Golden Falcons pick up second ECC win of year

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on February 11, 2009 1:50 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Focus on what you can control and forget about the past.

Familiar with the consequences of failing to close out ballgames, Charles B. Aycock executed when it mattered most in a 69-55 win over Eastern Wayne on Tuesday night.

The Golden Falcons blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead in a loss to the Warriors in late January in New Hope.

The same nearly happened again in the rematch as Eastern Wayne whittled an 11-point deficit to a single possession. But C.B. Aycock (13-10 overall, 2-7 ECC) answered with an 11-0 run to finish off its county rival.

The Warriors pulled to within 45-43 on Hassan Best's layup late in the third period. Back-to-back buckets from Jonathan Williams and Kyle LaFlamme's free throw pushed Aycock's advantage to 50-43 after three quarters.

Baskets on consecutive possessions from Tyheim Pitt and Devon Newsome's jumper extended the margin to 56-43 less than three minutes into the final period.

"We've had a lot of times this year that we've lost our poise when we've lost leads," said Golden Falcons head coach David West. "We did something we haven't been doing, we answered the call. We've had leads at the half and leads in the third and we just lose our poise.

"I thought Eastern Wayne made a couple of good runs at us, but the boys used heart and they answered the call every time."

The Warriors (6-16, 4-5) got no closer than 10 points the rest of the game and struggled to maintain their offensive rhythm in the midst of Aycock's full-court pressure. Eastern Wayne committed 24 turnovers, including 17 in the first half.

"I think they did an excellent job on defense," said Warriors head coach Marvin Bowman. "They were pushing us out further than we wanted to be to run our offense. We just couldn't get in a rhythm. If we had knocked down a few shots our defense would have been better, but we just couldn't get in a rhythm."

The Golden Falcons placed five different players in double figures, led by Pitt's game-high 24 points. Williams added 11. Khendra Reid, Isaac Ryals and Newsome each contributed 10.

"To have Jon and Khendra down low winning the physical game is a lot to say," said West. "They don't back down. They went at it real hard and they can be just as physical as the next person."

White and Cody Kirkham each scored 10 for Eastern Wayne.

Aycock closes out the regular season at home on Thursday against Southern Wayne, while Eastern Wayne hosts league-leading Kinston.

"There's nothing we can do in anybody else's gym this year," said West. "The only thing we can do is right here. We're going to have Southern Wayne out on a Thursday night for senior night and I think the kids will really be up for it."