Atkinson drops in 27 for E. Wayne
By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on November 30, 2011 1:48 PM
Eastern Wayne got blown out in its first basketball game of the season.
The Warriors responded in an emphatic style Tuesday evening. Lee Atkinson tallied 27 points and Eastern Wayne found a way to top archrival Goldsboro 69-66 in come-from-behind fashion.
"A much better effort tonight all the way around," Eastern Wayne head coach Marvin Bowman said. "We stuck with our gameplan defensively and when we needed to make big shots, we did."
Atkinson took care of most of the scoring.
With the Warriors on the verge of being put away early again, Atkinson erupted for 13 second-quarter points. In the third period, the Cougars built a 12-point advantage only to see Atkinson get hot again late in the game.
The game's deciding play came with 47 seconds left on the clock and the Warriors down 64-63. Atkinson broke to his left, found a crease and hit a floater over an outstretched Goldsboro defender.
A foul allowed Atkinson to put Eastern Wayne (1-1 overall) ahead for good 66-64. The smooth shooter added a pair of free throws in the final seconds to complete his tally.
"We told the guys that were going to guard (Atkinson) not to get frustrated," Goldsboro head coach Patrick Reynell said. "He makes a ton of tough shots and tonight he did it again. He hit shots over good defensive sets."
Tyrik Kornegay added 18 points for the Warriors. Javon Darden, Josiah Davis and Micah Smith each finished with seven points respectively.
"We only have three or four guys back this season with any real varsity experience," Bowman said. "Tonight we needed them to play big and they did."
Quavus Holloman led Goldsboro with 15 points. Moses Ramsey finished with 14 points and Octavius Alston added 12 markers.
"Coming off a tough game against Rocky Mount Prep, I felt like we played much better tonight," Reynell said. "It's going to take time for our new guys to gel and there are going to be some growing pains. I think we saw some of that tonight."
Goldsboro (0-2) visits Southern Wayne on Friday, while Eastern Wayne travels to Havelock tonight.