Eastern Wayne falls to New Hanover

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 25, 2009 1:46 PM

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Eastern Wayne did all it could to shoot its way back into the ballgame.

New Hanover had other ideas.

The Warriors trimmed a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to seven but couldn't complete the comeback in an 82-74, non-conference loss on Tuesday evening.

The Wildcats led 63-47 enterting the final quarter before Eastern Wayne's Lamar Best and Andrew Coley caught fire. Best knocked down three 3-pointers during the final eight minutes and Coley added a pair from long range as the lead shrunk to 75-68 with less than three minutes left.

"Lamar hit some big shots," said Warriors' head coach Marvin Bowman. "Andrew went in and sort of loosened things up. I commended our kids for their efforts. They never stopped."

Late turnovers by the Warriors and clutch free throw shooting helped the Wildcats hang on. Detwan Rogers' emphatic dunk put the finishing touches on the victory.

Eastern Wayne also struggled to slow down New Hanover center Coley Daley, who scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.

"If we could have had an answer for (Daley) we probably could have gotten back in it," said Bowman. "They did a good job of pushing the ball down inside. I also thought they moved the ball well to create opportunities for their guys inside."

The Wildcats used an 18-5 run in the second quarter to build a 38-24 advantage while the Warriors went more than four minutes without scoring.

"They started knocking down shots," said Bowman. "We just didn't adjust very well. They just made shots."

Will White led Eastern Wayne with 13 points. Best and Rashawn Barnes each had 12 points. Coley added 10.

The Warriors (1-1 overall) entertain Havelock on Dec. 1.