Southern Wayne-CB Aycock boys

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 21, 2011 1:47 PM

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DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne started strong and kept Charles B. Aycock at arm's length all night.

That's exactly what head coach Russell Stephens wanted to see.

The Saints rolled to a double-digit lead in the opening quarter and defeated the Golden Falcons 52-32 on Thursday night in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play.

"I knew it would be important for our guys to come out with energy and start the game fast," said Stephens. "I feel like we set the tone in the first few minutes and we did that by playing good defense."

A statement basket less than two minutes into the contest certainly did not hurt. Off of an inbounds play under the basket, Khari Faison flipped the ball up in the air to Delfawn Worrells, who tipped what looked like a shot toward the side of the backboard. Faison stepped in play and jumped between two defenders for an emphatic reverse slam dunk.

The Saints led 4-3 and never trailed again.

Southern Wayne's advantage ballooned to 30-13 due to full-court pressure that led to fast-break baskets.

"We turned the ball over way too many times tonight, it's that simple," said C.B. Aycock head coach Steve Moats. "(Southern Wayne) is so big and so fast you have to be able to control the ball and make some shots if you are going to beat them. Tonight we didn't do that."

The Saints built their advantage to as many as 26 points in the third quarter before both coaches began to find plenty of time for their reserve players in the final period.

Bernard Gross led the Saints (12-3 overall, 4-1 ECC) with 11 points. Worrells added 10 points and Faison finished with six points and 10 rebounds. Southern Wayne won despite shooting just 4-of-15 at the free throw line.

"That is one thing that we definitely have to work on," said Stephens. "We shoot a ton of free throws in practice, but for some reason that isn't transferring over into the games."

Randall Fulghum led the Golden Falcons with eight points. Brandon Winford and A.J. Mundle added five points apiece.

C.B. Aycock (3-12, 2-4) entertains Triton today. Southern Wayne visits Triton on Tuesday.