Goldsboro seizes second win of season
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on December 9, 2009 1:47 PM
Eastern Wayne had the man power.
Goldsboro had the will power.
Devonte White delivered the game-sealing dunk in the final minute and Goldsboro claimed a 58-56 overtime thriller in front of a standing-room only crowd inside Norvell T. Lee Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.
Trailing 46-43 with two minutes to play, the Cougars worked the ball around the perimeter to Michael Langston who buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key. After a failed possession by the Warriors, James Williams collected a pass from Langston and threw down a thunderous dunk.
Holding their first lead of the game, the Cougars (2-1 overall) raced back on defense and stopped a pair of Eastern Wayne attempts from in the paint. However, an errant pass led to a final Warrior possession.
Will White drove into the lane and was fouled with just seven seconds remaining in regulation. White missed the front end of the one-and-one, but the ball was tipped in by Levonte McKiver to force overtime.
"It was a wild final few minutes," said first-year Cougars head coach Patrick Reynell. "Michael (Langston) stepped up and hit a big shot for us, and that dunk really gave us a shot of energy to pull the game out in overtime."
The Warriors refused to go quietly in overtime.
McKiver's layup forged a 54-54 tie with 60 seconds to go. Goldsboro forward Rasean Brewington knocked down a pair of free throws on the team's next offensive trip, and a Warrior turnover led to White's thunderous one-handed slam.
Will White sank a layup on the next Eastern Wayne possession to make the score 58-56 with 40 seconds to play. A pair of missed free throws by the Cougars gave the Warriors one final chance.
Lamar Best drove the lane and drew a foul, but could not convert the potential game-tying shots from the charity stripe with less than one second on the clock.
"We did not do the things that we needed to do in order to close out the game," said Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman. "We did not shoot well from the foul line and we had too many turnovers."
The Warriors (2-3) were paced by McKiver's 15-point outing. Will White added 12 points and six rebounds. Rashawn Barnes had nine points off the bench.
Goldsboro, still playing without any of the members of their football team, used a seven-man rotation that was cut to six in overtime when Williams fouled out. Langston led the Cougars with 16 points, while Brewington chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.
"I'll admit I got caught up in the county rivalry tonight," said Reynell. "I probably did not sub as freely as I should have, but I think that all coaches want their kids to get a win in a rivalry game so that they can have their bragging rights."
Goldsboro entertains Southern Nash today.