Manley's free throws lift North Duplin

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 23, 2011 1:51 AM

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Call 'em the "cardiac road kids."

Tyree Manley sank the game-winning free throws with 6.6 seconds left and North Duplin turned back Rosewood 65-64 in a nail-biting, emotion-filled boys' basketball contest Friday evening.

The Rebels claimed their second consecutive road victory on the Carolina 1-A Conference scene after knocking off Ayden-Grifton one week ago. The Eagles, meanwhile, have dropped two league encounters by a combined four points.

"I thought it was a mighty good game and both teams played hard," said North Duplin head coach Ricky Edwards. "We were just fortunate there at the end. I was tickled he (Manley) was there (to shoot free throws). He just had to relax and shoot."

Manley tallied six points for the Rebels, who climbed to 4-5 overall and 2-0 against league opposition this season. Breyon Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, while James Kornegay and Devin Oliver pumped in 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Jacquez Raynor emerged the Eagles' offensive leader with 14 points and eight rebounds. Cody Harris provided 12 points and Jyante Raynor knocked down 10.

"It was a battle, war ... scrap and claw, and fight for everything," said Rosewood head coach Daniel Mitchell. "It was a good game to watch, but probably not a good game to be where he (Edwards) and I were (on the sidelines). It was a tightly-contested game."

And tightly-officiated, too.

The two teams combined for 55 fouls and 72 free throws. Five players, all starters for their respective squads, fouled out in the marathon affair.

Rosewood (8-4 overall, 0-2 CC) led just three times in the game -- once in the second quarter and twice late in the fourth quarter. North Duplin kept a six-point advantage and hit two buzzer-beating 3-pointers -- one each from James Kornegay and Johnson.

"Can you believe we hit two 3's like that?" asked Edwards.

The intensity level increased early in the fourth quarter when Oliver drew a technical foul for hanging on the rim after missing an open-court dunk. Cody Harris drained both free throws to forge a 50-50 tie, but the Eagles turned the ball over on their next possession.

The chaotic pace continued and Rosewood grabbed a 58-57 advantage on Jyante Raynor's 3-pointer. The Rebels tied the game and moved ahead 61-58 on Oliver's conventional three-point play.

Raynor answered with a three-point play and Harris hit two more free throws to push Rosewood back ahead 63-61. Johnson tied the game at 63-63 and the Eagles held the ball for the last shot.

"Jyante had been good putting the ball on the floor the first half and would get by his guy, and got in foul trouble in the second half," said Mitchell. "We were going to hold it until the end and let him look to attack on the dribble."

Raynor lost possession and Manley got fouled on the play.

After Manley's free throws, Antonio Henriques drove to the basket and drew a foul with 0.2 seconds to go. Henriques' first free throw rolled over the front part of the rim and his second attempt hit the back iron for the 65-64 final.