. We're young, we just have to keep working."

Jimmy Smith paced North Duplin with six points.

Rosewood continues conference play at Princeton on Tuesday, while North Duplin plays host to Spring Creek.